MERIT_Research

Network Research, Cybersecurity, and Technology Impact Research comprise the scope of our scholarship. Merit Research seeks to inspire and advance innovation in networking and cybersecurity. We also seek to increase the understanding of the societal impacts of technology, broadband and information access for the purpose of making the world a better place to learn, discover, work and live. The National Distributed Network Telescope (NDNT) is a nationwide initiative led by Merit Network to build a collaborative infrastructure for analyzing unsolicited Internet traffic—also known as darknet data. A network telescope is a system that monitors unused portions of the Internet’s address space to collect and analyze traffic that was not intentionally sent to a live host. This data offers a unique window into global Internet activity, allowing researchers to study scanning behavior, attacks, and other anomalous events that help strengthen cybersecurity.