Online security, much like house alarm systems, is something everyone knows is a very serious and persistent threat, but that few people do anything serious about because of the high utility provided by the internet and its resources. “Ignorance is bliss” is the theme for most people. Internet security experts in Singapore, however, have focused on making a secure and efficient system that will force hackers and other online criminals to jump over higher hurdles than ever before, potentially significantly decreasing the amount of online internet scams. This technology is called Secure DNS, or Domain Name System. Secure DNS is a basically directory of Internet addresses connected to names, stored in Singapore, Zurich, and San Jose, CA in hardened data centers with extensive physical and electronic layers of security that amount to nothing more than the ultimate computer fortress.

The recent flood of internet scams and hacking into large corporate databases such as CitiBank (by hacking association Anonymous), Sony (Anonymous splinter group LulzSec), RSA Security, the Arizona Defense Bureau, Lockheed Martin, and more is only encouraging the push towards full implementation of Secure DNS technology. This breakthrough security innovation, however, is viewed as highly controversial technology. Having IP addresses linked to names leads to a host of bad potential, such as being able to track anyone in the world wherever and whenever they are online in an era where being online and connected is increasingly essential to day to day life. While Secure DNS makes it possible to do business online with greater ease, talk through voice-over Internet protocol without fear of being eavesdropped, greater security in online banking, and much much more in regards to secure communication, governments and Internet service providers have to be on board first. And when you start thinking about the government being on board with a system with the greatest access to your location, communications, and other social and basic online activities, it becomes obvious how highly regulated this system would have to be. Could there be any way for a private citizen to ensure that their every move isn’t being watched by a certain agency?

This system will be used to ensure “trusted identities” in cyberspace for federal capacities and is looking to expand the securities technology market, making current services more widely available, further reducing the rate of hacking and computer crimes. But who knows who will have access to such enormous amounts of sensitive information, and what will be risked to gain access to it.