Registry Policy Information

Current Issues in the Evolution of the Internet

Verisign provides critical infrastructure services that allow the Internet to function securely and reliably, ensuring that Internet users get to where they need to go. As a leading member of standards organisations and committees, Verisign helps to ensure reliability, security and innovation in the expansion of the Internet. Verisign provides information about policies in discussion to help raise awareness about new trends and issues in the community. For specific questions about policy, please contact Verisign Government Relations.

DNSSEC

Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) is a set of extensions developed by the IETF to increase the security of the Domain Name System (DNS) by authenticating the origin of DNS data and verifying its integrity while moving across the Internet. DNSSEC has the potential to help combat compromised data in name servers that could be used to launch damaging attacks against users, enterprises and the Internet core itself.

DNSSEC offers the potential to strengthen the infrastructure of the Internet by authenticating the origin of DNS data and verifying its integrity while moving across the Internet. However, there is still much to be learned about how the implementation would work on a broad scale. As Verisign continues its own $100 million investment in fortifying the infrastructure of the Internet, we work with the broader Internet community to identify new alternatives for strengthening the overall security of the Internet.

While DNSSEC has the potential to solve one piece of the overall puzzle of Internet security, it does not address common threats such as spoofing or phishing. Verisign encourages Internet users to consider layers of protection, such as SSL certificates and two-factor authentication to make the Internet secure for everyone.

New TLDs

ICANN has announced a timeline for the introduction of new top-level domain (TLD) extensions. Experts expect the application period to begin mid 2009 and for new TLDs to be available as early as 2010. As ICANN begins to approve applications for new TLDs, industry watchers expect many new extensions, possibly representing cities, corporate entities, special interest communities and more, including non-ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) characters.

Internet Standards Community

• Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is the technical body that oversees the development of the Internet suite of protocols. It has two task forces: the Internet Engineering Task Force and the Internet Research Task Force.
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an international, voluntary body consisting of network designers, engineers, researchers, vendors and other interested parties who work together to address and resolve technical and operational problems on the Internet and develop Internet standards and protocols.
• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an international not-for-profit, private sector organisation created to coordinate four key functions for the Internet: the management of the domain name system, the allocation of IP address space, the assignment of protocol parameters and the management of the root server system.

Verisign Government Relations

Verisign Government Relations engages policymakers at all levels of government on key Internet policy matters. Our work reflects the company's values and philosophy. Learn more areas of involvement by Verisign Government Relations.