Using Open Source Internet Routing Tools to Monitor a Sanctioned Russian Bank

This Bellingcat guide examines how open internet routing data (BGP Tools, RIPEstat, PeeringDB) can map relationships between autonomous systems and Tier 1 ISPs, using sanctioned Russian bank Sberbank as a case study to show ties to UK-based transit provider RETN and Russian ISPs; it highlights the legal ambiguity of telecom exemptions in sanctions, divergent industry responses (e.g., Cogent disconnects vs. continued connectivity), and measurable network impacts like increased BGP path lengths and latency, while providing practical methods to trace prefixes, peers, and registry data.