Nominum shoots for the cloud

Nominum's new offerings could help steer users away from malicious sites

Network naming and addressing firm Nominum today announced a major new move into cloud computing, with the launch of a new business unit, Skye, which will deliver a series of cloud-based DNS services.

The firm is using the cloud model to accelerate take-up of its Intelligent DNS systems, which feature enhanced security capabilities compared to legacy DNS systems, such as preventing users from being directed to unwanted, illegal or malicious content.

"We believe intelligent DNS needs to be ubiquitous – to reach all parts of the internet, especially those enterprises and mid-tier ISPs for whom a full software solution may have until now been out of reach in terms of budget and expertise," said Skye's general manager, Jon Shalowitz.

"This is like adding fluoride to the water – security safeguards built into the network – because the threats are getting worse and legacy DNS systems don't have the intelligence built in to understand what's bad and what's good."

Skye will be offered in four separate but complementary services. The most basic is Skye Secure – an authoritative service with full DNSSec support for enterprises and ISPs who want to protect their online apps and sites from threats.

Skye Core is intended for the same customers who want to shore up their internal DNS and cache servers, and this can be extended with Skye Trust – a real time threat management service which could act in lieu of third party web filtering technology, said Shalowitz.

Skye Search, finally, is a turnkey search destination solution for ISPs, providing their customers with navigation assistance and search recommendations for a wide range of user-based DNS errors.