Race is on to fix DNS flaw that endangers Internet
Malicious hackers appear to be exploiting a serious vulnerability in the Internet's Domain Name System, or DNS, according to Dan Kaminsky, a security researcher who discovered the flaw.
The DNS translates addresses like NPR.org into numerical addresses that machines can understand. Attackers can take advantage of the DNS flaw by redirecting Web surfers to to fake sites that harvest personal information like passwords and credit card numbers.
Just about everything we do on the 'Net, including e-mail, requires interacting with the DNS, so fixing the problem is seen as urgent.
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