Work to begin on increasing internet security
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has begun work in collaboration with VeriSign, the registry for '.com' and '.net' domain names (among others), and the US Department of Commerce on the possible implementation of the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
The aim of DNSSEC technology is to secure any weak points in the Domain Name System (DNS) which would potentially be exploitable by pirates.
DNSSEC works by digitally signing responses received from the DNS. It thus helps to ensure that internet users reach their intended destination and are not misdirected to, for example, lookalike websites used to collect fraudulently personal details such as account numbers and passwords (which is often referred to as 'phishing').
The first step in the deployment of DNSSEC is to sign digitally what is known as the 'root zone file'. It is hoped that this will be completed before the end of 2009.
David Taylor, Lovells LLP, Paris
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