auDA Domain Name News - 5 February
05/Feb/2010
auDA Domain Name News is compiled by David Goldstein on auDA's behalf. The views expressed in the news items linked from auDA's website (Linked Documents), do not necessarily reflect the views of auDA. auDA does not warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information contained in the Linked Documents, and assumes no liability to any person for any reliance placed upon any information contained in the Linked Documents.
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GOVERNANCE
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Obama Is Surrendering Control Of The Internet [former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush]
Without the ingenuity of America’s brightest minds and the investment of U.S. Taxpayer dollars, there would be no Internet, as we now know it today. Now, the Obama administration has quietly moved to cede control of the web from the United States to foreign powers.
newsmax.com/Headline/obama-internet-iana-united/2010/01/31/id/348514
eforum.reviewjournal.com/lv/showthread.php?t=39447
A very partial view of the Internet… and the world
Chanced upon a little beauty of an article about how the US invented and paid for the Internet and should therefore keep controlling it forever. Now I realise that the author's views aren't shared by everyone in the States. The site on which the article is being run is obviously slightly Republican friendly to say the least, and the article's "foreigners are going to take our Internet away from us" diatribe is obviously more political than anything else. Still, I can't help but be worried when the article's author, Bradley A. Blakeman, is an ex American President's deputy assistant and now teaches politics at a major US university.
stephanevangelder.com/archives/303-A-very-partial-view-of-the-Internet-and-the-world.html
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DOMAIN NAMES
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- ICANN
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Call for Applicants for the Position of Volunteer Review Team Member
ICANN reminds interested individuals that February 17th 2010, midnight UTC is the application deadline for the position of volunteers Review Team Members representing a Supporting Organization or Advisory Committee for the ‘Accountability and Transparency’ review which is called on by the Affirmation of Commitments.
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-03feb10-en.htm
Publication of Three Review Working Group Final Reports
ICANN is pleased to announce that the following review working group final reports have been published:
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-03feb10-en.htm
Domain Name Registry and Registrar Separation Now Probably Going to Be a Policy Debate by Michele Neylon
Again on the subject of new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) ... One of the "issues" that concerned a number of people is the concept of "vertical separation". The basic idea is that domain name registries and registrars should be kept separate. While that is a wonderful Utopian ideal, the reality is that in the real world companies own other companies, people trade in stocks and shares etc., etc. So it's far from being a simple "cut and dried" situation.
www.circleid.com/posts/20100202_domain_name_registry_registrar_separation/
New gTLD updates from DomainFest in LA
Last week, I attended the DomainFest conference in Los Angeles where new gTLDs continued to be a hot topic within the Internet community.
www.ausregistry.com/blog/?p=272
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- ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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.com Approaches 25th Anniversary [news release]
In March 1985, the first .com domain was registered, igniting the birth of the consumer Internet that, 25 years later, continues to transform communications, commerce and our society as a whole.
https://press.verisign.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=AFC0FF0DB5C560D3&version=live&prid=583114&releasejsp=custom_97
VeriSign to Celebrate .COM's 25th Birthday in March
VeriSign have announced .COM will be celebrating its 25th birthday in March. In March 1985 the first .com domain was registered. There are now around 80 million.COM domains registered.
goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=10291
www.domainpulse.com/2010/02/04/verisign-to-celebrate-coms-25th-birthday-in-march/
www.domainnews.com/en/verisign-celebrating-.com-s-25th-birthday-in-march.html
VeriSign Toasts 25 Years of .Com
VeriSign 25yearsof.com.Com registry VeriSign has launched a new campaign to celebrate 25 years of dot com domain names and the emergence of the web. The campaign — found online at 25YearsOf.com — will celebrate a number of the milestones and important individuals that have made .com what it is today.
