Homeland security wants control of the internet

[Phlegm]

The US Department of Homeland Security is pushing to get hold of the master keys for a proposed revision of the internet's domain name system.

The shortcomings of the present DNS have been known for years but difficulties in devising a system that offers backward compatability while scaling to millions of nodes on the net have slowed down the implementation of its successor, Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC). DNSSEC ensures that domain name requests are digitally signed and authenticated, a defence against forged DNS data, a product of attacks such as DNS cache poisoning used to trick surfers into visiting bogus websites that pose as the real thing.

Obtaining the master key for the DNS root zone would give US authorities the ability to track DNS Security Extensions (DNSSec) "all the way back to the servers that represent the name system's root zone on the internet".

Access to the "key-signing key" would give US authorities a supervisory role over DNS lookups, vital for functions ranging from email delivery to surfing the net. At a recent ICANN meeting in Lisbon, Bernard Turcotte, president of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, said managers of country registries were concerned about the proposal to allow the US to control the master keys, giving it privileged control of internet resources, Heise reports.

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the ICANN body which handles route management, could be assigned the role of safeguarding the keys. But since the US government has reserved the right the to oversee ICANN this proposal creates as many problems as it solves by making it more difficult to persuade the US into giving up this role, which those outside the US see as anachronistic.

[Arlos]

This sort of thing should be handled by a completely neutral entity. Maybe give it to the Swiss.

-Arlos

[Evermore]

The US Department of Homeland Security is pushing to get hold of all the toilet paper in the world. This will be used to collect DNA samples and identify possible threats to the US government's idiocy

Fixed and Arlos is correct.

[Zanchief]

It's never going to happen. You can't control the internet.

[Lyion]

Any valid US source reporting this? The Inquirer is notorious for printing a lot of unsubstantiated stuff. Sorry but it sounds like bullshit, to me

If this were true, I'd be surprised if it wasn't all over the Post, Times, etc...

[Evermore]

i been checking and i cant find a creditable source yet.

[Phlegm]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/03 ... ntroversy/

[Lyion]

You missed the 'Credible Source' part, Phlegm.

[Phlegm]

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/87655

[Lyion]

Nope. Try a mainstream newspaper or reputable news organization. CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, NYT, Wash Post, etc, etc

Heise and The Inquirer are neither.

[Zanchief]

Nope. Try a mainstream newspaper or reputable news organization. CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, NYT, Wash Post, etc, etc

...

[Narrock]

Nope. Try a mainstream newspaper or reputable news organization like Fox, Wash Post, etc.

Fixt.

[Darcler]

[Lueyen]

Nope. Try a mainstream newspaper or reputable news organization. CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, NYT, Wash Post, etc, etc

Heise and The Inquirer are neither.

...

[10sun]

Nope. Try a mainstream newspaper or reputable news organization. Like The Onion.

Heise and The Inquirer are neither.

Poor Lyion, straddled the fence and got a fencepost up the ass.

[Evermore]

Nope. Try a mainstream newspaper or reputable news organization like Fox, Wash Post, etc.

Fixt.

yes please use one of these sources. they arent biased at all. WHy dont you ask Rush or Ann Coulter as well.