DNS

First .emarat Arabic Script Domain Name is Live!

The .emarat Arabic script Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) ccTLD for the United Arab Emirates has been entered into the DNS Root Zone and is therefore now resolving. This is a truly historic moment in the development of the Internet in the United Arab Emirates and the wider Arabic-speaking world as it removes the last hurdle preventing people without English-language skills from enjoying the full benefits that the Internet has to offer. more

How to Place Top-Level Domain Trust Anchors in the Root

The project to sign the DNS root zone with DNSSEC took an additional step toward completion yesterday with the last of the "root server" hosts switching to serving signed DNSSEC data. Now every DNS query to a root server can return DNSSEC-signed data, albeit the "deliberately unvalidatable" data prior to the final launch. Another key piece for a working signed root is the acceptance of trust anchors in the form of DS records from top-level domain operators. These trust anchors are used to form the chain of trust from the root zone to the TLD. more

First Three IDN ccTLDs Are Now Live

Announced in a blog post today, ICANN's Manager of Root Zone Services, Kim Davies, reports: "Today the first three production non-Latin top-level domains were placed in the DNS root zone. ... The three new top-level domains are ????????. (“Al-Saudiah”), ??????. ( “Emarat”) and ???. (“Misr”). All three are Arabic script domains, and will enable domain names written fully right-to-left. Expect more as we continue to process other applications using the “fast track” methodology." more

DNSSEC Root Signature, Almost There!

IT security specialists have known for years that the plain DNS is not to be trusted. Any hope for improvement rests on the DNSSEC protocol deployment. In this post, I will review the current status in one critical aspect, namely the DNS root signature key management. The other two foremost are the application usage of DNSSEC protocol functionality and the operational front, or the extent of deployment in the DNS infrastructure. The operational front includes the support by the DNS root nameservers, but my focus on signature key management leaves this issue aside. more

One Big Cheer for ICANN - But Still a Way’s from Our “Gooool”

As we approach the World Cup in South Africa this June it's heartening to see the amount of attention being paid to the continent. As with ICANN's recent Nairobi meeting, the eyes of the world are focusing on Africa in a new way -- as a sophisticated marketplace, and as a destination for investment, technology, and yes, sports... Still, as we prepare for the Cup and as we celebrate ICANN's recent approval of more Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), our job as an Internet community remains unfinished. Too many scripts and thus too many key voices remain "off the pitch". more

ICANN Gives Jordan Preliminary Approval for Its ccTLD in Arabic

ICANN has given Jordan preliminary approval for its IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) ccTLD. "At this time ICANN has received a total of 21 requests for IDN ccTLD(s) through the String Evaluation process, representing 11 languages. A total of 13 requests have successfully passed through the String Evaluation and are hence ready for the requesting country or territory to initiate the application for String Delegation." more

More on Portable Email Addresses

Last month a bill in the Israeli Knesset would have required ISPs to provide portable e-mail addresses, analogous to portable phone numbers that one can take from one phone company to the other. As I noted at the time, e-mail works differently from telephone calls, and portability would be difficult, expensive, and unreliable. So I was wondering, idly, if we really wanted to provide portable e-mail addresses, how hard would it be? more

DNSSEC No Longer Pie-in-the-Sky: Time to Develop a Strategy

You may have seen media reports a few weeks ago describing how servers behind the so-called Great Firewall of China were found delivering incorrect DNS information to users in the rest of the world, thereby redirecting users to edited Web pages. Reports indicate that this apparently occurred due to a caching error by a single Internet Service Provider. While the problem was fairly limited in scope, it could have entirely been prevented in a world where DNSSEC was fully deployed. more

DNSSEC Ready Set Go! But, Wait, Are You Ready?

The year 2010 is turning out to be the "year of DNSSEC" from Registry implementations, Registrar implementations, ISP support, to the Root being signed this summer. Because we are dealing with such critical infrastructure, it is important to not lose sight of careful implementations. more

IDN ccTLD Fast Track developments

The IDN ccTLD Fast Track program is moving along rapidly, with ICANN's announcement that both the Simplified and Traditional Chinese script versions of .china have passed the string evaluation phase of the IDN ccTLD Fast Track Program. Alongside this, ICANN have also announced the release of a proposed implementation plan for 'Synchronised IDN ccTLDs' that will create the rules by which these variant IDN ccTLDs will coexist. more

All Aboard… the IDN Fast Track

In addition to Egypt, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia which had successfully completed the second phase of the Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) Fast Track Process earlier this year, ICANN announced today that China, Hong Kong, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia have also successfully completed the second phase. more

The Future Looks Bright for New gTLDs!

The ICANN Board meeting undertaken recently in Nairobi was indeed eventful and there were many vital topics on the agenda, in particular for the new gTLD program that kept many interested parties on the edges of their seats as the meeting unfolded. ... One of the more controversial decisions was in regard to the Expression of Interest (EOI), a program intended to allow potential new gTLD applicants to pre-register for their desired TLD and provide ICANN and the community with invaluable information regarding likely volumes of applications. more

Switching on the Light: Expression of Interest for New TLDs

They say late converts are the most passionate believers. Until now I haven't supported the Expression of Interest (EOI) for new TLDs, the proposed mechanism to measure the number and type of likely applications. Not because it won't work (I think it'll work fine) but because I didn't think it was necessary. I've changed my mind. Here's why. more

Expression of Interest for New TLDs: Time to Shine!

Like many of those present at the ICANN Seoul meeting last October, and indeed along with those around the globe who were eagerly awaiting new TLDs, I too was angered and frustrated at ICANN's deadlines that were slipping like a cartoon character running on an oil slick, caused by an incessant search by certain industry factions for perfection in an imperfect science. (We do work with the internet remember?). more

Chuck Norris Botnet and Broadband Routers

Last week Czech researchers released information on a new worm which exploits CPE devices (broadband routers) by means such as default passwords, constructing a large DDoS botnet. Today this story hit international news... The spread of insecure broadband modems (DSL and Cable) is extremely wide-spread, with numerous ISPs, large and small, whose entire (read significant portions of) broadband population is vulnerable. more