VeriSign and ICANN Square Off Over the DNS Root
The internet has a huge security problem that's temporarily fixed with bent paperclips and some gaffer's tape. Without concerted effort, hackers could easily spoil what little confidence remains in the internet.
In fact, cyber-criminals are already exploiting the Domain Name System hack uncovered by security researcher Dan Kaminsky this summer -– essentially setting up fake banking websites that users reach by typing in their bank's real domain name. (That's according to research by Georgia Tech's David Dagon and Internet System Consortium's Paul Vixie.)
That's why the U.S. government finally put out a call Thursday for comments on whether the net as a whole should adopt new security protocols called DNSSEC, and asking who should have the privilege of controlling the master keys.
