Until last fall, Network Solutions had been the exclusive provider of domain-name registration services under a contract it had with the U.S. Commerce Department.

CNN: New domain names approved

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week announced that five companies, including America Online, will participate in a test bed for a new domain name registration system designed to end Network Solutions, Inc.

CNN: New domain name system creates confusion over ownership

While the domain name business was opened for competition last November, Network Solutions still controls the lion's share of that business and derives most of its revenue from it.

CNN: New domain names approved

Ken Silva, the security chief at VeriSign, which runs big chunks of the internet's domain-name system, advocates defences at the core of the network to tackle malicious data-packets before they reach their target.

ECONOMIST: Cyberwarfare

Recently one network provider suffered what appeared to be just such an attack that employed 140, 000 machines from the Domain Name Service.

BBC: Viewpoint: How hackers could decapitate the internet