The intersection of artificial intelligence, surging cloud demands, and evolving cybersecurity challenges is fundamentally reshaping how network operators design, scale, and secure digital infrastructure. These critical issues took center stage during the INNOG 9 session, which was co-located with APNIC 62. Bringing together a diverse coalition of network operators, infrastructure providers, security specialists, and policymakers from across the region—with a particular operational focus on India and Bangladesh—the event served as a collaborative forum to tackle shared vulnerabilities and prepare for a hyper-connected, AI-driven future.
From the imperative of adopting IPv6-first architectures and managing the cascading risks of subsea cable outages to fortifying enterprise security postures and mitigating the hidden network costs of spam, speakers provided deep operational perspectives. The discussions underscored a central theme: modern networks can no longer rely on legacy frameworks designed for a simpler era of static content delivery. Instead, they must evolve to support extreme intelligence workloads, distributed edge computing, and unprecedented geopolitical and technical resilience.
Scaling Edge and AI Workloads with IPv6-First Architecture
Opening the technical discussions, Dr. Devesh Tyagi, Chief Executive Officer of NIXI, addressed the audience on the pressing need to rethink IP infrastructure. As artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, and machine-to-machine communications experience exponential growth, network operators face mounting pressure to deliver unprecedented scale and automation. Dr. Tyagi argued compellingly that IPv6 should no longer be viewed merely as a temporary palliative or a compliance solution for IPv4 address exhaustion. Rather, it must be recognized as the foundational technology required to support future digital infrastructure.
According to Dr. Tyagi, an IPv6-first approach needs to be embedded directly into infrastructure design from the ground up, rather than treated as an afterthought or a secondary migration project. As AI workloads become increasingly distributed and edge computing continues its rapid expansion, networks, data centers, applications, and security systems must be engineered around IPv6 from the outset to eliminate translation bottlenecks and streamline routing efficiency.
Furthermore, Dr. Tyagi highlighted the ongoing efforts by NIXI to expand critical Internet exchange infrastructure, actively promote widespread IPv6 adoption, and advance robust routing security technologies. These include the implementation of Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI), Route Origin Authorizations (ROAs), and Autonomous System Path Authorizations (ASPAs), all of which are vital components in safeguarding the integrity of global routing tables against increasingly sophisticated hijacking and misconfiguration threats.
What Happens When a Subsea Cable Goes Dark
Shifting from architectural expansion to operational resilience, Sumon Ahmed Sabir, Chief Information Officer at Fibre@Home and a member of the APNIC Executive Council, drew heavily on the sobering lessons learned during major Internet disruptions in Bangladesh in 2024. His presentation examined the vulnerable scenarios that unfold when international connectivity is abruptly severed while local infrastructure remains technically operational. During such crises, many critical domestic services fail unexpectedly, not because local access networks are down, but because they rely on external dependencies that operators frequently overlook during normal operating conditions.
Among the critical vulnerabilities highlighted were Domain Name System (DNS) resolvers hosted outside the domestic economy, third-party cloud-based application components, remote Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), essential time synchronization systems, and domestic mobile payment platforms. Sabir argued that network operators must conduct comprehensive audits to identify these hidden dependencies and proactively build local resilience wherever feasible.
To mitigate future risks, Sabir’s presentation offered practical recommendations for regional operators. These included operating local DNS resolvers, maintaining domestic copies of critical services, strengthening local DNS infrastructure to withstand isolation, and developing rigorous contingency plans capable of sustaining digital economies through prolonged submarine cable outages.
Integrating People, Technology, and Process into a Unified Security Posture
Addressing the human and organizational dimensions of network defense, Abhijit Chakravarty, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks and Cybersecurity at Kotak Mahindra Bank, explored how modern institutions can construct a unified security posture across increasingly complex and distributed operational environments. Speaking from the perspective of the highly regulated banking sector, Chakravarty emphasized that true digital resilience depends just as much on human vigilance and rigorous processes as it does on advanced hardware and software technologies.
