​A computer expert from Bath has become part of an elite international circle of trust charged with restarting the internet in the event of a global catastrophe.

Paul Kane, chief executive of city firm CommunityDNS, has been selected to safeguard one of seven encryption keys.

Mr Kane, whose firm is based at the University of Bath’s SETsquared Innovation Centre at Broad Quay, would have the power to restart the World Wide Web if an event such as a terrorist attack triggered an internet meltdown.

He has been selected as the key holder for western Europe and was handed the secret information amid tight security in the USA.

In the event of an online security breach of sufficient gravity, Mr Kane would be required to travel to a secure location in America to meet five of the other six key holders. They would then recover the master key which would allow web operations to be restored safely.

The presentation of the key to Mr Kane comes as security standards on the web are dramatically tightened.

Over the coming weeks, the internet will become more secure through a new international agreement and process which verifies websites and gives greater protection against fraud to email accounts, using hi-tech cryptographic keys.

Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) is a new system that ensures people wishing to access their bank account or shop online can be confident that they have reached the genuine website, rather than a lookalike pirate site.

It is estimated that up to eight per cent of internet traffic is fraudulent, and computer experts are hailing this agreement as a major advance in increasing internet security.

Controllers of most major servers have joined the scheme and others are expected to follow. An international emergency or hacking attack could prompt DNSSEC to stop connections to official sites so the security system can be rebooted.

Mr Kane said: “I’m honoured and excited to be recognised for past achievements and current contributions to global internet security as we add additional tools to allow the end user to feel more confident in their use of the internet.

“We are very pleased to be part of stimulating innovation in the Bath area and see the University of Bath becoming a global centre of excellence for enabling internet technologies.”

Mr Kane’s firm, which was launched in 2007, is  part of a larger group with offices in Japan and USA. The UK branch is based at the innovation centre, which is part of an enterprise partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey.

Mr Kane and his team were brought into the innovation centre as internet specialists to work in partnership with the university and the dozens of hi-tech, high-growth businesses based on the site.

Simon Bond, director of the centre, said: “We’re delighted to provide an environment where leading British entrepreneurs like Paul Kane can develop globally significant businesses.

“It’s an honour for Bath to be one of the locations for the ‘keys to the internet’ and it is an acknowledgement of the strength of our region and the individuals who live here in global internet security.”