Increasing the activities of Internet mais Segura Program, the Information and Coordination Center of Ponto BR - NIC.br launched the TOP - Test the Standards tool for the technical community. The aim is to increase the use of the most modern international technical standards in order to make the Internet more accessible, secure and reliable for everyone. The launch took place at the 11th NIC.Br Infrastructure Week, between 11/29 and 12/3.

According to NIC.Br, with the TOP tool, it is possible to know if the website, e-mail or Internet connection used follows the most modern and reliable technical standards. And if they don't, what can be done about it. “We want to encourage the technical community to use the TOP, carry out tests and assess whether the services they offer and hire are following the most modern international standards. If they identify that there is room for improvement, it is important that the technicians can make the necessary adjustments”, explains Gilberto Zorello, NIC.Br Project coordinator.

The TOP testing tool was adapted by NIC.br using the website Internet.nl, which is an initiative of the Dutch Internet Standards Platform. The Internet Society also recommends using Internet.nl to test how well web servers, e-mail, and Internet access services meet the latest open Internet standards.

For a greater safety culture

The original technical standards for the Internet date back to the 1970s and 1980s, when the number of Internet users was small. Currently, the Internet accounts for more than three billion users, who increasingly use it for confidential and often high-value transactions. According to NIC.Br, old standards are not able to meet this scale of growth or modern security requirements.

One example cited by the organization is SMTP, a well-known protocol for sending e-mail. In such cases, criminals are violating the SMTP standard to spoof the sender address of emails. According to NIC.Br, we need to start using new smarter standards that keep our internet reliable, and that these new standards are already available.

NIC.Br still argues that, even in a country like Brazil, with intensive Internet use, many outdated technical standards that fall short of the necessary reliability are used. Not using these modern technical standards would pose a risk to the individual Internet user, but also to the country's economy and the world at large.

For more information go to top.nic.br.

Source: NIC.Br