The chief of a UK-based Domain Name Server company, Paul Kane, has been chosen to be one of only seven people in the world entrusted with what has been called “keys to the Internet”.

The seven people entrusted with the “keys to the Internet” will be able to reboot the Internet in the event of a world catastrophe or emergency such as war or terrorist attacks.

Mr. Kane, of CommunityDNS based at Bath University, will hold one of the keys to the Internet for Western Europe. DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security) is a new-fangled Internet security system that makes sure people reach a genuine website rather than its duplicate twin.

Commenting over his selection, Mr. Kane said, "I'm honoured and excited to be recognised for past achievements and current contributions to global internet security.”

It should be noted here that the security system designed by ICANN will not shut down the whole Internet, but it will be able to switch off some critical systems that will help in preventing hackers or fast-spreading malware from causing a data catastrophe. Managers of almost all of the major Internet servers have already joined the scheme.

According to an estimate, around 8 per cent of the Internet traffic is deceptive, and the agreement is expected to increase internet security by tackling the problem.

Norm Ritchie of Canada; Dan Kaminsky of the US; Jiankang Yao from China; Bevil Wooding from Trinidad and Tobago; Ondrej Sury of the Czech Republic; Moussa Guebre of Burkina Faso are the other holders of the Internet keys.