More federal management of key components of the Internet needed

Wed Oct 23 23:55:35 UTC 2002

Its starting already.

I don't mean to diss any of the root server operators, they all do a great
job.  But in the past it seemed the federal agency sysadmins had the
most difficult job getting the budget approval for upgrades, and seemed
to always be behind the performance curve.

I don't understand how giving the US federal government management control
of key components of the Internet will make it more secure. What steps could
the US federal government take which non-governmental organizations aren't
or couldn't do?  Putting a root name server on a military base isn't
really going to protect it from DDOS attacks.

Should root servers be located in the "middle" of backbones, instead of stub
networks?  Or do networks naturally "grow" towards root servers?

http://www.idg.net/ic_958962_1793_1-1681.html
  "More federal management of key components of the Internet
  infrastructure is needed, Julian and Brady agreed. That could include
  tax incentives or direct federal funding for private companies and
  public organizations managing key DNS servers to secure their systems,
  all of which are currently operated as a free service by companies,
  government entities and non-profit organizations.

  "This showcases a specific vulnerability that requires the government to
  get involved," Julian said. "If you run a DNS server what is your
  monetary incentive to secure it? There is none. This is the number one
  area of focus that the government should have."