Featured Blogs

Domain Names Overcoming Awareness Gap in Mainstream Media

One of the challenges faced by registries that are launching is that there is a large lack awareness of the new options being available -- to browse as internet users or to register a domain. In a recent survey conducted by the Domain Name Association, (TheDNA) (of which I am a member), people of varying aptitude and experience from the general population of 10 different countries were provided a series of questions about their browsing habits. more

Oh, Those Wild and Crazy New TLDs

Among the many issues affecting ICANN's thousand new TLDs is collisions, that is, the same name already used elsewhere. The other uses are non-standard and unofficial, but some names turn out to have been used a lot. One approach to see how bad the collisions are is controlled interruption, in which the TLD publishes wildcard records with obvious impossible values, in the hope that systems that use colliding names see them and do something about it. more

Is the Future of .BRAND TLDs to Be Registered Just Like a Domain Name?

Will .BRAND Top-Level Domains be made available for registration at Registrars like GoDaddy, just like second level domains are? My guess is that it will and here are the reasons why... Applying for a new domain name extension, for a new gTLD, is not so simple because you are required to submit a complete application to ICANN and this does not happen that often, it's happened once only and was called "the First Round" (of the ICANN new gTLD program). more

New gTLDs String Theory for Bidders

The following is most of the generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) strings applied for in the 2000 and 2003 applications. Some are two, and even one character ASCII strings. Some have since been approved, or disapproved (which of course means nothing in the 2008 round). It is a universe of 180 strings. Enjoy. more

IPv6 Address Allocations

Last year, we presented statistics on the number of RIPE NCC members and the resources distributed to them. Now, one year later, we revisit the topic and look at how things evolved in 2010. We were particularly interested to see how the number of IPv6 allocations increased over time. more

What’s New In the Field of Cybersecurity Cooperation

The last few months have shown a number of signs that cooperation in cyberspace is not just necessary, but it is vital for the survival of the Internet as we know it. There is no need to provide links to all the articles and news stories that talk about the dangers of cyberattacks on the infrastructure in the USA or other countries - you can find plenty of them. ... What misses really in these stories is the answer to the question "So, what?" more

ITU’s Critical Cybersecurity Role and the 2018 Plenipotentiary

In the rather unique world of public international law for cybersecurity, the treaty provisions of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) stand alone. They form the multilateral basis for the existence of all communication networks, internets, and services worldwide and have obtained the assent by every nation in the world. They also contain the only meaningful multilateral cybersecurity provisions that have endured over a century and a half through all manner of technological change. more

Caribbean Nationals Victorious in ARIN Elections

Three Caribbean candidates -- Peter Harrison, Alicia Trotman and Kerrie-Ann Richards -- have been elected to leadership roles at the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN). ARIN is one of five Internet registries worldwide that coordinate the distribution and administration of number resources. The registry serves the United States, Canada and several territories in the Caribbean. more

Responsibilities of the DNS: “Oh YES you will!”, “Oh NO you will not!”

What is the responsibility of the DNS? Should the DNS be responsible for policing traffic across its infrastructure? Should the blocking and blacklisting of names or throttling of query packets be the responsibility of the DNS? From experience I know my opening paragraph has started passionate debates in more than one section of this globe. We at CommunityDNS have found ourselves right in the middle of such heated debates. "Oh YES you will!", "Oh NO you will not!" more

The Evolution of the ITU’s Views on Internet Governance (2006-2012)

Someone was talking the other day about the ITU and what they think about the issue of Internet Governance. I know what the ITU Secretariat wrote in a paper some years ago (Bulgaria was one of the governments heavily criticizing the errors and flaws in the ITU paper), but also decided it might be interesting to show how this question has evolved in the words of the ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure, by finding out how his positions on that issue, and on the role of the ITU have changed through the years. more

Revisiting Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

The conduct that reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH) was crafted to punish is "using the [Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy] in bad faith to attempt to deprive a registered domain-name holder of a domain name." There are several variations ranging from the plain vanilla, claims that should never have been brought – mark owners whose rights postdate the registration of the challenged domain name as in Vudu, Inc. v. WhoisGuard, Inc. / K Blacklock, D2019-2247... more

The Role of Trust in Determining a New TLD’s Business Success

Warren Buffet famously said, "It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it." Like it or not, every Top-Level Domain (TLD) is a brand in the eyes of the consumer. So, just how important is trust in the success of the new top-level-domains? I'm no branding expert, but I grasp that no brand, no matter how memorable, will fail to achieve its goals if it does not gain the public's trust. more

ICANN Culls Three More Domain Name Registrars

ICANN has announced that three more domain name registrars have lost their accreditation due to non-compliance with the RAA. The three registrars have been informed that their agreements with ICANN will not be renewed. South American Domains (NameFrog), Simply Named and Tahoe Domains have been sent letters by ICANN outlining the decision and the reasons for it. So what now? more

The Federal Cybersecurity Regulation Already in Place

While Congress and the White House deliberate possible actions on FISMA reform and increased oversight of critical infrastructure, relatively little attention is being given to the government-wide cybersecurity regulation already in place, the Data Quality Act (DQA). Unlike FISMA, which primarily governs the government's internal cybersecurity processes, and contemplated legislation and/or Executive Order(s), which would likely also include a focus on critical infrastructure protection, the DQA contains a unique mandate. more

I Am Not an IP Address, I Am a Free Man… and a Potential Customer

When I heard that full episodes of The Prisoner TV series were available online I immediately headed over to the AMC website to wallow in nostalgic enjoyment and remind myself just how cool Patrick McGoohan was as he stumbled around Portmeirion trying to avoid a big plastic ball... I would happily have watched online and let AMC advertise to me in return, but sadly it was not to be. When I got to The Prisoner page on its site I saw only an unfriendly message, shouting at me... more