I wish I knew Russian
Icann, the body which oversees the Internet domain name system, announced on Friday that it has voted to institute a fast-track process for internationalized domains (IDNs). In what has been described as the one of the biggest changes in the Web’s history, the decision will allow URL’s written completely in non-Latin scripts.
Upon hearing news of this decision, my first thought was “how wonderful!”— soon the Internet and it’s many useful applications, will be more accessible to millions of people around the world. Unfortunately, questions about the cybersecurity implications quickly muted my initial enthusiasm. Indeed, the decision to allow IDNs has likely excited many cybercriminals, who are anticipating increased opportunities to spoof URLs. And, as the Times article points out, “having internationalized domain names in languages like Arabic, Russian and Chinese could make it difficult to fight cyberattacks, including malicious redirects and hacking.”
But despite the security risks, I remain enthusiastic—if slightly concerned— about Icann’s decision. It seems immoral and selfish to restrict domain names to Latin characters (thereby limiting accessibility) due to the security challenges it may otherwise present. Still, for my own cyber security, I wish I knew Russian.