She has the key that keeps the internet in check

Twice a year Anne-Marie Eklund, who works daily as security manager at the Internet Foundation, picks up a small wooden case and travels to the small American city of Culpeper outside Washington DC. In the box is a key that is the very core of the mission she has held since 2010: Updating what is sometimes described as the key to the internet or even the heart of the internet.

Her role is called crypto officer, but also has the more imaginative title: "key carrier". She is the only woman of 14 selected.

- Simply put, it is our key carriers four times each year that we update the main key that protects our internet addresses and that we can easily reach the right website, she tells Kulturnewsna.

When Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder describes her mission, and in particular the "ceremonies" that are performed annually, it sounds to the uninitiated a bit like a sci-fi story that could have been written by Philip K Dick or why not Ursula K le Guin . These are words like root zones, master of ceremonies and crypto machines.

At the same time, Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder wants to downplay the connotations her role carries:

- It's very little sci-fi, but a lot of processes, routines and controls, she says.

The main key, which thus ensures that what we enter in the address field in a safe way, is actually leading correctly, is in dual sets and managed by the non-profit organization ICANN. One copy is located on the west coast of the United States and the other is on the east coast of Culpeper, where Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder travels twice each year.

What is the main prejudice about your mission?

- That we can turn off the internet! It's all the way up the walls, and it would be awful if we could.

To counteract that political forces could use the main key for their own purposes, the 14 key carriers are scattered around the world. But the data centers where the two copies of the master key are located are in the United States - something that could be a potential test in the future.

- The big challenge that I see is the political situation in the US right now. We have repeatedly said from the Internet Foundation that there should be a key center outside the US, says Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder:

- Not least because the current president of the United States has imposed some travel restrictions and could in the future result in certain key carriers simply not being allowed into the country.

Although the main key is rigorously protected, in a cage behind locks and booms with armed guards, the ceremonies are virtually public. They are streamed on ICANN's website, and it is not uncommon for journalists to attend.

- It is welcome for outsiders to attend the ceremonies. And that's simply because ICANN's side wants this process to be as open and transparent as possible, says Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder.

How solemn are the ceremonies really, are you all dressed up?

- It's a little solemn. But of course it is a lot of work, says Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder:

- The Internet world is not directly known for having a dress code, rather the opposite. But we try to stay away from the usual internet tech style with t-shirts, shorts and sandals.