domainnamewire.com/2010/02/03/verisign-toasts-25-years-of-com/
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the .COM gTLD
Versign's .COM Anniversary SiteVerisign will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the .COM gTLD with a Policy Forum and Gala and has also set up a website with a timeline of the development of .COM. The first domain name, symbolics.com, was registered on March 15th, 1985 and is today owned by domain investor Aron Meystedt.
www.domainnamenews.com/registries/verisigns-celebrates-25th/7102
Verisign drag their heels at removing malware sites
A security researcher is accusing Verisign of not acting fast enough to take down several dozen sites that he says are known to be spewing malware.
www.computerworld.com/s/article/9151739/Versign_fails_to_take_action_against_malicious_sites_researcher_says
www.networkworld.com/news/2010/020410-versign-fails-to-take-action.html
www.cio.co.uk/news/3211934/verisign-drag-their-heels-at-removing-malware-sites/
www.computerworlduk.com/management/online/isp/news/index.cfm?newsId=18666
China’s domain name rules spur website flight
China’s tighter regulation of internet domain names is driving website owners to register overseas, according to industry sources and internet activists.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7374f5ee-0f52-11df-a450-00144feabdc0.html
.eu Top Level Domain Names and Public Policy Considerations
... The European Union (EU) regulates the .eu Top Level Domain system (TLDS) through Regulation (EC) No. 733/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 22, 2002, and implementing Regulation No. 874/2004. Two articles of Regulation 733/2002 particularly address public policies regarding .eu TLDS.
www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=2304
InternetNZ appoints chief executive
InternetNZ has appointed Vikram Kumar as its new chief executive officer.
computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/78BC1F89823756EBCC2576BD00683860
New boss at InternetNZ, sort of
The organisation that administers the country’s internet domain names has appointed a new Chief Executive - however he won’t oversee the entire multi-million dollar organisation.
www.techday.co.nz/telecommunicationsreview/news/new-boss-at-internetnz-sort-of/15266/
Nominet consultation on .UK
Nominet, the body that administers the .UK country code, is holding an EGM later this month to decide on its future governance structure. As my old colleague Kieren McCarthy points out, the proposals include “a larger Board, lower voting thresholds, explicitly recognising that Nominet has a “public purpose”, giving the Board the right to set pricing, and a promise to review the organisation’s current membership setup to pull in more of the Internet community into its decisions.” These are all very good things.
crookedtimber.org/2010/02/03/nominet-consultation-on-uk/
Nominet to debate the future of .uk
Nominet, the registry for over eight million .uk domain names, is to hold an extraordinary general meeting on 24 February in London to discuss proposed changes to its constitution.
www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2257109/nominet-calls-members-shape
Who gets .vegas name unclear despite city’s vote
The Las Vegas City Council endorsed Wednesday an Internet entrepreneur’s plan to create a .vegas Internet domain over the objections of Clark County officials and a local company. But it doesn’t appear the decision by a divided council will resolve who get the rights to the Vegas name.
www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/04/who-gets-vegas-name-unclear-despite-citys-vote/
Vegas not alone in wanting in on .vegas
The Las Vegas City Council will debate Wednesday whether to strike a deal with an Internet entrepreneur who seeks to use the Internet suffix .vegas.
www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/02/vegas-not-alone-wanting-vegas/
City OKs .vegas domain deal despite Greenspun opposition
The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday endorsed a local company’s push for a .vegas Internet domain suffix despite protestations from the Greenspun Corp., which has been preparing a similar application.
www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/Council-backs-companys-move-for-vegas-domain-83492872.html
Council endorsement for .vegas doman questioned
The Las Vegas City Council endorsed a local company's push for a .vegas Internet domain suffix Wednesday despite protestations from the Greenspun Corp., which has been preparing a similar application.
www.lvrj.com/news/council-endorsement-for-vegas-doman-questioned-83527582.html
Vegas City Council Supports .vegas Domain
The Las Vegas City Council is now a catalyst in helping Sin City go viral. On Wednesday, the council approved a motion to support the “.vegas” effort.
