Internet Software Consortium, ISC, Creates ISC Bind Forum to Focus On Security Protocols and Infrastructure

Business Wire, Nov 20, 2002

Business and Technology Editors

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 2002

Initial members include AFNIC, APNIC, ARIN, Compaq, Ericsson,

Hewlett Packard, IBM, RIPE, Sun Microsystems and VeriSign

The Internet Software Consortium (ISC) today announced initial members of the ISC BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) Forum, a new program for vendors and users of ISC BIND software. ISC BIND Forum will benefit the global Internet community by allowing both vendors and users of ISC's BIND software to have a closer association with ISC and among themselves. Initial members of the ISC BIND Forum include AFNIC (Association Francaise pour le Nommage Internet en Cooperation), APNIC (Asian Pacific Network Information Centre), ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers), Compaq, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard, IBM, RIPE (Reseaux IP Europens), Sun Microsystems and VeriSign.

The new ISC BIND Forum will benefit members by focusing on security related issues, including early warning on attacks, defects, and patches. ISC's software is Open Source, and thus any critical information regarding the security of the protocol or implementation will be disclosed and explained to the Internet community. However, ISC believes that it is essential that critical Internet infrastructure such as root and TLD (Top Level Domain) servers are upgraded in a timely manner, and that vendors who ship BIND in their products have an opportunity to stay ahead of potential problems by delivering a patch for their customers before the public disclosure occurs. It is expected that CERT/CC (Carnegie Mellon Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center) and ISC will continue to coordinate the release of security-critical information.

By creating a means for ongoing support of ISC's efforts through this new forum, vendors and BIND users will guarantee the continued development of a high quality core Internet DNS (Domain Name Service) implementation. The ISC BIND Forum aims to secure 20 large corporate members, at which time it will be able to move forward with development of enhancements as dictated by the ISC's project calendar. This ongoing development and publishing of a robust code base - available free of charge and without encumbrance - will foster healthy competition and growth of the Internet.

ISC members help ensure that development, integration and publication of ISC's software continues uninterrupted and at the pace the International Internet community requires. The ISC BIND Forum offers several levels of membership: Corporate, Non-Profit and Universities, and Individual Memberships. The ISC BIND Forum will apply annual membership fees to fund an ongoing budget for software maintenance, enhancement and publication.

Forum members can expect to benefit from direct communication with ISC's developers and the ability to influence the priority of ISC's development projects in an annual BIND Workshop. Membership fees will be based on the organization's annual gross revenue for corporations. A flat fee will be assigned for universities and non-profit organizations allowing them an opportunity to influence continued BIND development on par with large corporations. The individual membership category was created to offer individuals in the Information Technology field who realize the value and importance of BIND a means to stay engaged and lend their support.

Staff fellow Jim Bound and Internet services manager Wilson Lim of HP-UX Networks Group stated: "DNS is absolutely critical and mandatory for Next Generation Networks supporting Wireless Computing and IPv6, the most pervasive industry implementation of DNS is the Internet Software Consortium (ISC) BIND implementation. The Forum being developed by ISC and members will be a pivotal point in the true move to Next Generation Networks deployment of DNS through the BIND implementation. It is imperative that the networking industry support ISC in their endeavor to provide a robust implementation of DNS that is available and interoperable across a broad range of hardware and operating systems platforms."

Prashant Ketkar, Solaris Product manager, Sun Microsystems, added, "DNS is a critical component of any networking infrastructure and with the recent security and networking protocol enhancements to DNS, BIND continues to be an important component of the Solaris Operating Environment to our customers. The BIND implementation of DNS is cooperatively developed by ISC and implemented by several vendors in multiple operating systems. This new joint funding program offered by ISC is a step in the right direction to sustain the BIND cooperative development model."

Lynda McGinley, ISC's Programme Director commented, "Traditionally ISC has been funded by donations, grants and one-time development contracts and the invaluable resource of developers who volunteer their time to support this crucial part of the world's computing and communications infrastructure. We are now inviting the vendors and users who have benefited over the past years from ISC's work to support our ongoing efforts."