The State Council of China has published the Anti-Terrorism Law of the People's Republic of China, to combat the threat of terrorism. Service providers of various industries (including telecommunication and Internet service providers or ISPs) must comply--e.g., verify the true identity of the users/customers before they can provide any services to such users/customers, provide assistance and technological support (including technological interface and decryption) to the public security bureaus and national security authorities for the purpose of preventing and investigating terrorism activities, take security measures and adopt monitoring mechanisms to identify terrorism and extremism information. Presumably these provisions may also apply to domain name registry operators and registrars.
Source: China’s Anti-Terrorism Law – what it means for telecommunications and Internet service providers | DLA Piper - JDSupra:
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Showing posts with label Registrars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Registrars. Show all posts
11 January 2016
12 December 2014
Cyber Criminals Will Now Have More Than 1000 New gTLDs To Exploit
While ICANN, its registrars and registries collect fees, cyber criminals fleece the public--
Security must include domain name protection, say experts - computerweekly.com: "... the issue of domain names is typically overlooked when designing an online security strategy, said Rob Cotton, chief executive at information assurance firm NCC Group. “Making sure you’ve got the right internet domains is often dismissed by executives as simply a job for the marketing department, but we’ve got an incident here that’s affected share price – and that’s going to send tremors right up to board level,” he said. How cyber criminals use fake sites - Cotton said vigilance in this regard is becoming increasingly important as cyber criminals now have more than 1,000 new generic top-level domains to exploit, such as .shop and .london. In October 2014, security researchers uncovered a cyber espionage campaign against military, diplomatic and defence industry targets in the US, Europe and Pakistan, that included fake websites. Although the campaign mainly used phishing emails, the attackers also compromised legitimate sites in Poland to redirect targeted visitors to a fake military contractor website. The fake site was almost identical to the compromised legitimate website, designed to infect victims’ computers with information-stealing malware." (read more at link above)
see also: expVC: Cybercrime, Rogue Registrars: Is ICANN Unfit For Internet Governance?
and
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/cooper-to-chehade-et-al-09dec14-en.pdf
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Security must include domain name protection, say experts - computerweekly.com: "... the issue of domain names is typically overlooked when designing an online security strategy, said Rob Cotton, chief executive at information assurance firm NCC Group. “Making sure you’ve got the right internet domains is often dismissed by executives as simply a job for the marketing department, but we’ve got an incident here that’s affected share price – and that’s going to send tremors right up to board level,” he said. How cyber criminals use fake sites - Cotton said vigilance in this regard is becoming increasingly important as cyber criminals now have more than 1,000 new generic top-level domains to exploit, such as .shop and .london. In October 2014, security researchers uncovered a cyber espionage campaign against military, diplomatic and defence industry targets in the US, Europe and Pakistan, that included fake websites. Although the campaign mainly used phishing emails, the attackers also compromised legitimate sites in Poland to redirect targeted visitors to a fake military contractor website. The fake site was almost identical to the compromised legitimate website, designed to infect victims’ computers with information-stealing malware." (read more at link above)
see also: expVC: Cybercrime, Rogue Registrars: Is ICANN Unfit For Internet Governance?
and
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/cooper-to-chehade-et-al-09dec14-en.pdf
more news links below (on mobile go to web version link below)
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30 October 2014
Cybercrime, Rogue Registrars: Is ICANN Unfit For Internet Governance?
Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that thousands of complaints about suspicious online pharmacies and other websites in 2012 weren’t reviewed for months because ICANN stopped maintaining one of its computer systems.
Law-enforcement officials told ICANN that the website posed an immediate health risk. Less than 15 minutes later, ICANN responded in an email that the organization had “reviewed and closed your complaint.”
Axelle Lemaire, France’s secretary of state for digital affairs, says the “lack of transparency” at ICANN “is very worrying. When it comes to selling illegal drugs online, it’s the health of world-wide citizens at stake.”
“I don’t know how contractually we could do something different than we are doing,” says Akram Atallah, president of ICANN’s Global Domains Division... Mr. Atallah says employees are “doing a very good job.” ICANN’s overall budget is $101 million for the current fiscal year.
Former Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz says ICANN needs continued oversight, partly because of its small compliance staff. Just 22 of the agency’s 300 employees are devoted to policing websites. An independent ICANN could be “dangerous for stakeholders, and more importantly, consumers,” says Mr. Leibowitz.
