ICANN actively collaborates with regional and national Network Operators Groups (NOGs), recognizing their critical role in maintaining a secure and resilient Internet infrastructure. In the Middle East, ICANN has fostered close relationships with NOGs, engaging in capacity development activities that equip network operators with technical expertise to enhance security and resilience. Türkiye's Network Operators Group (TRNOG) is an emerging initiative driven by a passionate and active community working on developing innovative tools to strengthen infrastructure security. These partnerships play a pivotal role in advancing best practices, promoting technical knowledge-sharing, and fostering a more robust and secure Internet ecosystem.
In this spirit of collaboration, the recent TRNOG meeting in Ankara marked the first in a series of gatherings aimed at raising awareness about TRNOG, its objectives, and ongoing initiatives while fostering active participation from network operators across the country.
The event was hosted by ICANN in collaboration with the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) in one of Ankara's technology development centers, Ankara Tekmer, on 28 January 2025. The event successfully brought together approximately 100 network operators from various sectors including Internet service providers (ISPs), universities, data centers, hosting providers, and other key stakeholders in the Republic of Türkiye's Internet infrastructure.
The event commenced with a warm welcome from Dr. Chafic Chaya, Regional Manager for Public Policy and Government Affairs at RIPE NCC, and Seher Sağıroğlu Ayhan, Stakeholder Engagement Senior Specialist at ICANN. This half-day event focused on key topics that allowed TRNOG members to discuss ideas on how to develop this community and their current initiatives aimed at strengthening network security. ICANN supports such efforts as they align with its mission to enhance the security and resiliency of the Domain Name System, fostering collaboration to protect the global Internet ecosystem.
Following the discussions during the event, ICANN and RIPE NCC will continue to work with the Turkish technical community in the following key areas:
- Community-developed tools: Remotely Triggered Black Hole filtering (RTBH) and tools.trnog.net, have gained wider adoption, enabling greater collaboration in security intelligence sharing
- Collaboration with the Information and Communication Technologies Authority of Türkiye to support the uptake of IPv6 usage.
The TRNOG community is growing steadily with the participation of new members from diverse sectors, including network staff from major ISP operators and data centers. The strong support from community members has further motivated TRNOG to expedite the implementation of its action plan, which includes community outreach and capacity development activities nationwide.
This event served as a proof of concept, demonstrating the value of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among network operators across the Republic of Türkiye. ICANN and RIPE NCC remain committed to supporting TRNOG's activities to enhance the security and stability of the Republic of Türkiye's Internet infrastructure.
