ICANN postpones Root Key Signing Key Ceremony

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has postponed the 40th Root Key Signing Key Ceremony, initially scheduled to take place on 12 February 2020 in El Segundo, California, USA. On 11 February, a malfunction at the Key Management Facility was found during routine maintenance. One of the security mechanisms that protect the contents of the secure safes – containing critical material used in the ceremonies – was found to be malfunctioning. The ceremony is now expected to be held on 15 February 2020, following repairments on 14 February. According to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), during a Key Ceremony, ‘the Key Signing Key is used to sign a set of operational Zone Signing Keys that will be used for a three month period to sign the Domain Name System root zone’. [Update] The ceremony took place on 16 February 2020.