Coronavirus has radically changed the way we work and collaborate with colleagues. As the year draws to a close and teleworking has become a fact of life, we would like to show you how Belnet has been able to adapt over the last few months to meet its many challenges and guarantee maximum service continuity despite the pandemic and the many safety measures.
Belnet recently implemented RPKI as one of the first Belgian ISPs. In doing so, we contribute to the security of BGP routing and the internet in general. Invalid BGP routes (without certificate, or ROA) are now rejected, which means that Belnet helps thwarting BGP Hijacking.
In the summer of 2020, the CISOs of 5 French-speaking universities started a working group to share their experiences in the field of information security.
Last month, Belnet was appointed as the mandated organisation of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Association for Belgium. The aim of EOSC is to create a new European web of data as a means of stimulating interdisciplinary research and thereby boosting science and the economy. Belnet's role within this ambitious project will be a coordinating and operational one.
As 2020 draws to a close, the final steps will be taken in the redesign of the Belnet network. With this ambitious project, we have succeeded in significantly improving the stability, redundancy and performance of our network. The focus of the final stage has been on increasing and redistributing external capacity. And as for the future, it is definitely set to bring both investments and improvements in the long term.
The TRAIL Institute was created to support researchers working in AI and boost companies in this sector within the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. One of the organisations involved, the CENAERO research centre based in Gosselies, reveals their AI-related activities and their involvement in initiatives beyond our borders.
Since the coronavirus crisis began, Belnet has been making the simple video-conferencing tool Jitsi Meet available to its community. The platform can be used for distance learning, for holding secure meetings and collaborating online. Belnet is committed to making this service available for as long as the coronavirus crisis continues.