ICANN: Focus on Security
As the 32nd Annual ICANN meeting closes in Paris, .ORG, The Public Interest Registry, continued to use this important worldwide forum to advocate policies that support the mission of .ORG to serve all worldwide .ORGs as an exemplary registry.
A highlight of the meeting was the ICANN Board’s approval of the .ORG proposal to implement Domain Name Security Extensions (“DNSSEC”). .ORG believes the implementation of DNSSEC will significantly advance the security and stability of the Domain Name System. The protection of Internet users and registrants has always been a priority for .ORG. The implementation of DNSSEC furthers this goal. Malicious attackers are constantly attempting to misdirect users to criminal websites that will steal a user's identity. As the Internet grows with the introduction of new gTLDs, there exists a greater potential for these attacks. The authorization of .ORG's implementation of DNSSEC is an important first step in providing additional security layers to Internet communications. We are beginning the development of a plan that will adequately prepare DNSSEC for adoption within the internet infrastructure community. We are now in the first phase of our DNSSEC development, and as such have not scheduled a specific launch date. As the first gTLD to be authorized to implement DNSSEC, .ORG continues its tradition of protecting users and establishing best practices for Internet policy. We welcome all feedback from the community. Please feel free to contact us at policy@pir.org to share your thoughts or simply leave a public comment right here on our blog.
In addition to DNSSEC, the recent ICANN meeting included several other significant policy decisions. In what has been called the most significant expansion of the Internet in 40 years, the ICANN board approved major new gTLD expansion. The board reserved a decision on the actual implementation plan for new gTLDs. However, it is clear this decision will have a major impact on the future growth of the Internet.
In other significant policy matters, ICANN continues moving closer to the implementation of Internationalized Domain Names (“IDN”). The ICANN Board approved a motion to begin examining IDN implementation and requested that an implementation report be submitted in November at the next ICANN meeting in Cairo. The ICANN Board also passed a resolution aimed specifically at combating the domain abuse practice commonly referred to as “tasting”. The Board approved the implementation of a policy whereby, during any given month, a gTLD registry may not offer a refund to a registrar for any domain names deleted during the Add Grace Period (“AGP”) that exceed either 10% of that registrar's net new registrations in that month or 50 domain names, whichever is greater. Lastly, the ICANN Board approved a major resolution with regard to the structure of the Generic Name Supporting Organization (“GNSO”) that will attempt to restore it to its original function of building consensus on policy issues.
On all of the issues described above, .ORG has actively participated in the policy development process. .ORG personnel serve as chair of the Registries Constituency and participate in several ICANN working groups on major security issues.
