ICANN Negotiates New Domains
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Net overseer moves toward approving industry-specific .post, .travel.
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved two new sponsored Internet domains, .post and .travel, specifically for the post and travel industries.
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Over the past few years, the Internet has seen new domain names such as ".eu" for Europe and ".travel" for the travel industry. Now, the key oversight agency is looking to get rid of some.
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(InfoWorld) - A VeriSign Inc. official defended its contract to operate the .com domain Monday, after Network Solutions accused the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) of not requiring adequate security safeguards in its registry agreements. Network Solutions, a domain-name registrar, released a report last week saying ICANN has "failed" to address security in its latest proposals for the .com, .biz, .info and .org top-level domains. Network Solutions officials also criticized a provision in the proposed contract renewal for the .com domain that would allow VeriSign to raise prices by 7 percent in four of the contract's six years. The current .com contract expires in late 2007. VeriSign shouldn't get near-automatic renewals of the .com contract without more security requirements, said Jonathan Nevett, Network Solutions' vice president and chief policy counsel. "We're facing a contract that provides for ... permanent monopoly, for fee increases without justification and now without adequate security protections," he said. "It's mind-boggling that the contract has gotten this far." But Ken Silva, VeriSign's chief security officer, said some price increases will be necessary to keep the .com domain secure. The contract to operate the .com domain allows ICANN to change the agreement through consensus of its two security committees, and ICANN can cancel the contract if it believes VeriSign hasn't performed adequately, Silva said. VeriSign has warded off several massive attacks on the .com domain, including attacks using more than 30,000 bot-net computers in January, Silva said. Meanwhile, the .com domain has been available 100 percent of the time for the last seven years, he said. Internet attacks continue to evolve and become larger, and it's difficult to set a security road map that stays relevant for any length of time, Silva said. He praised the proposed .com contract renewal for its pricing "flexibility." "The technology we're talking about to keep up with this kind of load is not something you just buy off the shelf," Silva said. "Let's not lose site of the fact that security continues to be the biggest threat to the growth of the Internet. Supporting that security and stability is going to involve a lot of technology, a lot of talent and a lot of equipment." The two companies held briefings about the proposed .com contract as a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on ICANN's future. Besides the top-level domain agreements, the subcommittee is likely to focus on the renewal of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Department of Commerce and ICANN, allowing the nonprofit organization to oversee the Internetâs technical infrastructure. A year ago, countries including China and Brazil proposed a new model for Internet governance, with an international body taking responsibility from the U.S. and ICANN. The U.S. government and many U.S. companies oppose such a move. Network Solutions focused on the top-level domain agreements with its report, "DNS -- A System in Crisis." Among its criticisms: the domain agreements do not allow ICANN to audit security practices of domain operators. "This is the backbone of the Internet," said report author Jerry Archer. "Without this, there are no signposts."
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U.S. will oversee ICANN for another three years, moving domain manager toward breaking ties.
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(InfoWorld) - A U.K. governance organization will review The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as it tries to increase transparency afterÂ criticism of its close U.S. government ties. The report from One World Trust will be made public when it's completed next year, said Paul Levins, ICANN's executive officer and vice president of corporate affairs. ICANN, a private, nonprofit organization that controls the administration of the DNS (domain name system), is reworking its accountability practices, Levins said. "Frankly, the community has told us this is an issue we need to deal with," Levins said. In October, ICANN started a consultation toÂ develop new management operating principles, Levins said. ICANN also plans to document its board meetings better and revamp its Web site to make its 12,000 pages more accessible. The organization, based in Marina del Ray, California, falls under theÂ oversight of the U.S. Commerce Department, which has led to criticism that the U.S. government wielded too much influence over the Internet's development. In September, an existing agreement between the department and ICANN was extended for three years, although the U.S. government could grant ICANN total autonomy after 18 months.
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is meeting this week to address critical issues like new generic top level domains, internationalized domain names, and other subjects.
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Applications for domain names under the new ".asia" top-level domain will be accepted in October.
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ICANN has proposed a schedule for the fast-tracking of non-contentious IDN ccTLDs that would allow for new non-Latin Alphabet top-level domains as early as Summer '08.
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(InfoWorld) - The European Commission welcomed moves in the U.S. to free ICANN, the Internet domain name manager, from its historic ties to the U.S. government on Monday. The U.S. Commerce Department willÂ retain its oversight of ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, for three more years under a new agreement that took effect at the beginning of this month. The new agreement grants ICANN more freedom from U.S. government involvement, but stops short of full privatization, which many in the Internet industry want. European Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said the Commerce Department had given "clear indications that this three year agreement between ICANN and the U.S. government would be the last." "This is good news. Last year there were doubts about whether the U.S. would privatize ICANN," Selmayr said. The new agreement, which runs until 2009, is subject to a review in 18 months. If in the review the Commerce Department concludes that ICANN is stable, transparent, and accountable enough, it could decide to grant the nonprofit organization full autonomy immediately, the Commerce Department said in a statement Friday. In addition to promising full autonomy, the U.S. government has shaped the new three-year agreement to help pave the way towards independence. From now on ICANN will determine how it works and what it works on, ICANN said. It will no longer have to submit half-yearly progress reports to the Commerce Department. Instead it will publish an annual progress report on the internet for everyone to see. Many observers argue that U.S. government involvement in ICANN is slowing the international development of the Internet down and should pull out without delay. Others warn that ICANN isn't ready to fend for itself. They believe the organization hasn't yet proven that it can handle the entire task of domain name management alone, and if the government withdraws now this could compromise security and stability of the internet. Â ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Over the past few years, the Internet has seen new domain names such as '.eu' for Europe and '.travel' for the travel industry.Comment
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Hereâs to you, internet overlords Today is the ninth anniversary of ICANN as the master of the internet universe, and on that note, the controversial organization that controls the technical standards of internet seems to merit a salutation of sorts.â¦
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The U.S. government is loosening its grip on the domain name system and is edging closer to giving ICANN -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers -- a greater measure of autonomy in making decisions about the future of the Internet.
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Despite complaints of secrecy and biased decision making leveled against the organization that handles domain name policies, the U.S. Commerce Department says ICANN works and renews its oversight agreement.
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But very slowly Analysis The US government has taken a step back from control of the internet with a new contract between it and overseeing organisation ICANN that came into effect yesterday.â¦
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The Internet's domain name system is in danger of being swamped by speculators who harvest expired site names and re-register them, a practice that could make it harder to fight cybersquatters, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization.
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Hoping to bring some order to an increasingly unmanageable web, the Department of Commerce turns over the business of running the domain-name system to a new, private nonprofit.