More network firms join VeriSign's DNSSec initiative

Dot com registry VeriSign has announced that more internet infrastructure providers have signed up to its DNSSec Interoperability Lab initiative designed to ensure their equipment and applications can support the new protocol.

Brocade, A10 Networks and BlueCat Networks have added their names to those of network giants including Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks, ahead of the upcoming availability of the signed root zone on 15 July.

DNSSec authenticates the origin of data as it moves across the internet, protecting against man-in-the-middle, cache poisoning and other DNS-related security threats.

Ken Silva, chief technology officer at VeriSign, argued that interoperability testing is vital if vendors want to solve any technical challenges that may cause DNSSec implementation problems across VeriSign’s .edu, .net and .com domains.

"When DNSSec goes live, we'll see larger volumes of data traffic move through the DNS system, because DNSSec packets are larger than current DNS packets,” he added.

“That's why, as we begin the final stage of the root zone deployment this summer, it's essential for more organisations to take advantage of the DNSSec Interoperability Lab to ensure firewalls, applications and other equipment can support DNSSec."

The roll out of DNSSec gained momentum last week with .org becoming the first generic Top Level Domain to deploy the protocol.