These Countries Hold the Keys to the Internet
Just in case Mars Attacks... our internet.
Seven very important people right now hold the keys to rebooting the internet, should something catastrophic happen. The key program, is part of an internet safety initiative by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
ICANN has a security protocol called Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) that ensures that URLs go to the legitimate websites that they are supposed to. Should an attack happen and the links between servers are severed, a minimum of five out of seven key holders must convene at a bunker in the United States to restart the system and the connections between them.
Aside from the U.S., the other key holders are: Canada, Britain, Burkina Faso, Trinidad and Tobago, China, and the Czech Republic.
The keys themselves are smartcards that each contain parts of the DNSSEC root key.
(Source: PopSci.)
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Burkina Faso!? You're kidding me?
We are doomed! "Where is your smartcard?" ... "OH NO!!! I left it at home in the blast zone..."
Prison Break season 4 anyone?
Why not? If aliens invade they won't suspect that one of the key area is in that part of the world. You could also view it as a training level of the hero who will restore the Internet during alien attack.
This sounds like an awesome movie idea. Villain steals all the cards and holds the keys to the internet!
"Burkina Faso!? You're kidding me?"
And what are u saying? --> Trinidad and Tobago ?! Are u really kidding me?"
trade bukina faso and china for caymans and bermuda.
"Burkina Faso!? You're kidding me?"And what are u saying? --> Trinidad and Tobago ?! Are u really kidding me?"
hey, at least they speak english and don't practice cannibalism.
i wonder where the keys for taking down the internet are....
What a bad yet true movie line
If it get's destroyed and the smart cards don't work, that gives reason for them to start fresh and build a better internet.
whats a Burkina Faso?
Really? Our hope for a secure internet is some Chinese made smart cards and some chinese made hardware that generated the keys? We're doomed!
whats a Burkina Faso?
Heard of something called Google? Sheesh...
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa.
Burkina Faso? Trinidad and Tobago? WHAT!?
I expected Japan, Germany and Russia to be on the list, honestly.
i hope one of these guys kids is not friends with ferris bueller...
"Great, all seven of us made it to the secret bunker. Now we can save the Internet! - Who has the key to the bunker?....."
Really? Our hope for a secure internet is some Chinese made smart cards and some chinese made hardware that generated the keys? We're doomed!
China was the third country in history to send a man to space, one of the 6 countries to develop nuclear technology (in the 50's), and a booming industry with double digit economic growth for the past decade, also sporting one of the best internet security experts in th world. I'm pretty sure I have no doubt in their abilities.
so yea, really.
Go Canada
They gave one to china? We are all doomed
If this bunker should somehow be destroyed, I wonder if there is a redundant one somewhere else? You know, "just in case".
There is no possible way an "attack" could destroy the internet. This is just another example of the government trolling us to gauge our reactions, to see just how much they'll be able to get away with before we get our pitchforks.
But hey I got my grand pa old keys too I wonder what it is for, It glows in the dark.
They hold the key to reboot when skynet takes over. Is any of them named John Conner
alright now were movies come in and reality makes it stand.. aliens come here accessing are satellites by simply reading are encrypted data using quantum and bio computing that should be 50 to thousands of years more advanced than ares.. we wouldn't know we were be being hacked till are computers don't respond and we realize were not in control at all of the internet or are machinery like missiles or any military stuff.. so safe against aliens i highly doubt it.
alright now were movies come in and reality makes it stand.. aliens come here accessing are satellites by simply reading are encrypted data using quantum and bio computing that should be 50 to thousands of years more advanced than ares.. we wouldn't know we were be being hacked till are computers don't respond and we realize were not in control at all of the internet or are machinery like missiles or any military stuff.. so safe against aliens i highly doubt it.
wow!!!..you seem to know these aliens so well...
even if aliens exist, there's never a 100% possibility that their technology is that far from ours. Have you ever thought that their intelligence level might be lower than that of humans? I guess too much space movies is bad for you...
This means a Skynet attack is impossible?! I can sleep quietly now...
Burkina Faso? Trinidad and Tobago? WHAT!?I expected Japan, Germany and Russia to be on the list, honestly.
Do you really think that possible catastrophes such as asteroids/solar flares will leave out the wealthier countries?
Geographical diversity = disaster planning 101
Internet is in the top of Big Ben, there's no need for special cards and stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAUyaELfwBo
This almost reminds me of an episode of South Park involving the super powers.
China was the third country in history to send a man to space, one of the 6 countries to develop nuclear technology (in the 50's), and a booming industry with double digit economic growth for the past decade, also sporting one of the best internet security experts in th world. I'm pretty sure I have no doubt in their abilities.
My sincerest apologies to anyone that may have been offended. This was not meant to be derogatory in the least. I was simply making light of the fact that increasingly more and more of our technology (card programmers) and manufactured goods (smart cards) come from one country... namely China.
This means that no matter whose name is on the product, it's likely that our internet network hardware and server systems were manufactured by this one country, which just happens to run our new "secure" protocol. It may be designed elsewhere and there may be a few exceptions, but as a whole it seems unwise that so much of our "critical" global internet communication systems run on equipment manufactured in any one country.
With the potential for malicious code mysteriously ending up in places such as Server Motherboards ... this one country approach appears that it could be a recipe for disaster.
Again my apologies.