Faroe Islands installs server to keep .fo websites running offline

The Faroe Islands has installed an I-root server to help keep its .fo websites working if connections to the outside world are lost, KVF reports. Økisnavn.fo, which is responsible for the Faroese domain names, says the move strengthens the country’s digital resilience.

The server is part of the Domain Name System, or DNS. When someone enters a web address such as kvf.fo in a browser, DNS finds the website’s IP address, which the browser then uses to connect to the server hosting the site.

Faroese law requires the .fo domain zone to keep functioning even if the connection with the outside world is cut. Økisnavn.fo director Guðrun Poulsen said the new server is part of meeting that requirement.

Hackers broke into nic.fo, the organisation’s former name, in 2018. Poulsen said Økisnavn.fo has since worked to strengthen the systems and resilience of the .fo domain zone. She said security is now high enough to make taking over its DNS services difficult.