DNS

ICANN Begins Accepting Applications for New gTLDs

ICANN announced today that after over seven years of planning, the organization has initiated the process for accepting applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). "We believe this program will do what it's designed to do, which is open up the Internet domain-name system to further innovation," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN chairman, during an event at the National Press Club in Washington today. More information on the Applicant Support program can be found on the ICANN New gTLD page. more

In AI, We Trust!?

When it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is a widespread fear that AI machines will "take over" and dominate humanity. Today, we should be concerned when governments and digital corporations use AI to replace trust as the fundamental value and principle in the digital domain. more

Afilias and Neustar to Collaborate With ISC on DNS Security Initiative

Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has announced that it is working with Afilias and Neustar, Inc. in the effort to support ISC's DNSSEC Look-aside Validation (DLV) registry by providing secondary DNS service for the DLV zone. DLV is a mechanism that provides many of the benefits of DNSSEC (short for DNS Security Extensions), enabling domain holders to secure their domain information today in advance of broader DNSSEC deployment and adoption. "Adding Afilias and Neustar as secondary DNS providers for the DLV zone demonstrates our collective understanding that DLV is a vitally important production service bigger than any single provider in the same way that there are 13 root server operators, not just one." more

MAAWG Overview of DNS Security - Port 53 Protection

J.D. Falk writes: Last week, MAAWG quietly published a new document titled "Overview of DNS Security - Port 53 Protection." [PDF] The paper discusses cache poisoning and other attacks on the local DNS, including likely effects of such a compromise and what access providers may be able to do to prevent it. more

Processing Domain Data to Improve Business Continuity as a Domain Name Registry

In the fall of 2022, around 9,000 numeric domain names such as 0146.se, 0148.se, 0149.se, and so on were registered in the .SE zone. These domains were registered with two registrars, Register.eu and 1API. They had the same kind of SSL certificate, and there were other similarities among them that strongly suggested they were connected. All these domains were registered after September 1, 2022, but not on the same date... more

Benefits of DNS Based Architecture for M2M Communications

The number of 'things' connected to the internet is already bypassing the number of people on the planet. This Internet of 'things' is changing the way we live and work: from the way food is grown and produced on farms through automated temperature and feeding controls, to the way we check prices and buy through connected terminals, to the vehicles we drive, the security cameras at work, and automated gates at the entrance. Connected 'things' are everywhere. All these 'things' are helping us to be more productive and efficient while also offering more and more convenience. more

Learn More About the DNS at DNIB.com

DNIB.com is a new industry-focused source of information, insights and data on the Domain Name System (DNS) -- a place to hear directly from subject-matter experts about relevant policy and governance news, DNS security and technology topics, and to provide industry data, analysis and insights on a regular schedule. DNIB.com builds on the Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report, which summarizes the state of the domain name industry through a variety of statistical and analytical research. more

ICANN Launches Online Information Center for New gTLDs

ICANN has launched a micro-site to serve as the online source for New Generic Top-Level Domain (New gTLDs) Program. From ICANN's announcement: "ICANN is in the midst of a major campaign to raise awareness around the world about the impact and possibilities of new gTLDs. The new site represents a foundational expression of the campaign. Many more new articles, tools, and materials will be made available in the coming days and weeks." more

Verisign and ICANN Renew Root Zone Maintainer Service Agreement

On October 20th, ICANN and Verisign renewed the agreement under which Verisign will continue to act as Root Zone Maintainer for the Domain Name System (DNS) for another 8-year term. The Root Zone sits atop the hierarchical architecture of the DNS and is essential to virtually all internet navigation, acting as the dynamic, cryptographically secure, global directory of all top-level domains that exist in the DNS. more

An Economic Perspective on Internet Centrality

The IETF met in November 2022 in London. Among the many sessions that were held in that meeting was a session of the Decentralised Internet Infrastructure Research Group, (DINRG). The research group's ambitions are lofty: DINRG will investigate open research issues in decentralizing infrastructure services such as trust management, identity management, name resolution, resource/asset ownership management, and resource discovery. more

European Commission Seeking Greater Governmental Control Over the Internet

Kieren McCarthy reporting in .nxt: "An extraordinary series of policy papers drawn up by the European Commission and seen by .Nxt have called for greater governmental control over the Internet's domain name system. ...the measures would provide governments with de facto control over the Internet's naming systems and bring an end to the independent and autonomous approach that has defined the Internet's domain name system since its inception." more

Report on Governments Involved in Edited DNS Responses

Earl Zmijewski reporting in Renesys Blog: "There's been sudden interest recently in a Chinese route hijacking incident that occurred way back in April, brought about by a new report to the US Congress that highlighted the event. A second Chinese event, also in the report, has received almost no attention despite being much more interesting (technically, anyway). A Chinese DNS censorship incident occurred just one month earlier, in March..." more

Call for Participation - ICANN DNSSEC Workshop at ICANN63 Barcelona

Do you have a great idea about DNSSEC or DANE that you'd like to share with the wider community? If so, and you're planning to be in Barcelona, Spain for ICANN63 in October 2018, submit a proposal to present your idea at the DNSSEC Workshop! Send a brief (1-2 sentence) description of your proposed presentation to dnssec-barcelona@isoc.org by Friday, 07 September 2018. more

ICANN67 Round-Up

This past meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), ICANN67, was intended to be held in person in Cancun, Mexico, but was actually the first meeting to be held entirely online and virtually. It was a well-managed affair with fewer sessions than the in-person meetings and less opportunity for the community to convene and meet as individuals. The last-minute change from an in-person to a virtual meeting impacted ICANN's ability to provide translation services for the full set of UN-supported languages, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. more

Attacking DNS Abuse: The Next Amendments Needed

Abusive behavior that leverages the domain name system (DNS) continues to be a problem, with a reach that has been widely and credibly documented. There is little doubt that bad actors continue to use the DNS for nefarious and costly purposes. While the amendments made in 2024 to ICANN's Registry Agreement (RA) and Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) were a step in the right direction, more advanced tools are needed to bring abuse rates down. more