DNSSEC

Domain Name System Security Extensions

To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet. When typing a name, that name must be first translated into a number by a system before the connection can be established. That system is called the Domain Name System (DNS). ICANN coordinates the addressing system to ensure all the addresses are unique.

Recently vulnerabilities in the DNS were discovered that allow an attacker to hijack this process of looking some one up or looking a site up on the Internet using their name. The purpose of the attack is to take control of the session to, for example, send the user to the hijacker's own deceptive web site for account and password collection. These vulnerabilities have increased interest in introducing a technology called DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) to secure this part of the Internet's infrastructure. Source and more information

[[Category:Glossary|Glossary]