[hlau]

The IANA was responsible for assigning IP addresses back then. It was basically one dude, Jon Postel( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Postel ), until it was formalized as an organization in 1988.

[koolba]

s/basically one/one amazing/

[hlau]

The foundational work he did was definitely impressive. But the fact that it fell to one guy also spoke to how low the stakes were at the time.