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These Countries Hold the Keys to the Internet

by - source: Tom's Hardware US

Just in case Mars Attacks... our internet.

Seven very important people right now hold the keys to rebooting the internet, should something catastrophic happen. The key program, is part of an internet safety initiative by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

ICANN has a security protocol called Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) that ensures that URLs go to the legitimate websites that they are supposed to. Should an attack happen and the links between servers are severed, a minimum of five out of seven key holders must convene at a bunker in the United States to restart the system and the connections between them.

Aside from the U.S., the other key holders are: Canada, Britain, Burkina Faso, Trinidad and Tobago, China, and the Czech Republic.

The keys themselves are smartcards that each contain parts of the DNSSEC root key.

DNSSEC

(Source: PopSci.)

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roots 29/07/2010 08:09
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bout time iican gave over control of the root dns zone to an international body imho.

Fjiekie 29/07/2010 09:28
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so first we need to wait till they all fly to america.
i need my daily toms !!! :p

silver565 29/07/2010 10:12
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So when china attacks... we can't reboot?

dukegriffin 29/07/2010 11:19
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silver565 :
So when china attacks... we can't reboot?


They only need 5 out of the 7 keys.

silverblue 29/07/2010 13:59
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If this is anything like The Lord of the Rings, there'll be a master key, and having or not having the others won't matter. :P

Amusingly, if a crisis does happen, they're expecting 5 delegations from those countries to actually get to this secure bunker in the US. Hardly rapid response.

flaminggerbil 29/07/2010 22:15
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Quote :Burkina Faso, Trinidad and Tobago, China, and the Czech Republic.

Those are interesting choices (Also, where or what is Burkina Faso?!).

silverblue 29/07/2010 23:21
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Africa. The only continents not represented are South America and Australasia, though the former is physically connected to North America.

flaminggerbil 30/07/2010 12:24
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Oh right, ty.

I'm guessing it's a fairly small, obscure place as I've never heard it mentioned before, let alone noticed it on a map.

sevyr 04/08/2010 09:12
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I CANN, U CANN, WE ALL CANN!!!!

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