Law-enforcement officials told ICANN that the website posed an immediate health risk. Less than 15 minutes later, ICANN responded in an email that the organization had “reviewed and closed your complaint.”
Axelle Lemaire, France’s secretary of state for digital affairs, says the “lack of transparency” at ICANN “is very worrying. When it comes to selling illegal drugs online, it’s the health of world-wide citizens at stake.”
“I don’t know how contractually we could do something different than we are doing,” says Akram Atallah, president of ICANN’s Global Domains Division... Mr. Atallah says employees are “doing a very good job.” ICANN’s overall budget is $101 million for the current fiscal year.
Former Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz says ICANN needs continued oversight, partly because of its small compliance staff. Just 22 of the agency’s 300 employees are devoted to policing websites. An independent ICANN could be “dangerous for stakeholders, and more importantly, consumers,” says Mr. Leibowitz.
(source of the above: Wall Street Journal)
Update: See the Economist: The Amazons of the dark net and Independent ICANN Could Be Dangerous, Needs Continued Oversight, Says Former FTC Chairman (domainmondo.com)
Update: See the Economist: The Amazons of the dark net and Independent ICANN Could Be Dangerous, Needs Continued Oversight, Says Former FTC Chairman (domainmondo.com)
ExpVC.com Contributing Editor's Opinion:
Here's one truism ICANN has yet to grasp: good governance is hard, but necessary. The Internet's days as a free-wheeling, unregulated marketplace are soon coming to an end. What the end result will look like is yet unknown, but the world re-discovered in 2008 that markets are not self-regulating, and there is a need, and place, for good, effective governance. This applies to the Internet as in all other sectors of public life. Of course, ICANN, a California corporation with no membership nor stockholders, and only a self-interested, self-selected Board of Directors which apparently owes a fiduciary duty only to the corporation itself, not employees nor stakeholders, is anxious to gain independence from all government oversight, without taking on any of the burdens (and costs) inherent in exercising such global authority and responsibilities. Whatever the outcomes of the IANA transition and ICANN enhancing accountability processes, if effective and responsible governance of the DNS and internet root zone, on a global level, from criminal activity is not included (to take just one example), it will not be long before governments throughout the world do whatever is necessary to wrest control of the DNS and internet, globally, or within their respective borders, in order to protect their own populations and public interest from ICANN's "hands-off, just pay me the money" approach to internet governance.
For a view of what real governance within the sphere that ICANN operates, looks like, see this search of US Federal Trade Commission actions. ICANN's source of authority, shield of immunity, and excuse not to govern, has heretofore been its contractual privity with the US government. Once that is gone, from what sovereign source of authority does ICANN have any legitimate claim to exercise authority over the global internet community, domain name registrants, registrars, registries, the DNS, and the internet root zone? No one has really given a good answer to that yet, but it will be a fertile area for litigation worldwide and other international disputes if left unanswered.
And apparently, neither ICANN's President of Global Domains Division (see quote above of Akram Attalah) nor anyone else at ICANN has a clue as to how ICANN, contractually, could do anything differently than it has been doing (or not doing). Perhaps, at a minimum, Mr. Atallah should consult with competent counsel who have FTC, or similar governance and regulatory experience, much of which is based solely on contractual terms.
On the other hand, if you are that clueless, perhaps you are unfit for internet governance.
Submitted by: Contributing Editor, John Poole, Domain Mondo
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Here's one truism ICANN has yet to grasp: good governance is hard, but necessary. The Internet's days as a free-wheeling, unregulated marketplace are soon coming to an end. What the end result will look like is yet unknown, but the world re-discovered in 2008 that markets are not self-regulating, and there is a need, and place, for good, effective governance. This applies to the Internet as in all other sectors of public life. Of course, ICANN, a California corporation with no membership nor stockholders, and only a self-interested, self-selected Board of Directors which apparently owes a fiduciary duty only to the corporation itself, not employees nor stakeholders, is anxious to gain independence from all government oversight, without taking on any of the burdens (and costs) inherent in exercising such global authority and responsibilities. Whatever the outcomes of the IANA transition and ICANN enhancing accountability processes, if effective and responsible governance of the DNS and internet root zone, on a global level, from criminal activity is not included (to take just one example), it will not be long before governments throughout the world do whatever is necessary to wrest control of the DNS and internet, globally, or within their respective borders, in order to protect their own populations and public interest from ICANN's "hands-off, just pay me the money" approach to internet governance.
