'Commission' Introduces the Features of the Secure Extension in the Field of Domain Names

The Communications and Information Technology Commission held a training workshop titled: "Domain Name System and Secure Extension Technology (DNSSEC)," in cooperation with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN); with the aim of increasing awareness of the domain name system (DNS) and its related security aspects in general, and raising awareness of the domain name system secure extension technology (DNSSEC) in particular; in an effort to encourage the spread of this technology and encourage its use in Saudi domain names (which end in .sa or .السعودية), in addition to contributing to building specialized capabilities and skills in this field.

During the workshop, a technical and introductory overview of the domain name system, its most prominent components, and how to deal with them was presented, in addition to reviewing the most prominent security risks that target the domain name system (DNS) and means of protection against them, which include a set of technical specifications aimed at securing and protecting the information provided by the domain name system (DNS); to reduce exposure to some cyberattacks related to domain names. Focus was also placed on the most prominent of these technologies, which is the secure extension technology (DNSSEC), where its activation mechanisms, most prominent components, and the benefits of activating and adopting it were reviewed.

The workshop comes as part of a series of specialized training programs held continuously by the "Communications and Information Technology Commission" to raise awareness in the field of domain names, and the total number of beneficiaries of these training programs and events has reached more than 200 participants representing many government and academic entities and companies specialized in providing internet services.

It is noted that the Kingdom is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to activate the secure extension in the field of domain names and make it available to users, after the Saudi Network Information Center affiliated with the Commission activated the secure extension and made it available to the general public since 2017, and the Kingdom also achieved first place globally in terms of the percentage of traffic served by the domain name system secure extension (DNSSEC).