The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has proposed the creation of a new top-level domain (TLD) .INTERNAL. This extension would be for internal use only, similar to the block of private IP addresses such as 192.168.x.x, which are used exclusively on local networks and are not connected to the Internet.
During the first wave of new domain name extensions, ICANN refused to consider applications for new extensions that are, by usage, used on a private network such as a corporate network. .LOCAL, for example, is used on many private networks. Other companies use public domain name extensions for internal use, which presents significant security risks.
More than 10 years later, ICANN has changed its mind and is now proposing the creation of a domain name extension dedicated to internal use. More than 30 extensions were analyzed by ICANN, which selected .PRIVATE and .INTERNAL. Since the first extension could give the impression that the content is private – which is not necessarily the case – it was rejected and the second extension was chosen.
The ICANN Board has yet to approve this delegation, which would enable the use of a standard internal TLD, and thus strengthen the security of internal networks.
