SingAREN braved the cold at APAN59 Meeting – Yokohama Japan, 3 – 7 Mar 2025
14 March 2025 – In the midst of a sudden temperature drop to <10-deg C weather, SingAREN’s representatives braved the bitter winds and icy rains in Yokohama Japan to participate in the APAN59 Meeting from 3 – 7 March 2025.
Day 1 – Business as usual, A/Prof. Francis Lee – President chaired the Asia-Pacific Europe Ring (AER) Steering Group Meeting and what set this meeting apart was the combined session with APOnet. We saw an overwhelming response of 45 attendees came to this meeting, and everyone was keen to share their updates. Simon Green (SingAREN) and Brenna Meade (APOnet) shared the latest connectivity updates for the AER and APOnet engineering groups; Network resilience, redundancy, and recent cable outages, NETBOX adaptation are some of the topics discussed in this session as well as sharing of new projects/collaborations, and addressing common challenges faced by the community. Another interesting topic brought about by Warrick Mitchell from AARNet (Australia’s Academic and Research Network) talked about MANRS and the importance of securing the internet routing table to prevent hijacking incidents. Lastly, everyone agrees that there is a need for a common terminology to facilitate better collaboration.
Figure 1 – A/Prof Francis Lee addressing the members and opening the session
Figure 2 – Room packed full of AER and APOnet members during the AER/APOnet steering comm meeting on Day 1
There were a total of four Network Engineering breakout sessions held in the venue on Day 2 and Day 3. All the sessions were SOLD OUT with NREN members filling up the room to the brink –> demonstrating a strong spirit of international cooperation in the face of today’s pressing challenges, such as growing cable outages and infrastructure expansion, and sharing knowledge to help one another improve network resilience and build stronger technological capabilities.
Figure 3 Network Engineering breakout session on Day 2
Figure 4 Network Engineering breakout session on Day 3
On Day 4, Jon Lau – Vice-President, presented on “Preparing for Post-Quantum Cryptography” at the Security Working Group workshop hosted by Jamie Gillespie APNIC. The rapid advancements in quantum computing present a significant challenge to existing cryptographic systems, necessitating a proactive shift toward quantum-safe security measures. Jon spoke about the evolving quantum threat landscape, the release of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards, the critical need for crypto agility in adapting to these changes, the importance of quantum readiness, and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
Figure 5 Jon Lau presenting at Day 4 Security Working Group workshop
Overall, it was a very successful conference at APAN59. It was especially meaningful to hear encouraging words from fellow RENs colleagues. SingAREN has also won numerous accolades from peers for our contributions to their projects, assisting them in their difficult times and setting a high standards for the rest of NRENs to follow. Well done!