Comcast’s Xfinity Internet Service Joins Firefox’s Trusted Recursive Resolver Program, Committing to Data Retention & Tra...
June 25 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Today, Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, and Comcast have announced
Comcast as the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) to provide
Firefox users with private and secure encrypted Domain Name System
(DNS) services through Mozilla's Trusted Recursive Resolver (TRR)
Program. Comcast has taken major steps to protect customer privacy
as it works to evolve DNS resolution.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200625005129/en/
“Comcast has moved quickly to adopt DNS encryption technology
and we’re excited to have them join the TRR program,” said Eric
Rescorla, Firefox CTO. “Bringing ISPs into the TRR program helps us
protect user privacy online without disrupting existing user
experiences. We hope this sets a precedent for further cooperation
between browsers and ISPs.”
For more than 35 years, DNS has served as a key mechanism for
accessing sites and services on the Internet. Functioning as the
Internet’s address book, DNS translates website names, like
firefox.com and xfinity.com, into the Internet addresses that a
computer understands so that the browser can load the correct
website.
Over the last few years, Mozilla, Comcast, and other industry
stakeholders have been working to develop, standardize, and deploy
a technology called DNS over HTTPS (DoH). DoH helps to protect
browsing activity from interception, manipulation, and collection
in the middle of the network by encrypting the DNS data.
Encrypting DNS data with DoH is the first step. A necessary
second step is to require that the companies handling this data
have appropriate rules in place – like the ones outlined in
Mozilla's TRR Program. This program aims to standardize
requirements in three areas: limiting data collection and retention
from the resolver, ensuring transparency for any data retention
that does occur, and limiting any potential use of the resolver to
block access or modify content. By combining the technology, DoH,
with strict operational requirements for those implementing it,
participants take an important step toward improving user
privacy.
Comcast launched public beta testing of DoH in October 2019.
Since then, the company has continued to improve the service and
has collaborated with others in the industry via the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Encrypted DNS Deployment
Initiative (EDDI), and other industry organizations around the
world. This collaboration also helps to ensure that users’ security
and parental control functions that depend on DNS are not disrupted
in the upgrade to encryption whenever possible. Also in October,
Comcast announced a series of key privacy commitments, including
reaffirming its longstanding commitment not to track the websites
that customers visit or the apps they use through their broadband
connections. Comcast also introduced a new Xfinity Privacy Center
to help customers manage and control their privacy settings and
learn about its privacy policy in detail.
“We’re proud to be the first ISP to join with Mozilla to support
this important evolution of DNS privacy. Engaging with the global
technology community gives us better tools to protect our
customers, and partnerships like this advance our mission to make
our customers’ internet experience more private and secure,” said
Jason Livingood, Vice President, Technology Policy and Standards at
Comcast Cable.
Comcast is the latest resolver, and the first ISP, to join
Firefox’s TRR Program, joining Cloudflare and NextDNS. Mozilla
began the rollout of encrypted DNS over HTTPS (DoH) by default for
US-based Firefox users in February 2020, but began testing the
protocol in 2018.
Adding ISPs in the TRR Program paves the way for providing
customers with the security of trusted DNS resolution, while also
offering the benefits of a resolver provided by their ISP such as
parental control services and better optimized, localized results.
Mozilla and Comcast will be jointly running tests to inform how
Firefox can assign the best available TRR to each user.
About Mozilla
Mozilla is the not-for-profit behind the popular web browser,
Firefox. We believe the Internet is a global public resource, open
and accessible to all. We work to ensure it stays open by building
products, services and programs that put people in control of their
online lives, and contribute to a healthier Internet. Firefox
protects people’s privacy and empowers users to make smart choices
in their online life. Visit www.mozilla.org for more information.
To download Firefox for yourself visit www.firefox.com.
About Comcast
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and
technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable,
NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’
largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to
residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides
these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and
security and automation services to residential customers under the
Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news,
entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo
broadcast networks, television production operations, television
station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and
Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment
companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content
through its pay television services. It also provides
communications services, including residential high-speed internet,
phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast
network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original
content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit
www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200625005129/en/
Mozilla Media Contact Ali Taghavi Director of Corporate
Communications ataghavi@mozilla.com Comcast Media Contact
Dave McGuire Technology Communications
David_McGuire@comcast.com
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024