Ethical Hacking News
Cloudflare pours cold water on Venezuela attack BGP theory: Cyberattacks often precede kinetic action, but rotten routing is to blame for US cyber operations
Cyberattacks were not found to be the precursor to the US incursion into Venezuela, contrary to a theory proposed by Graham Helton. A routing pattern involving CANTV was initially thought to be evidence of a cyber-strike, but further analysis revealed it was due to a BGP route leak caused by CANTV's loose export policies. The leak was not malicious and was instead an isolated anomaly, with recent similar leaks occurring in the last two months. Cloudflare principal network engineer Bryton Herdes suggested that the incident was unrelated to the US cyber operations and was likely due to CANTV's negligence in handling export policies.
In a shocking turn of events, Cloudflare has poured cold water on a theory that suggested cyberattacks were the precursor to the US incursion into Venezuela. The theory, put forth by red team engineer Graham Helton, posited that the US use of "certain expertise" to "turn off lights in the Venezuelan city of Caracas" before the attack was evidence of a cyber-strike.
Helton's initial findings were based on data from Cloudflare's Radar service, which records internet traffic trends and outages. He discovered an unusual routing pattern involving CANTV, Venezuela's state-owned telco, which suggested that Sparkle (an Italian transit provider) and GlobeNet (a Colombian carrier) had chosen sub-optimal routes for the autonomous system number AS8048.
Theoretically, this could have allowed for a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack that enabled surveillance of traffic. However, when Cloudflare principal network engineer Bryton Herdes took a closer look at the data, he found evidence that the actions taken by CANTV were more mundane than initially thought.
According to Herdes, BGP route leaks are common occurrences on the internet and have always been part of the network landscape. The leak in question was not malicious, but rather a result of CANTV configuring too loose export policies. Additionally, the adoption of a draft standard called RFC 9234 by routing vendors made leaks less prevalent.
Furthermore, Herdes pointed out that recent leaks involving AS8048 had occurred in the last two months, suggesting that the incident was simply an isolated anomaly. The combination of these factors led Cloudflare to conclude that the US cyber operations were not preceded by a cyberattack, but rather were unrelated to the incident altogether.
In a statement, Herdes said, "Leaks that impact South American networks are common, and we have no reason to believe, based on timing or other factors, that this leak is related to the capture of Maduro several hours later." He also suggested that CANTV may have been more negligent in its handling of export policies than initially thought.
The Cloudflare findings have significant implications for our understanding of cyberattacks and their relationship with kinetic action. While it may seem counterintuitive, the incident highlights that cyberattacks often precede kinetic actions, but this was not the case in this instance. Instead, it appears that rotten routing, rather than a malicious cyberattack, was to blame.
The implications of this discovery extend beyond the realm of international relations and cybersecurity. They also raise questions about the nature of BGP route leaks and their impact on network infrastructure. It is clear that more research needs to be done to understand the root causes of these incidents and how they can be prevented in the future.
In conclusion, the Cloudflare findings serve as a stark reminder that the internet is a complex and multifaceted entity, with many variables at play. While it may seem like a cyberattack was the catalyst for the US incursion into Venezuela, the evidence suggests otherwise. Instead, it appears that rotten routing, rather than a malicious cyberattack, was to blame. As we move forward in this era of increasingly interconnected networks, it is essential that we prioritize understanding and addressing the root causes of these incidents in order to build more secure and resilient networks for the future.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Debunking-the-BGP-Theorists-Cloudflare-Reveals-that-Rotten-Routing-Not-Cyberattacks-Were-the-Culprits-Behind-the-US-Incursion-into-Venezuela-ehn.shtml
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/08/cloudflare_venezuela_bgp_attack_theory/
https://cyberpress.org/cloudflare-confirms-bgp-attack/
https://thecyberexpress.com/cloudflare-dns-resolver-bgp-hijack/
Published: Thu Jan 8 00:10:59 2026 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
