A while back, we wrote a post about one of the biggest security flaws on the Internet: a critical flaw in the way DNS worked allowed hackers to hijack communications and redirect your web traffic away from your site to malicious sites instead. It's called DNS cache poisoning, and it poses a really big threat.

While individual ISPs have started implementing their own security fixes, a group of technologists have been working on long-term, system-wide solutions. Most experts are now looking at DNSSEC as the solution. This protocol would verify DNS traffic with a digital signature, stopping hijackers before they can redirect.

The Public Interest Registry, which governs the .org top-level domain (TLD), is already implementing DNSSEC across all .org domains and should be finished early this year. In fact, PIR had been lobbying for and preparing to implement the protocol for some time.

It's nice to see the nonprofit sector so well represented, and a technology leader, no less!

Flickr Photo: kallebooImagine this scenario: Your organization provides services and support to area residents during times of crisis. When, say, an earthquake hits, it's your time to shine. You work overtime making sure people have food, shelter, and emotional support. This spike in work also means a spike in donations; during times of crisis, your organization brings in up to 50% of its yearly budget.

Only this time, your site has been hijacked and all those donations are going straight into a hacker's coffers.