Feds to Examine Ipv6 Transition
By Caron Carlson

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Commerce recently set up a federal task force to examine the latest Internet Protocol, Ipv6. The government wants to better understand the impact that the standard could have on Internet security and what the government's role will be in deploying the standard.

Ipv6 proponents tout the new protocol, which greatly expands the number of addresses a device connected to the Internet can be associated with, as a vehicle for providing new Internet services.

Concerns about the standard were cited in the Administration's National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, which was released in February. The strategy called for creation of the task force, which will be co-chaired by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Department of Homeland Security and other federal offices also will be consulted in the review.

The Department of Homeland Security this summer introduced its National Cyber Security Division to carry out cyber-protection directives. Click here for more information on the group.

By the end of November, the task force will ask for public comments and later will hold a public meeting on the standard, the Commerce Department announced on Tuesday.


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