THE QUILT 2025
Moving Forward with the National Distributed Network Telescope: Building a Collaborative Cyberinfrastructure for the Next Five Years
- Dr. Pierrette Dagg, Merit Network
- Dr. Shereen Ismail, Merit Network
- Ammar Alomari, Merit Network
International Distributed Network Telescope
About the Project
International Distributed Network Telescope (INDNT)
The International Distributed Network Telescope (INDNT) is a collaborative cybersecurity research infrastructure that collects and analyzes unsolicited Internet traffic from unused address space contributed by universities, research and education networks, and research organizations across the United States and beyond. By combining distributed telescope deployments into a single national platform, the INDNT provides researchers with unprecedented visibility into Internet-scale scanning activity, malware propagation, denial-of-service campaigns, and emerging cyber threats while creating high-quality datasets that support cybersecurity research, artificial intelligence, and network science. The INDNT and associated projects have been awarded multiple grants by the National Science Foundation over the past 20 years to meet these objectives.
Whether you are interested in contributing unused address space, conducting research, or developing new cybersecurity tools, INDNT provides a collaborative environment where institutions work together to improve understanding of the global Internet ecosystem.
Why Collaborate
By joining INDNT, your organization contributes to a growing community of researchers, educators, and network operators dedicated to improving cybersecurity visibility and resilience.
Participating institutions and researchers can:
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Detect emerging attack campaigns before they become widespread.
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Study global Internet scanning behavior.
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Develop and evaluate machine learning models for threat detection.
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Understand long-term trends in Internet abuse.
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Support reproducible cybersecurity research through shared datasets.
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Advance national cyber resilience through collaborative science.
Data for Research and Education
INDNT builds on Merit’s extensive existing datasets, offering a valuable resource for both researchers and educators.
researchers
Datasets provide real-world data for exploring Internet phenomena, attack trends, and network security analytics.
educators
These datasets can be used in cybersecurity, data science, and networking courses to teach students how to analyze and interpret Internet-scale data.
research labs and institutions
INDNT data can be directly integrated into ongoing research projects, serving as a foundation for new discoveries, publications, and collaborations.
Previous Engagements
Research Computing at Smaller Institutions (RCSI 2025)
National Distributed Network Telescope (NDNT)
- Dr. Shereen Ismail, Merit Network
TechEX24
Machine Learning for Anomalous Unsolicited Network Traffic Detection by Observing ORION Network Telescopes
- Dr. Shereen Ismail, Merit Network
TechEx25
BoF: Towards a National Distributed Network Telescope for Cybersecurity Research
- Dr. Pierrette Dagg, Merit Network
- Dr. Shereen Ismail, Merit Network
TechEx25
Merit Network Telescope: Initial Insights from Nearly 20 Years of Darknet Traffic for Cybersecurity Research
- Dr. Shereen Ismail, Merit Network
Recent Publications
Machine Learning for Anomalous Unsolicited Network Traffic Detection by Observing ORION Network Telescopes
Applies machine learning techniques to identify anomalous unsolicited traffic captured by the ORION Network Telescope, improving automated threat detection.
- S. Ismail, S. Dandan, M. King, 2025
Understanding Honeypots: Observing Malicious Activities Over Telnet
Examines Telnet honeypot data to better understand attacker behavior, common exploitation techniques, and trends in malicious Internet activity.
- S. Ismail, S. Dandan, M. King, 2025
Contact Merit
Join the INDNT Collaboration
Whether you are a network operator, researcher, or educator, INDNT offers opportunities to advance knowledge, strengthen security, and contribute to a national research infrastructure.
For more information or to express interest in collaboration, contact Merit Network Research using the form.
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