Geo-auditing Regional Internet Registry Address Registrations and Cross-Border IP Usage

Explore IP address allocation and geographic registration accuracy across Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) in this 31-minute NANOG conference talk. Dive into a systematic analysis of IPv4 address information spanning all five RIRs, examining physical registration locations and cross-boundary registrations. Learn about active measurement IP geolocation techniques used to validate registration accuracy, essentially auditing the registries. Discover findings that reveal while most registration locations align with geolocation inferences, certain RIRs show significant prefix usage outside their designated regions and registered countries. Understand the technical and policy implications of IP address allocation, including address uniqueness, aggregatability, and contact information requirements. Follow along as speaker Robert Beverly breaks down the methodology, bulk Whois data analysis, inter-region registration patterns, and delay-based IP geolocation, concluding with key takeaways about potential discrepancies requiring further investigation.