THE US REPORT

Most of us non-tech types compute with nary a care each day, but software makers, hardware makers and other tech experts collaborated secretly to fix a vulnerability that if exploited would have allowed hackers to literally take over the Web. In one scenario, you’d type in the URL of your bank but you’d actually be taken to a copycat site that would steal your personal information. Breitbart says, “Security researcher Dan Kaminsky of IOActive stumbled upon the Domain Name System (DNS) vulnerability about six months ago and reached out to industry giants including Microsoft, Sun and Cisco to collaborate on a solution.” Kaminsky said he found the vulnerability by accident.

Kaminsky wrote about the experience at the DoxPara Research website. As I read his account of the challenge and the solution, I thought to myself how like poetry technology is, at least as far as the passion and complexity go. Poetry presents a problem—this may sound like overkill, but trust me, poetry will challenge you if it’s approached as art rather than emotional gush—and you pore over the lines, explore the options, see what one tweak will produce, manipulate something as small as a comma and go from there. Kaminsky’s passion for his work is evident. There’s a charming video of him with his niece, explaining the situation in layperson’s terms.

There's a simple clickthrough at DoxPara to check your own DNS security. I was relieved to know mine is safe, at least as far as one can tell.

I tried to thank him and the other collaborators, but wasn’t able to leave a comment at DoxPara. So here’s my expression of gratitude to Kaminsky and all the others who selflessly devoted their time to making the Web a safer place for all of us. The potential fallout from the DNS security flaw was phenomenal—in the 21st century a new category of hero has emerged. These researchers and tech experts are a type of new warrior in my opinion, utlitizing the sort of weaponry that is among the most complicated on the planet. This group definitely deserves a whole lot of our gratitude. Maybe the Nobel Prize Foundation could, for once, recognize a group that did something to benefit common people in every country in the world.