www.fox5vegas.com/news/22458271/detail.html
City votes 4-3 to back company over .vegas Internet suffix
After a lengthy hearing, the Las Vegas City Council voted this afternoon to support Dot Vegas Inc. in its effort to become the registry of the .vegas top level domain on the Internet.
www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/03/city-votes-4-3-back-company-over-vegas-internet-su/
Article spotlights partnership and conflict over .VEGAS top-level-domain
The Las Vegas Sun ran a story yesterday regarding the efforts of the City of Las Vegas to enter into a partnership with a local company, Dot Vegas Inc. (“Dot Vegas”), over the creation of a new top-level-domain (“TLD”) — .VEGAS (a new domain name address suffix that could be used instead of the more common TLDs of .COM, .ORG, or .NET). Dot Vegas is proposing that the City of Las Vegas get 75 cents per registration or 10 percent of the gross revenues from future registrations.
www.vegastrademarkattorney.com/2010/02/article-spotlights-partnership-and.html
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- DNS SECURITY
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Senators Warned of Terror Attack on U.S. by July
... But Mr. Blair began his annual threat testimony before Congress by saying that the threat of a crippling attack on telecommunications and other computer networks was growing, as an increasingly sophisticated group of enemies had “severely threatened” the sometimes fragile systems undergirding the country’s information infrastructure. “Malicious cyberactivity is occurring on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary sophistication,” he told the committee.
www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/us/politics/03intel.html
US threatened by cyber attacks
The top United States intelligence chief says the US is at risk of a crippling cyber attack. In his annual threat assessment delivered to the US Congress, National Intelligence director Dennis Blair said the extent of malicious cyber activity was growing and critical US infrastructure was being threatened.
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/04/2810584.htm
Cyber-warfare 'is growing threat'
Cyber-warfare attacks on military infrastructure, government and communications systems, and financial markets pose a rapidly growing but little understood threat to international security and could become a decisive weapon of choice in future conflicts between states, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies warned yesterday.
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/feb/03/cyber-warfare-growing-threat
House Poised To Pass Cybersecurity Bill
The House is expected to finish work Thursday on legislation that would authorize cybersecurity research and development funding and calls for the creation of cybersecurity standards. House lawmakers began work Wednesday on the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009, adopting several amendments before putting off votes on four other amendments and on final passage until Thursday.
techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/02/house-poised-to-pass-cybersecu.php
Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks
The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020304057.html
Pentagon says boosting cyber operations' role
The U.S. Defense Department is putting cyberspace on a par with land, sea, air and space as a potential conflict zone, and developing new ways to operate there, a top-level Pentagon's strategy review said Monday.
in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-45832320100201
us: House to consider cybersecurity bill on Wednesday
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a proposed bill that is designed to bolster federal cybersecurity research and development activities, and stimulate the growth of a cybersecurity workforce in the country.
www.computerworld.com/s/article/9151099/House_to_consider_cybersecurity_bill_on_Wednesday
Intel Chief Cites Threat Of Cyber Attacks
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday that cyber attacks are a growing threat to the United States, saying in written testimony that "malicious cyber activity is occurring on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary sophistication."
techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/02/intel-chief-cites-threat-of-cy.php
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- DOMAIN DISPUTES
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New Software Makes it Easier to File UDRPs
Alias EncoreTyposquatting domain recovery company Alias Encore has opened a beta for its new Domain Enforcement and Management System. The system helps companies find out which of their domain names are being typosquatted, prioritize enforcement action, and even use a simple tool to create and file UDRP cases.
domainnamewire.com/2010/02/01/new-software-makes-it-easier-to-file-udrps/
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- IPv4/IPv6
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YouTube support of IPv6 seen in dramatic traffic spike
Google has quietly turned on IPv6 support for its YouTube video streaming Web site, sending a spike of IPv6 traffic across the Internet that has continued from last Thursday until Monday.