Chakravarty noted that organizations must move beyond the passive collection of massive volumes of security data and focus instead on generating actionable intelligence that can neutralize threats in real time. He strongly advocated for the adoption of Zero Trust architectural principles, emphasizing the cultural and operational shift of assuming a breach has already occurred rather than relying on traditional perimeter defenses.
His presentation highlighted the growing reliance on advanced behavioral analysis, comprehensive identity protection frameworks, AI-assisted threat detection mechanisms, and absolute visibility across enterprise environments to detect anomalous activities before they escalate into catastrophic security incidents.
The Costs of Spam Beyond a Crowded Inbox
Examining the often-overlooked operational friction caused by network abuse, Samarjit Biswas, Vice President of Global Emerging CyberSecurity Technologies for Telecom at XELE Labs, discussed how spam, network abuse, and compromised end-user devices continuously undermine network reputation and degrade service quality. Biswas detailed how widespread use of IP deny lists and global reputation databases can severely impact operators, government digital services, and enterprise networks alike, proving that poor network hygiene carries consequences that extend far beyond a cluttered email inbox.
Biswas demonstrated how compromised customer customer devices, brute-force attacks, malware infections, and misconfigured mail infrastructure frequently result in legitimate IP addresses being added to restrictive deny lists. Once an IP space is listed, innocent customers often experience blocked services, degraded network access, and a surge in expensive customer support incidents.
To combat these systemic issues, Biswas underscored the absolute necessity of proactive abuse monitoring, diligent reverse DNS management, strict traffic filtering policies, and ongoing customer education initiatives to ensure healthier network ecosystems.
The Concentration of Subsea Infrastructure Serving India
Focusing on the physical backbone of the global Internet, Ashutosh Zutshi, Senior Vice President at NEC India, provided a comprehensive analysis of submarine cable concentration and its implications for the region. Because submarine cables carry the overwhelming majority of international Internet traffic, they represent one of the most critical elements of modern digital infrastructure. India’s rapidly expanding data center industry is expected to drive significant structural changes in the geographic deployment and landing points of future subsea cables.
Zutshi pointed out that a vast majority of India’s international connectivity currently converges on a relatively small number of landing points concentrated in Mumbai and Chennai. While this historical concentration aligns with where data center capacity has traditionally been located, future industry growth will necessitate expansion into diverse geographic locations to enhance overall redundancy and network resilience.
Additionally, Zutshi’s presentation stressed the rising urgency of physically protecting submarine cable infrastructure from maritime accidents and natural hazards, as well as improving repair turnaround times to cope with ever-increasing cable capacities.
Optimizing Networks for Intelligence
Bringing the focus back to the massive transformation driven by artificial intelligence, Harsha Ram, Business Head of Network Services at Sify Technologies Limited, explored how AI is fundamentally altering traditional demand patterns across networks, data centers, and connectivity infrastructure. Ram observed that operators are undergoing a profound strategic transition: they are shifting away from optimizing networks purely for content delivery and moving toward optimizing networks specifically designed for intelligence.
According to Ram, modern AI workloads introduce entirely new performance requirements concerning ultra-low latency, massive bandwidth, advanced data center thermal and power design, high-density fibre infrastructure, and robust submarine connectivity. Data centers must evolve to support increasingly dense Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) deployments, while terrestrial and core networks must adapt by moving data inference capabilities closer to end-users and facilitating massive, continuous traffic exchanges between distributed AI facilities.
Furthermore, Ram touched upon the burgeoning concept of sovereign AI infrastructure, noting that economies across the region are increasingly eager to retain direct control over their core data, proprietary models, and national AI capabilities within their own physical borders.
The INNOG 9 session at APNIC 62 successfully captured the breadth and complexity of the challenges confronting network operators during a pivotal era of technological evolution. By bridging the gap between practical operational experiences, rigorous security operations, and forward-looking infrastructure planning, the event reinforced the vital role that collaborative community platforms play in shaping a secure, resilient, and high-performance digital future for the entire region.