For a view of what real governance within the sphere that ICANN operates, looks like, see this search of US Federal Trade Commission actions. ICANN's source of authority, shield of immunity, and excuse not to govern, has heretofore been its contractual privity with the US government. Once that is gone, from what sovereign source of authority does ICANN have any legitimate claim to exercise authority over the global internet community, domain name registrants, registrars, registries, the DNS, and the internet root zone? No one has really given a good answer to that yet, but it will be a fertile area for litigation worldwide and other international disputes if left unanswered.
And apparently, neither ICANN's President of Global Domains Division (see quote above of Akram Attalah) nor anyone else at ICANN has a clue as to how ICANN, contractually, could do anything differently than it has been doing (or not doing). Perhaps, at a minimum, Mr. Atallah should consult with competent counsel who have FTC, or similar governance and regulatory experience, much of which is based solely on contractual terms.
On the other hand, if you are that clueless, perhaps you are unfit for internet governance.
Submitted by: Contributing Editor, John Poole, Domain Mondo
more news links below (on mobile go to web version link below)
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22 September 2014
Negative Trends for Domain Names, Domain Name Industry
Google Trends - Web Search interest: tld, Top-level domain, domain name, icann - Worldwide, 2004 - present: TLD, Top-Level Domain, Domain Name, ICANN
Registrar Stats reported a total net loss of 3,511 registered domain names in their Total TLD Domain Counts report for September 20, 2014. Of the 10 largest gTLDs (generic Top-Level Domains), all showed a net loss of registered domain names, except for .COM, .XYZ, .ASIA, and .BERLIN. What will happen next year when it comes time for renewals of new gTLD domain names (which are generally priced higher than .COM domain names)?
Maybe ICANN is 10 years too late in launching 1000+ new TLD domain name extensions--maybe, as Chris Dixon has said, the audience and all the action is going mobile--moving towards native mobile applications, bypassing the web altogether. Whatever it is, the numbers are not impressive in most of the new gTLDs, and in recent months there's been a spate of stories negative on domain names (new gTLDs) and the domain name industry (registrars/registries)--here's a sampling:
GoDaddy’s proposed IPO--Go time or past time?
Critical Look at New gTLD Registries' Tactics
Hey domain registrars, get your sh*t together!
Why most brands may never sign the ICANN contract
Update on the Status of Already-Launched gTLDs: Is Anyone Out There?
Rightside – Short Idea – Trending on towards the Wrong-side
New TLDs: is it an awareness, acceptance or demand issue?
ICANN Insiders On New gTLDs: Mistakes, Fiascos, Horrible Implementation
Verisign Ranked #1 By Z-Score Which Predicts Companies Heading Into Serious Financial Distress
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11 September 2014
ICANN Economic Study RFP, Global Domain Name System Market
Interesting RFP--this should have been done on a regular basis beginning years ago (and certainly before new gTLDs were ever authorized); hopefully the contractor chosen will be unbiased and competent--if you know of any competent, qualified candidate, please pass this along:
Request for Proposal for Economic Study - ICANN: ICANN Announcement September 8, 2014:
Request for Proposal for Economic Study - ICANN: ICANN Announcement September 8, 2014:
"The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") is seeking one or more provider(s) to conduct an economic study examining pricing trends and other competition indicators in the global domain name system (DNS) market. The selected provider(s) will design and execute an initial study to create a meaningful baseline of data on multiple factors of competition and will perform a follow-on study one year later, to generate and analyze a set of comparison data. ICANN is seeking one or more qualified providers to manage this complex exercise in a timely and efficient manner.
"ICANN anticipates a contract to be signed and work to begin with the selected provider(s) no later than November 2014.
"As part of ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments ("Affirmation"), ICANN has pledged to promote competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice. The Affirmation outlines ICANN's responsibilities to the global community of Internet users, who are all served by the DNS. The Affirmation focuses on three primary areas of accountability: (a) ensuring accountability, transparency and the interests of global Internet users; (b) preserving security, stability and resiliency of the DNS; and (c) promoting competition, consumer trust and consumer choice. Each of the focus areas includes regular reviews by the community to gauge ICANN's performance.
"The economic study will capture some of the metrics proposed by ICANN's community to evaluate the impact of the New gTLD Program on competition, consumer choice and consumer trust. A multi-stakeholder review team, to be formed, will include the findings as it examines other measures of competition, such as survey findings on end users' perceived choice in the DNS, as well as the quantities of new gTLD operators, service providers, registrars, domain name registrations, and other metrics. The review may also provide recommendations to ICANN on additional initiatives that should be undertaken.
