Amid Rising Threats Enabled by AI, M3AAWG Strengthens Important Regional Anti-Abuse Knowledge with Network Operators
Severin Walker participated in the 45th meeting of the Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC 45) in Panama City, Panama, May 25–28, 2026, on behalf of M3AAWG and its Growth and Development Committee.
Severin has served in many roles at M3AAWG over the last two decades, including his current role as Co-Vice Chair of the M3AAWG Board of Directors. As an avid believer in the importance of collaboration across the industry, Severin’s passion for connecting global anti-abuse efforts has helped power the Growth & Development Committee since its inception. He hopes to plant seeds that can lead to a safer and more secure internet for the region by traveling to LACNIC 45 to:
- Network.
- Exchange knowledge.
- Serve as a panelist for the "Current Cybersecurity Challenges" presentation.
LACNIC is a regional authority tasked with distributing and managing IP addresses, network identifiers, and reverse resolution services. LACNIC hosts annual events with a heavy cybersecurity focus.
"Many of the problems that face providers and service platform operators throughout the world are being reflected in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Having M3AAWG attend events like LACNIC in the past has produced several ‘wins’ by getting the right people talking to each other,” Severin said.
A Botnet “Success Story”
Conversations initiated at events like LACNIC can set off a chain reaction that draws the attention of regulatory bodies. Severin saw that play out about eight years ago when the Brazilian ISP community was battling a flood of gateway devices arriving at households that were already compromised (or easily compromised). With poor built-in security on these devices, Brazil became an epicenter for botnets.
At the time, M3AAWG was traveling to cybersecurity events in the region and began working closely with the Brazilian National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) on this challenge. Severin said conversations about how similar issues were resolved in North America by ISPs became critical. Within a few years, that dialogue evolved into a joint publication adopted by national regulatory bodies that significantly curtailed the botnet activity.
"Brazil put out national requirements for home gateways using the document our conversations helped spearhead," Severin said, noting that the document included a compliance checklist for network operators' security requirements.
Staving Off Burnout is Key
Around the world, Severin sees an already stretched-thin security workforce being asked to protect more with fewer resources. He says the threat of workforce burnout is real, given the current climate.
"With AI expediting and industrializing it, the attack surfaces are definitely much larger than what we've dealt with before,” he said. “Sharing the knowledge in person and reinforcing the cliché that ‘we are all in this together’ can help us rejuvenate each other in the face of these challenges.”
Join M3AAWG in Montréal, Canada
The global effort to keep cybercrime from spreading will continue in North America at M3AAWG’s 67th General Meeting, June 8 - 11, 2026, in Montréal, Canada. If you are not yet a member and would like to join M3AAWG, we encourage you to explore membership opportunities ahead of this meeting.
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