DNS service Quad9, which offers a global, not-for-profit Domain Name System (DNS) security platform, has confirmed the relocation of its headquarters in California to Zurich, Switzerland. Quad9 is a DNS service company which launched in 2017, is operational in more than 150 locations in 90 countries, and says the move is to ensure “Quad9 users' privacy and security”.
Switzerland has a legal privacy regime harmonised with the European-standard General Data Protection Regulation and a Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner is the authority responsible for making sure that Quad9's users across the globe receive the same protection, in accordance with Swiss law.
The switch to move Switzerland means that Quad9 is the first and only global DNS security provider to offer these universal privacy protections, it claims. Unlike other large DNS providers, which are domiciled in the US, Quad9 is under the “legally binding authority of a strong privacy regulator”, the company said.
As a result of Switzerland’s data protection laws, companies like Quad9 can carry out their mission and transparent privacy practices, ensuring that user’s personal data can never be collected, analysed or sold, it said.
"The privacy protection claims of DNS security solutions are only meaningful if they are bound under law and enforced by an empowered authority. Privacy policies which are not backed by law are empty promises," said John Todd, general manager of Quad9. Both Packet Clearing House and SWITCH are working closely with Quad9 to support the company’s move to Switzerland. SWITCH, one of Switzerland's center of competences for security on the internet, operates a multi-sector CERT providing services for universities, the domain registry, banks, industry, logistics and the energy sector.
"In less than five years, Quad9 has built a global alternative to the commercial DNS platforms that are focused on reaping profit from user data," said Tom Kleiber, managing director of SWITCH. "We look forward to expanding Quad9's reach and impact to show internet users across the globe that security can be improved without exploiting their privacy."
Quad9 is free to use and available throughout the world, giving users the capability to configure their computer's DNS resolvers.
