Who Can Reboot The Internet?

[Mike]

Actually this one has gone through my mind more than a couple of times recently (not least of which my bank is internet only!).  I must say the protocol sounds rather slow for a reboot

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7914153/Briton-holds-key-to-the-internet.html

Briton holds ‘key to the internet’

Paul Kane, a computer expert from Bath, is one of only seven people around the world to be given responsibility for rebooting the internet in the event of a catastrophe

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 11:38AM BST 28 Jul 2010

Paul Kane, an entrepreneur who is chief executive of CommunityDNS, an internet management company, is one of seven individuals issued with a ‘key’ to restart the web in the event of it being knocked offline by a terrorist attack or other catastrophic event.

The ‘key’ is in fact two smart cards embedded with a fragment of a security code. If the internet crashes, Kane will have to travel to a secure location in the United States, along with five of the six other designated key-holders, in order to recover the master signing key, which will reboot the web.

If any of the keyholders are unable to travel to the top-secret location, a series of spare key cards are held on site, and can be used by designated personnel in the event of an emergency.

Kane said he was “honoured” and “excited” to have been entrusted with the task. His company is one of a team of specialists that has spent the last decade creating a security system, known as DNSSEC, that companies can use to make their websites more secure.

The keyholders would be able to reboot these secure systems that underpin some of the internet to ensure web users are directed only to genuine websites.

Kane has dismissed suggestions that a single key could be created to reboot the entire web, from personal blogs to banking websites.

“Such a key would trigger the Balkanisation of the internet,” Kane told The Guardian.

“The EU wouldn’t want the US to have it, the Middle East wouldn’t want the EU to have it, and the US wouldn’t want anyone to have it.”

"If the internet crashes, Kane will have to travel to a secure location in the United States, along with five of the six other designated key-holders, in order to recover the master signing key, which will reboot the web. "???

I checked several times and it doesnt appear to be April fools day! 

[Admin]

Sounds less clear - namely its just some special (proprietary) part of the net (as below).  However still raises the question of "who fixes the net if some power breaks it"...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/27/internet-key

Is there really a key to reboot the internet?

Sort of. Meet one of the seven trusted individuals who can fix the internet in the event of a major catastrophe

Who will save us when the internet collapses? Who will save us when the internet collapses? Photograph: Getty

It sounds like a Fellowship of the Ring for the internet age – a carefully chosen alliance of technology warriors, safeguarding a mythical key that could one day shut down the internet. According to yesterday's news reports, these keyholders will share responsibility for "rebooting the web" in the event of a catastrophic global meltdown.

Bath technologist Paul Kane – one of the individuals in the "chain of trust" – spent about 15 minutes revelling in his new-found fame before having to set the record straight. "It's just not as sexy as that," he says, in between TV interviews and a chat with Eddie Mair on Radio 4.

Kane, who is chief executive of a Bath-based tech firm called CommunityDNS, is part of a team that has spent 10 years working on a security system (DNSSEC) that companies can use to make their sites safer.

To demonstrate how secure their technology is, the launch included the coronation of seven "keyholders". In the event of a terrorist attack or major disaster, five of those keyholders would meet in a secure location in the US to restart the system.

So would that giant ctrl+alt+delete reboot the whole internet? "Nope," says Kane – only the small proportion of internet sites using DNSSEC. "The rest of the internet would continue to function as normal."

And it's not actually a key – it's a swipe card. And technically, just one fifth of a key. "Yes. I have a fragment of the key," says Kane, whose enthusiasm for dumbing down his hard work is clearly starting to wane.

Is there a chance that this system could be extended to the whole internet – one key to rule them all? "Never. Even if there was such a key, it would trigger the balkanisation of the internet," says Kane. "The EU wouldn't want the US to have it, the Middle East wouldn't want the EU to have it, the US wouldn't want anyone to have it."

[Claire]

 

Never seek reassurance from outside.