Matt Larson, VP of DNS research, VerisignVeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, today announced that Matt Larson, the company’s vice president of DNS research and a well-known expert on the Domain Name System, has won an InfoWorld Technology Leadership Award for 2011.

Editors at IDG’s InfoWorld recognized a total of 10 senior IT executives whose technology leadership has had a substantial impact on their organizations or in the IT community. Larson won in the highly competitive Technology Deployment category for his pivotal role in driving the widespread adoption of DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), which closes a known vulnerability within the DNS that has increasingly become a target for hackers and identity thieves. In 2010 and 2011, Larson worked with hundreds of individuals and groups to rally the broad community of Internet stakeholders around DNSSEC deployment. Those collaborative efforts led to implementing DNSSEC in the zones that are most critical to the reliable operation of the Internet, including .com, .net, .edu, and the root zone itself. Under Larson’s leadership, the DNSSEC effort has helped to enhance the reliability and resilience of the global Internet.

“InfoWorld’s first 10 Technology Leadership Awards winners show the essential combination of creativity, vision, management, and political savvy that are necessary to stand out from their peers,” said Galen Gruman, executive editor, News and Features, InfoWorld. “Verisign’s Matt Larson incorporated all these qualities in his efforts to lead the deployment of DNSSEC security protections across the large, sprawling, loosely managed network that is the Internet.”

About the InfoWorld Technology Leadership Awards
Chief technology officers are often the unsung heroes of IT. They may drive new technology development for customer-facing and/or internal use. They may manage and improve the core technology that underpins the business operations. In any case, they translate the promise of technology into business benefit. Each year, the InfoWorld Technology Leadership Awards honor senior IT executives who have demonstrated leadership within their companies and in the IT community.