"As the DNS serves a large ecosystem of registries, registry service operators, registrars and resellers, and domain name registrants, the study must be able to capture inputs in a representative manner from across the multitude of players relevant to marketplace practices.
"For additional information and instructions for submitting responses please click here [ZIP, 799 KB].
"Proposals should be submitted to economicstudy-rfp@icann.org by 23:59 UTC on 29 September 2014." (source: ICANN, emphasis added)
Questions:
Recommendation to ICANN: If ICANN wants an unbiased, competent, valid study, it should automatically disqualify anyone from, or referred by, any member of the so-called Domain Name Association--this is the industry group representing, principally, some of the new gTLD registry operators and others in alliance with their self-seeking goals, which may be detrimental to the interests of the domain name industry as a whole or the wider public interest--the conflict of interest is obvious.
Report submitted by: contributing editor, John Poole, Domain Mondo
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"ICANN anticipates a contract to be signed and work to begin with the selected provider(s) no later than November 2014.
"As part of ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments ("Affirmation"), ICANN has pledged to promote competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice. The Affirmation outlines ICANN's responsibilities to the global community of Internet users, who are all served by the DNS. The Affirmation focuses on three primary areas of accountability: (a) ensuring accountability, transparency and the interests of global Internet users; (b) preserving security, stability and resiliency of the DNS; and (c) promoting competition, consumer trust and consumer choice. Each of the focus areas includes regular reviews by the community to gauge ICANN's performance.
"The economic study will capture some of the metrics proposed by ICANN's community to evaluate the impact of the New gTLD Program on competition, consumer choice and consumer trust. A multi-stakeholder review team, to be formed, will include the findings as it examines other measures of competition, such as survey findings on end users' perceived choice in the DNS, as well as the quantities of new gTLD operators, service providers, registrars, domain name registrations, and other metrics. The review may also provide recommendations to ICANN on additional initiatives that should be undertaken.
"As the DNS serves a large ecosystem of registries, registry service operators, registrars and resellers, and domain name registrants, the study must be able to capture inputs in a representative manner from across the multitude of players relevant to marketplace practices.
"For additional information and instructions for submitting responses please click here [ZIP, 799 KB].
"Proposals should be submitted to economicstudy-rfp@icann.org by 23:59 UTC on 29 September 2014." (source: ICANN, emphasis added)
Questions:
- What data, specifically, is being collected? What methodologies of data collection and analysis are being used? What data, specifically, is not being collected, or not able to be "captured" that might be relevant?
- Who is interpreting the data? The data may be subject to multiple interpretations. Therefore, will ICANN disclose the raw data, the methodologies used for collection and analysis, and alternative interpretations?
- How is ICANN (or anyone else) measuring (what are the "metrics") "competition, consumer choice and consumer trust"? These are loaded terms with multiple meanings depending on the vested interests at stake.
Recommendation to ICANN: If ICANN wants an unbiased, competent, valid study, it should automatically disqualify anyone from, or referred by, any member of the so-called Domain Name Association--this is the industry group representing, principally, some of the new gTLD registry operators and others in alliance with their self-seeking goals, which may be detrimental to the interests of the domain name industry as a whole or the wider public interest--the conflict of interest is obvious.
Report submitted by: contributing editor, John Poole, Domain Mondo
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09 August 2013
Registrars, Domain Names, Service
WorkersCompensation.com CompNewsNetwork - @GoDaddy or No Daddy? (Or, Why Our Domain is Not for Sale): " . . . We specifically inquired if they still held the custom direction data we had programmed in the system. He assured us it would. It didn't. It contained default IP info resulting in the "parked free" page some of you saw. We realized this and remedied it as quickly as possible, but the damage was done. So that is how we came to be parked free with offered assistance to sell our domain name. GoDaddy over the years has brought innovative services to the industry and has been a key in lowering costs for the industry. I like innovators. I like disruptive forces within the economy. However, low cost does not always equate to value, particularly if that service does not work as designed. As pleasant as it may be for us to be greeted by Danica Patrick every time we visit their site, I would much prefer our sites work as intended. That can only happen when our registrar performs their role as required. This week we will start testing domains with a different registrar, and hope to resolve the overall name server issue. . . ."
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