Network Security

Demand for IPv4 addresses creates a thriving black market

The continuing need for the now out of stock IPv4 addresses has helped create a black market for these, according to the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN).

Leslie Nobile, senior director of global registry knowledge at ARIN, said at the North American Network Operators Group's NANOG 67 conference that cybercriminals are setting up shell companies and hijacking defunct IPv4 addresses, re-registering them and selling them to desperate companies, she said according to Naked Security.

ARIN, a nonprofit organization that supports the operation of the internet through the management of internet number resources, gave out the last IPv4 address for North America in September 2015, when the system was moved to IPV6, but companies are still interesting in growing their IPv4-based networks, Nobile said.

About 25 hijackings were reported since September, up from the 50 that took place during the previous 10 years, Naked Security reported.

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