The twofold nature of autonomous systems: Evidence combining stock market data with topological properties

Autonomous Systems (AS) exist and co-exist in two parallel dimensions. In one dimension they are physical networks, whose interconnections are necessary to ensure global Internet reachabilty. In the other dimension, ASes are large well-known companies competing in the same industry. In this paper we bridge together these dimensions by investigating synchronous cross correlations of stock market data and AS-level topological properties. We find that geographically close companies offering similar services are driven by common economic factors. We also provide evidence on the existence and nature of factors governing AS global as well as local topological properties.