Last week, FastNetMon joined the Moldovan network operator community in Chișinău for MDNOG 1, held on October 8–9 at Digital Park.
And what a start for a brand-new NOG! With 360 people registered for the very first edition, MDNOG made quite an impression. For a smaller national networking community, that is an impressive turnout and a clear sign of the enthusiasm for bringing Moldova's network engineers and operators together.
Representing FastNetMon was Virgil Truica, who presented on the latest DDoS trends, attack records and practical mitigation strategies.
We've attended plenty of established NOG meetings over the years, but there's something particularly exciting about seeing a new one get off the ground. MDNOG 1 had the technical programme, the community spirit and, perhaps most importantly, the energy of people genuinely excited to build something together.
DDoS attacks in 2026: New records and practical mitigation
On Thursday morning, Virgil presented “DDoS Attacks in 2026: Emerging Trends, New Records and Practical Mitigation.”
With DDoS attacks continuing to evolve in scale and complexity, the presentation focused on the latest developments in the threat landscape and the practical challenges of protecting networks against increasingly demanding attacks.
For network operators, understanding how attack patterns are changing is only part of the challenge. Detecting malicious traffic quickly, maintaining visibility into what is happening across the network, and responding effectively without disrupting legitimate users are just as important.
These are topics we work with every day at FastNetMon, and it was great to have the opportunity to share our perspective with the Moldovan operator community.
If you missed Virgil's session, or would like to revisit the presentation, you can watch the recording below.
Two days of networking
The MDNOG programme was impressively comprehensive for a first edition, covering everything from BGP security and routing engineering to DDoS mitigation, optical networking, data centre infrastructure and peering.
Thursday opened with Oleksiy Semenyaka from RIPE NCC discussing the next layer of BGP security beyond ROAs, including ASPA and BGP Roles. Oleg Andronic from Noction followed with a practical look at inbound BGP traffic engineering.
Network resilience and DDoS were particularly prominent throughout the first day. Alongside Virgil's presentation, Olena Lutsenko from RETN discussed keeping networks operational during disruptions, while Chase Clowser from Recorded Future explored how modern DDoS botnets are using public cryptocurrency blockchains for command-and-control infrastructure.
The afternoon continued with further DDoS discussions from Nokia and Corero, as well as sessions on DWDM networks, fibre infrastructure and regional interconnection. Vladimir Filatov from Trabia also shared an update on KIVIX, the Chișinău Internet Exchange, while Eric Andrei Băleanu from InterLAN discussed strengthening connectivity between Moldova and the Romanian Internet ecosystem.
Friday shifted the focus towards data centre networking, automation, telemetry and peering. Sessions covered EVPN-VXLAN, data centre interconnect, AI-driven networking, and practical applications of telemetry and BGP Monitoring Protocol (BMP).
The programme also included community-focused presentations from RoNIX and PeeringDB, before an afternoon panel explored the practical and regulatory challenges operators face when receiving requests to block online resources.
It was a good reminder of just how many different technologies, operational challenges and policy questions come together in the day-to-day work of running the Internet.
A fantastic start for Moldova's networking community
Beyond the technical programme, what stood out most was the atmosphere.
Over300 registered attendees for a first-ever national NOG is no small achievement. The event brought together local operators, engineers, hosting providers, infrastructure companies and international networking organisations.
For a community hosting its first major NOG conference, the organisation was excellent. The programme ran across two full days, with plenty of opportunities to meet people between sessions and continue discussions during the social events at Digital Park and Mojito Terrace.
It was particularly encouraging to see such a strong local community coming together around a vendor-neutral, technical event. NOGs work best when engineers have the opportunity to exchange knowledge openly, learn from one another and build connections that continue long after the conference ends.
Judging by the enthusiasm around MDNOG 1, Moldova has a very promising new meeting point for its Internet community.
A big thank you to the MDNOG team!
A special thank you goes to Andrian Visnevschi from ITcare and Vladimir Filatov from Trabia, the founders behind MDNOG, as well as Sven Wiese and the wider organising team.
We know how much work goes into organising a network operator meeting, especially when starting something entirely new. Bringing together speakers, sponsors, international organisations and hundreds of attendees for a first edition is a substantial undertaking, and the team deserves real credit for making it happen so successfully.
Thank you also to the programme committee, volunteers, sponsors and everyone who contributed their time and expertise to the event.
And, of course, thanks to everyone who attended Virgil's presentation, came over to say hello, or spent time discussing DDoS protection, traffic visibility, routing and network operations with us.
We're genuinely happy to have been part of the very first MDNOG, and we hope this is just the beginning of a long-running tradition for Moldova's network operator community.
Here's to MDNOG 2 — and many more years of engineers bringing the Internet community together!
Event: MDNOG 1
Date: October 8–9, 2026
Location: Digital Park, Mihai Viteazul 15A, Chișinău, Moldova
See the official MDNOG website for more information.
