Up to now the awareness of DNSSEC has been pretty limited. In fact, very few people have any awareness of the DNS even though it is essential for all IP based activity, including web sites, email, and VoIP telephony. This is not a bad thing or that amazing. Like any technology, we just want things to work and we want them to be as simple as possible. Very few people would drive a car if they had to install their own brakes and shock absorbers.
So what do internet users want? Let’s start with email.
How about getting rid of SPAM and phishing?
How about making your email private? By private I mean that only the recipient can read your email and only you can read emails sent to you.
How about being sure that email comes from the purported sender (the one in the “From” column) and assurance that emails you send are not redirected or altered?
There are many products that address these needs but they are expensive, complex (think of the joy of installing and updating anitvirus and spyware products), incomplete, and don’t pass the Grandmother test for ease of use.
DNSSEC is a basic element required to deliver all of this without requiring users to do anything. It will cost infrastructure providers very little to deliver DNSSEC. It will save users billions in wasted money, time, and frustration. It gives users more confidence in email.
And that is just part of what it will do for email alone.
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