Last week, FastNetMon joined the Croatian network operator community in Zagreb for NOG.HR Meetup 7, held on September 10 at Algebra Campus.
Representing FastNetMon was Outi Maria Pietilänaho, who held her very first NOG presentation, sharing insights about the latest developments in the DDoS botnet ecosystem, and current DDoS climate.
It was our pleasure to be part of yet another network operator gathering focused on practical knowledge sharing and a great environment to exchange ideas.
Tracking today’s botnets
Outi’s presentation focused on the changing DDoS threat landscape and, in particular, what current botnet activity can tell network operators about the underlying ecosystem and attacks they need to prepare for.
The session explored history and recent DDoS developments, changes in the botnet landscape, and how this influences the network security environment - connecting what we see in attack data with underlying capacity upgrades the offenders are building today.
For those who could not join us in Zagreb, you can find Outi’s slides below.
As always, the presentation itself was only part of the experience. NOG meetings give us a valuable opportunity to speak directly with operators about what they are seeing in their own environments, from DDoS attacks and botnet activity to traffic visibility, routing security and mitigation strategies.
From SRv6 to DNS, automation and 5G
NOG.HR Meetup 7 covered a wide range of operational networking topics.
The day started with an extended SRv6 tutorial from Oleksiy Semenyaka of RIPE NCC, giving attendees a deeper technical look at Segment Routing over IPv6 before the main afternoon programme began.
Network automation and observability featured prominently after lunch. Robert Petračić from Deutsche Telekom Cloud Services discussed automating network connectivity with host-based routing, while Luca Deri of ntop and Vasja Križmančič of Karsolink explored AS-level network visibility, LLMs and intelligent monitoring.
Ulrich Wisser from ICANN turned the discussion towards one of the Internet’s most fundamental services with a session on keeping the DNS reliable.
The later sessions moved across several other areas of network operations, including the transition towards 5G Standalone, discovering vulnerabilities in enterprise software and devices, and automated network speed testing using TR-069 and TR-369.
Overall, the day was very interesting, and the conversations continued to late into the night with a nice dinner among some of the participants.
Thank you, Zagreb
A big thank you to the NOG.HR organisers, speakers, sponsors and everyone involved in making Meetup 7 possible.
We would also like to thank everyone who attended Outi’s presentation, came over to say hello, asked questions, or shared their own experiences with DDoS attacks and network security.
Events like NOG.HR are particularly valuable because they bring together the people working directly on Internet infrastructure. They create a space where operators can share what works, discuss what does not, compare experiences and learn from challenges encountered in other networks.
Thank you to the Croatian network operator community for having us in Zagreb. We enjoyed being part of NOG.HR Meetup 7 and look forward to crossing paths again — at the next NOG, another networking event, or somewhere out there on the Internet!
