By deploying DNSSEC in the .com top-level domain last Thursday, VeriSign–the TLD’s operator–gave more than 80 million registered domains access to improved domain name security.  “DNSSEC finally goes mainstream,” read one headline in coverage of the move.

The .com top-level domain joins more than 25 other TLDs–including .gov, .edu, .org and .net –since the root was signed last July, providing DNSSEC protection at the top of the hierarchy.

Noting that most respondents think DNSSEC adoption is inevitable, a survey was released just before the .com signing by Internet Identity and the Online Trust Alliance, suggesting more education needs to be done.  The survey “found that half of the respondents either hadn’t heard of DNSSEC or expressed limited familiarity with it. Those who do understand the technology believe key obstacles including lack of training/implementation services, slow ISP resolver rollout and limited client-aware applications will lead to a two to five year adoption period.”