ISC, Afilias and Neustar Bring Secure DNS One Step Closer

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - August 10, 2009) - In an enlightened example of cooperation among competitors to improve online security, Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) today announced that Afilias and Neustar, Inc. are working with ISC 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. DLV, announced as a service by ISC three years ago, is provided at no charge to participants.

Experts agree that establishing a secure global DNS is an imperative, not an option. DNSSEC is a set of extensions to DNS that provide origin authentication of DNS data, data integrity and authenticated denial of existence. DNSSEC requires significant infrastructure changes and has highlighted political issues that have delayed its widespread deployment.

As a result of the increasing awareness regarding DNSSEC following numerous documented DNS attacks, ISC has recently seen a threefold increase in participation by domain holders. Along with this growth comes the additional responsibility to achieve 100 percent DLV uptime.

"Having run the F-root nameserver for many years, ISC has a proven record of reliable DNS nameservice," stated Michael Graff, DLV Program Manager for ISC. "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."

"DLV is an important step in improving DNS security, along with recent announcements we've made to accomplish the same goal," said Rodney Joffe, senior vice president and senior technologist at Neustar. "We're pleased to participate with ISC in an effort to hasten the day that all online consumers can trust in a secure DNS infrastructure."

Widespread DNSSEC deployment is gaining momentum. The .org and .gov domains, as well as many country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) such as .se and .nl, are now signed. However, full implementation will not be possible until all of the top level domains (TLDs) -- such as .com, .net and .edu -- and the root zone itself are signed. These milestones are expected to be at least a year away. DLV means that DNS administrators are not dependent on others to get the full benefit of DNSSEC for their own portion of the Internet name space today.

"As a leading domain name registry and DNS provider who is implementing DNSSEC for .org, the largest zone to be signed to date, we are committed to both stable DNS and widespread adoption of DNSSEC," said Ram Mohan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Afilias. "We fully support the move to a more secure DNS infrastructure and are pleased to be able to provide secondary DNS service to ISC's efforts around DLV."

About ISC

Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation widely known for world-class Internet software engineering and network operations. ISC produces only open-source software, of which BIND and ISC DHCP are the two best-known examples. Our emphasis is on Internet core technology. Our widely-imitated Managed Open Source process ensures the quality of this software while keeping it completely open and available. ISC operates high-reliability global networks of DNS root servers (F-root) and authoritative DNS servers (SNS@ISC) both for non-profit and for commercial enterprises. ISC is also very involved in ongoing Internet protocol and standards development, particularly in the areas of DNSSEC and IPv6. ISC is supported by donations from generous sponsors, by program membership fees, and by specific fees for services. For program or donation information, please visit our website at http://www.isc.org.

About Afilias

Afilias is a global provider of Internet infrastructure services that connect people to their data. Afilias' reliable, secure, scalable, and globally available technology supports a wide range of applications including Internet domain registry services, Managed DNS, and services in the RFID and supply chain market with its Afilias Discovery Services. For more information on Afilias please visit www.afilias.info.

About Neustar

Neustar NSR solves complex communications challenges and provides market-leading, innovative solutions and directory services to enable trusted communication across networks, applications, and enterprises around the world. Visit Neustar online at www.neustar.biz.