CYBERSPACE — In a wired world security is a constant concern – and few should know that better than those at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Yet both of those sites were hacked recently – with visitors briefly greeted by the redirected AtSpace.com message “You think that you control the domains but you don’t! Everybody knows wrong. We control the domains including ICANN! Don’t you believe us?”Although the hackers, who call themselves the “NetDevilz” and insist that they are merely a “loveable Turkish hacker’s group” had previously sunk their hooks into high profile websites including PhotoBucket.com and RedTube.com, the attacks on the domain and internet management sites are by far their highest profile to date. Their ability to breach the sites’ security measures has given many within the internet community pause.

Given the recent decision to approve generic domain names, it seems unlikely that the hacks are coincidentally timed, although they may also be more symbolic than genuinely political.

ICANN calls the move to authorize generic suffixes to supplement the current traditional .com, .net., and .org and country-based suffixes a “milestone” in internet evolution. It is expected that allowing additional suffixes and non-English lettering systems will result in a surge of domain name registrations. While a potential boon to developers and surfers, the anticipated increase in bandwidth consumption is expected to be a headache for those struggling to maintain and shore up the sagging internet infrastructure, as well as for domain owners hoping to protect themselves from hackers and squatters.