Bath entrepreneur appointed Internet guardian

Holding the keys to the Internet sounds like a plot line from a sci-fi novel, but that is exactly what a businessman from Bath has been asked to do.

Paul Kane, the chief executive of internet management company CommunityDNS, is one of seven people chosen to hold a key which will be able to re-boot part of the World Wide Web in the event of a disaster.

In the event of a cataclysmic security breach, Mr Kane, who will hold the key for Western Europe, could be required to travel to a secure location in the US to meet up with other keyholders in order to activate a master key and reset Internet systems.

The keys are part of an Internet security system, launched earlier this month, which aims to protect people from phishing attacks and malicious websites.

The DNSSEC (domain name system security) system verifies web sites and helps protect email accounts from fraud, using cryptographic keys.