IGF 2025 Lightning Talk #94 Sustainable and Secure Network Architecture

    Kristiania University of Applied Sciences
    Toktam Ramezanifarkhani is an Associate Professor in Information Security with the Department of Technology at the Kristiania University of Applied Sciences. Andrii Shalaginov is an Associate Professor with the Department of Technology at the Kristiania University College. Peyman Teymoori is a Full Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway. Josef Noll is Visionary at the Basic Internet Foundation and professor at the University of Oslo.
    Speakers
    Toktam Ramezanifarkhani is an Associate Professor in Information Security with the Department of Technology at the Kristiania University of Applied Sciences. Peyman Teymoori is a Full Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
    Onsite Moderator
    Toktam Ramezanifarkhani
    Rapporteur
    Toktam Ramezanifarkhani
    SDGs
    4. Quality Education
    5. Gender Equality
    9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    11. Sustainable Cities and Communities


    Targets: The current internet architecture faces critical sustainability and security challenges. These limitations have tangible consequences, particularly in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa where access remains severely restricted. This digital divide disproportionately impacts educational quality and restricts entrepreneurial opportunities, especially for women in underserved communities. Beyond access inequality, today's internet infrastructure creates a cascade of problems: escalating cybersecurity vulnerabilities, compromised data privacy, and insufficient scalability to meet growing demands. This environment reinforces market concentration among established technology giants, stifles meaningful innovation, and creates systemic resistance to necessary architectural changes. Collectively, these shortcomings hamper our ability to develop and implement the smart, secure, and sustainable urban infrastructure needed for future cities, where seamless connectivity, robust security, and environmental sustainability must coexist.
    Format
    We propose joining Josef Noll's Day0 workshop on "Building Digital Governance Together" to present our lightning talk, as our work aligns perfectly with the workshop's core themes. Our presentation addresses how the current internet architecture faces critical sustainability and security challenges, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In these regions, access remains severely restricted, highlighting the urgent need for decentralized solutions. We will demonstrate how a new sustainable network architecture can deliver affordable digital service ecosystems to these underserved communities, providing practical pathways to meaningful digital inclusion.
    Duration (minutes)
    20
    Description
    In this session, we will explore the critical requirements for a sustainable internet that prioritizes user-centricity and digital inclusion, both for today and tomorrow. We'll examine how these essential requirements point toward a fundamentally new internet architecture—one that moves beyond our legacy infrastructure with its inherent security vulnerabilities and innovation constraints.

    We will extend invitations to key European cybersecurity institutions—the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), the European Cybersecurity Community (ECCO), and the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)—alongside our master's and PhD students. A dedicated facilitator will ensure seamless integration between online participants and on-site speakers, creating an inclusive and interactive environment for all attendees.