NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] DNS Bypass Systems Needed Now! -- VeriSign Wants Right to Shut Down Domains for Pretty Much Any Reason
DNS Bypass Systems Needed Now! -- VeriSign Wants Right to
Shut Down Domains for Pretty Much Any Reason
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000902.html
VeriSign has formally requested permission to shut down domains
(apparently in most cases with only "after the fact" recourse for
targeted sites) for a long list of reasons, ranging from what they
view as "malware infestation" to "requests" (not limited to court
orders) from "law enforcement." ( http://j.mp/qj0iO8 [ars technica] )
By this move, VeriSign continues efforts to morph the Domain Name
System (DNS) into an adjunct of both the "domain-industrial complex"
and law enforcement, including efforts to impose U.S.-based
enforcement on sites based wholly within other countries.
Though it is possible to posit extremely rare scenarios where rapid
takedown of a domain may be needed to protect the safety of
individuals or the Internet at large, in reality most of the
circumstances cited by VeriSign are much more akin to commercial
concerns or law enforcement desires short of court orders, and involve
an obvious effort to bypass due process, both domestically and
internationally.
While it is understood that long-term efforts are necessary to replace
the existing increasingly co-opted and abused DNS with an entirely
new, distributed system not subject to such abuses (e.g. "IDONS" or
some other mechanism - http://j.mp/h7T2gF [Lauren's Blog] ), it is
also extremely clear that concerned organizations and individuals need
to be working right now on short-term alternatives that can be brought
into immediate action -- to help insure continued access to sites
after inappropriate and in some cases likely illegal domain takedowns
by VeriSign or other entities.
There are a number of technical approaches available to accomplish
this, that could provide for rapid deployment on an "as needed" basis,
without requiring significant new engineering.
Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com