News broke this week about an attack in Puerto Rico that caused the local websites of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Coca-Cola, PayPal, Nike, Dell and Nokia to be redirected for a few hours to a phony website. The website was all black except for a taunting message from the computer hacker responsible for the attack. These attacks were carried out just weeks after the DNS cache poisoning attack against a Brazilian Bank and ISP. As attacks on the DNS increase, the reports on large scale \"scares\" are becoming more prevalent. DNS attacks hitting mainstream media just highlights how serious the problem is becoming. DNS redirection, pharming, and cache poisoning are no longer viewed as sophisticated internet crimes and no longer infrequent. Any Internet security expert will tell you that tinkering with DNS is not that difficult and it happens more often that most of us are aware.
It is critical now more than ever that we secure the DNS and to do so we need DNSSEC implemented industry wide! DNSSEC thwarts online attacks such as DNS redirection, pharming, and cache poisoning that are used to commit fraud, distribute malware, or steal personal and confidential information. With Internet vandalism on the rise, it is imperative that the Internet Community takes all security precautions necessary to protect and preserve the Internet as it is integral to today\'s era of technology.
Written by Lauren Price, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, .ORG, The Public Interest Registry
