Linux Foundation unveils DNS-based identity standard for AI agents

The Linux Foundation has announced the forthcoming launch of the Agent Name Service (ANS) – according to a release, “a new open standard designed to provide trusted identity, verification, and discovery for AI agents operating across the internet.”

“ANS is built on the existing Domain Name System (DNS) and establishes a federated framework for securely identifying autonomous agents at internet scale without relying on proprietary registries or centralized control,” it says. The system anchors agent identity directly to DNS, the “globally distributed infrastructure that already processes more than 100 million queries per second worldwide.” It enables verification of user provenance, and detects whether an agent’s code and operational history remain authentic and unchanged.

The framework also supports decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs), allowing organizations to integrate existing identity systems into a unified model.

Swarming agents need verified communication protocols

The move by the open source organization shows concern spreading over how to over govern the emerging agentic web. Authentication, trust, permissions and interoperability are all critical elements in an ecosystem that is evolving at machine speed. The release cites data from the World Economic Forum, which says 82 percent of executives plan to adopt AI agents within the next one to three years – despite “widespread uncertainty around how to securely evaluate and manage autonomous systems.”

“AI agents will increasingly operate across enterprises, platforms and digital services, which makes trusted identity infrastructure a foundational requirement,” says Jim Zemlin, CEO of Linux Foundation. “By building on DNS and open standards, ANS creates a scalable and interoperable framework for verified agent communication across the global digital economy.”

Vineeth Sai Narajala is a co-author of ANS. He says that when designing the service, the goal was clear: “we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, we needed to extend the foundational trust of the internet to a new generation of autonomous technology. By anchoring AI agent identity directly into the globally proven DNS infrastructure, ANS provides a scalable, decentralized, and backward-compatible framework that solves the critical challenges of verification and discovery. Bringing this standard to the Linux Foundation ensures it remains open, neutral, and ready to support the global agentic web.”

Per the release, the ANS project is seeking participation from enterprises, AI developers, infrastructure providers, and security researchers interested in helping establish open standards for the emerging agentic ecosystem.

Article Topics

AI agents  |  authentication  |  authorization  |  identity security  |  Linux Foundation  |  non-human identities  |  open standards