www.networkworld.com/news/2010/020110-youtube-ipv6.html
www.arnnet.com.au/article/334678/
www.computerworld.com.au/article/334678/youtube_support_ipv6_seen_dramatic_traffic_spike/
www.thestandard.com/news/2010/02/01/youtube-support-ipv6-seen-dramatic-traffic-spike
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- MISCELLANEOUS
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Domain Name Security Gains Prominence in German-Speaking World
The 2010 Domain Pulse, hosted by SWITCH (the .CH registry) was held in the snowy Swiss city of Luzern. Domain Name Security (DNS) was of particular importance in this year’s meeting with DNSSEC being implemented in the root zone in 2010 by ICANN, and by many registries in the next few years.
goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=10262
www.domainpulse.com/2010/02/02/domain-name-security-gains-prominence-in-german-speaking-world/
www.domainnews.com/en/domain-pulse-luzern-lucerne-domain-name-security-dns-austria-germany-switzerland-.de-.at-.ch-phishing.html
www.circleid.com/posts/20100202_domain_name_security_gains_prominence_in_german_speaking_world/
Swiss Among World Leaders in Enabling DNSSEC
SWITCH, the registry for .CH and .LI domain names, enabled DNSSEC on day two of the annual Domain Pulse conference in Luzern yesterday. SWITCH became the third ccTLD registry to enable DNSSEC giving registrants of .CH domain names added security following .SE (Sweden) and .CZ (Czech Republic).
goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=10275
www.domainpulse.com/2010/02/03/swiss-among-world-leaders-in-enabling-dnssec/
www.domainnews.com/en/swiss-among-world-leaders-in-enabling-dnssec.html
www.circleid.com/posts/20100203_swiss_among_world_leaders_in_enabling_dnssec/
How Network Solutions Notifies Customers about Expiring Domain Names
A lot of times domain name registrars get the blame when their customers forget to renew domain names. “I didn’t get the notice” is a common line.
domainnamewire.com/2010/02/02/how-network-solutions-notifies-customers-about-expiring-domain-names/
Information pirates called threat to Arab world
Arab states need to strengthen their information security in order to bolster e-commerce and beat online pirates, according to IT specialists who gathered January 25th-27th in Tunis under the auspices of the Arab League. ... "Navigating [the internet] without control or safeguards may create risks for users. Hence there is a need for security applications and systems of government," George Sadowsky, a board member of ICANN, told conference participants.
www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/02/02/feature-02
VeriSign Reports Fourth Quarter and 2009 Results [news release]
VeriSign, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 and year ended December 31, 2009. ... Business and Corporate Highlights: VeriSign Naming Services ended the quarter with approximately 96.7 million active domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net, representing a 7% increase year-over-year; On December 17, 2009, VeriSign announced that as of July 1, 2010, the registry fee for .com domain names will increase from $6.86 to $7.34 and that the registry fee for .net domain names will increase from $4.23 to $4.65.
https://press.verisign.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=AFC0FF0DB5C560D3&version=live&prid=583085&releasejsp=custom_97
10 places with an Internet top-level domain but hardly any people
Most country code top-level domains on the Internet represent areas with millions of people, such as .uk (United Kingdom), .ca (Canada), .de (Germany), .se (Sweden), and so on, but there a places where the population isn’t counted in the millions, or even thousands, that still have their very own top-level domain on the Internet. Some of them aren’t even inhabited.
royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/26/10-places-with-an-internet-top-level-domain-but-hardly-any-people/
The ccTLD That Represents a Place Where No One Lives! Plus 5 More That Serve Areas With Less Than 1,000 Residents
Peter Alguacil at Pingdom.com has a knack for turning up very interesting tidbits of information about the world of domains. I got a note from him while I was in Los Angeles covering DOMAINfest Global last week telling me about a new post on his site detailing the most sparsely populated places on earth that still have their own country code domain extensions. One of them even has NO residents whatsoever. I finally got a chance to check out his research this evening and it is interesting indeed.
www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2010/dailyposts/20100203.htm