Paul Kane has been recently recognized as a security key holder capable of “resetting” the entire Internet in the event of a global catastrophe or worldwide security threat that requires information on it to be shut down and booted up once again. Who is he? What are these keys? And if the event should ever arise, what will he have to do?
When reading a line suggesting that one man holds so much power over the existence of the Internet, it seems like a tempting James Bond plot pitch, but with new Internet security measures, Mr. Kane’s possession of the key makes him one of those who will be protected very closely in the event of an Internet reset.
There are seven keys total to the Internet, with five other people located throughout the globe and each possessing their own keys. If they manage to converge during a catastrophic event on the central hub where the seventh key is located, they will be able to access it. With Internet security concerns reaching an all time high, and international espionage creating havoc over cyberspace, the once difficult to imagine world without Internet communication is an increasing concern. And as a result, world governments are taking a more active role in protection or at least cutting losses and creating a “plug” which can be pulled.
It only seems like an action movie scenario, but it is actually very real. The key given to Mr. Kane will be the key representing the entire Bath area of Europe. Mr. Kane, in an interview with BBC news related how excited he was to be recognized for his efforts to maintain Internet security and felt up to the responsibility that has been placed on him.
And after this month the Internet is expected to be far more secure than it had been in the past thanks to new protocols and international agreements. Emails are expected to have more security as well. An example of the fraud that the DNSSEC will hope to counter is the type of fraud sent out by computer hackers and fraudulent sites such as the Ebay fraud email that was going around with the intention of making users believe they were visiting the Ebay password recovery center when in reality they were simply typing their password into a system that would allow hackers to recover it and use it to make transactions using the victim’s account (and money.) This was why many sites have in their terms of agreement contracts that they will never ask a user for their password. The advanced encryption system will work to minimize fraudulent activity which some estimates say approaches ten percent of all Internet traffic.
Let’s hope that Mr. Kane will never be required to use his key to the digital kingdom. And if there is a catastrophe which wreaks havoc on the Internet community, let’s hope he is able to do so without problem to allow a swift and efficient recovery of all systems.
