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Since 1 June 2022, Belnet customers have been able to use the eduVPN service hosted by Belnet. In order to be certain that the open VPN solution meets the expectations of the R&E community, some customers – including Hasselt University – have been testing out eduVPN for several months in a proof of concept.

International collaboration is an inherent component of research and education networks such as Belnet. For instance, since 2012 we have been exchanging knowledge and experience with our colleagues at CEDESURK and their partner organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Together with Muliri MIRINDI Dieudonné and Patrick LUFUNDISU, we look back at the main challenges and achievements.

Last December, a new vulnerability called log4shell emerged as a potential threat to millions of devices worldwide.

As we come to the end of the year, it's time for our editorial team to take stock of 2021; a year, once again, rich in a wide variety of topics and articles. This summary will give you an overview, in chronological order, of the most read and clicked articles in our newsletter.

The growing digitalisation in Belgium and the recent announcement by Microsoft seemed the perfect opportunity to reiterate our commitment to the transformation towards the Cloud. Indeed, thanks to GÉANT and the OCRE framework agreement, you enjoy numerous advantages.

In 2019, the Haute École Robert Schuman (HERS) decided to upgrade its networking equipment, typically a huge investment. Fortunately, the circumstances were favourable: after all, Belnet had just started negotiating a framework agreement for networking equipment for its entire community. This agreement, which was recently awarded to the integrators Infradata and Dynniq after a European tendering procedure, gives all Belnet members access to the best possible conditions in terms of maintenance costs, purchase discounts – with reductions of up to 70 percent – and service quality.

In a context of increasing digitalisation, the teams of Philippe Hennebert (IT Director - Institut Jules Bordet) and David Lerens (IT Support Manager for the Clinical Trials Support Unit) play a key role within the Institut Jules Bordet. On the eve of a landmark move, they talk about the role of IT in research, the various challenges linked to the crisis and their long-standing collaboration with Belnet.

The Hospital Network Antwerp (ZNA) is the biggest health organisation in Belgium. In addition to providing care at ten different sites, the ZNA also carries out research. Belnet spoke with Alix Devroye, Network and Security System Administrator, about the challenges which the COVID-19 crisis has brought in terms of ICT and about the increasing importance of security.