ICANN: Alert on Domain Name Renewal Phishing Scam

ICANN was recently alerted to a new phishing scam concerning domain registration renewals. The phishing emails use ICANN’s branding and logo, and can appear as though ICANN is the sender. However, once registrants click on links within the spoofed email, they are taken to a fake registration renewal site that captures their credit card and personal information.

 

ICANN 51: Los Angeles – Global Domains Division Sessions

The Global Domains Division has grown steadily over the past year and so has our presence at ICANN meetings. During ICANN 51 in Los Angeles, we’re offering a record number of public sessions – 14 – and many meetings with community groups related to ICANN ‘s role in the domain name industry, maintaining a secure, stable and resilient Internet, and fostering a truly inclusive, global Internet. A comprehensive list of sessions is provided below.

 

Additionally, we’re expanding the size and scope of our Global Domains Division booth to better accommodate the needs of our contracted parties and those with a general interest in the GDD. Come by the booth to have your questions answered, get immediate customer service support or set up an appointment with one of our subject matter experts. Our customer service team will be onsite and ready to help you.

hosting ICANN 51 in Los Angeles is particularly exciting for the GDD because October 2014 marks the one year anniversary of the first new gTLD delegations from the most recent wave of the New gTLD Program. Last year at this time, there were only 22 top-level domains. Today, we have well over 400! One of the central topics of the meeting will be the New gTLD Program Reviews and Assessments and next steps toward a subsequent round of new gTLDs.

We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles. Safe travels!

GDD Sessions at ICANN 51: Los Angeles

(Listed in chronological order)

• IANA Department – Who, What, Why?
  Date/Time: Monday, 13 October 2014 – 10:30 to 12:00 PDT
  Just what does it mean to be the IANA functions operator? An approachable session aimed at outlining the scope of the role and busting a few of the myths circulating in the community. We’ll explain the types of requests the IANA department processes and the procedures used to fulfill them.

• Global Domains Division Update
  Date/Time: Monday, 13 October 2014 – 13:15 to 14:15 PDT
  The Global Domains Division (GDD) has collaborated with the community to achieve many significant milestones in the last year, including the delegation of the first new gTLD a year ago October. In this session, we will provide an update on the progress within IANA , Domain Name Services and Industry Engagement, Security, Stability and Resiliency, and the New gTLD Program. We’ll also and discuss opening the doors for a new round of gTLD applications.

• Update on Next Round of New gTLDs
  Date/Time: Monday, 13 October 2014 – 15:15 to 16:30 PDT
  There has been continuing interest in the expansion of the gTLD ecosystem, and one of the questions most often posed is “When will the next application round commence?” Join this session for an update on the next steps and estimated timeframes for a new phase of additional choice and competition on the Internet.

• New gTLD Program Update
  Date/Time: Monday, 13 October 2014 – 16:45 to 18:00 PDT
  Getting a New gTLD online is no mean feat. This session gives an overview of program progress, incorporating the latest figures, and provides insight and guidance as to how applications can complete the process with minimal delay.

• IDN Program Update
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 08:30 to 09:45 PDT
  Internationalized Domain Names have the potential to truly open up the Internet to hundreds of millions of people around the world. We will provide a status update on the IDN Program and discuss the next steps that will ensure their success.

• IDN Root Zone LGR (Workshop)
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 10:00 to 11:15 PDT
  An engaging workshop intended to showcase community efforts to implement LGR Procedure for current and potential Generation Panel members. The workshop will also discuss how Generation Panels of related scripts should coordinate with each other going forward.

• Name Collision
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 10:00 to 11:15 PDT
  The NGPC approved the Name Collision Occurrence Management Framework on 30 July 2014 that puts new requirements on registries to mitigate name collision issues. This session explains what registries are expected to implement, and discuss feedback from those in the community on their experiences so far. It also aims to clarify any points of confusion – such as how RPMs can be treated in relation to this new Framework and how both sets of requirements can be adhered to simultaneously.

• Registry Services Update
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 11:30 to 12:30 PDT
  Learn the ins and outs of the Registry Services team and how it supports current and prospective gTLD Registries with their operational needs. We will cover account management, updates on key services provided to registries (e.g., RSEP , contract assignment, etc.) and information on current registry engagement activities. There will also be Q&A to close the session.

• Rights Protection Mechanisms: User Feedback Session
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 13:30 to 14:45 PDT
  ICANN put in place robust Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPMs) for the roll out of the New gTLD Program. One year later, we are gathering feedback from IP stakeholders, trademark rights holders, registries and registrars who have used the Trademark Clearinghouse and Claims service, the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system, and the Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedures (PDDRPs). This vital feedback will help inform forthcoming reviews of the RPMs.

• DNS Risk Framework
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 15:00 to 16:15 PDT
  The ICANN staff is moving forward with implementation of the Risk Framework as prepared by Westlake Governance and presented at the London ICANN meeting. ICANN staff will give an overview of the methodology that they intend to apply to investigate the twenty three identified risks and to define related mitigations mechanisms. The session will be held jointly between ICANN ‘s Enterprise Risk department and the Identifier Systems Security, Stability and Resiliency group.

• GDD Service Delivery, Customer Service & SLAs
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 15:00 to 16:15 PDT
  The GDD Operations team will discuss service delivery and customer service functions that impact contracted parties, particularly registries and registrars. The session will also touch on target service levels and service level agreements, as well as plans for ongoing operational improvements. The session closes with a Q&A.

• Universal Acceptance
  Date/Time: Wednesday, 15 October 2014 – 16:30 to 17:45 PDT
  With the New gTLD Program well underway, the concept of Universal Acceptance is once again the focus of much attention. The concept is simple: no one should face technical barriers in accessing TLDs from web browsers, email clients or other software, on any operating system. However, arriving at Universal Acceptance poses quite a challenge! This session outlines ICANN ‘s proposed roadmap for implementation of this initiative.

• Thick WHOIS Implementation (Working Session)
  Date/Time: Thursday, 16 October 2014 – 08:30 to 09:45 PDT
  This hands-on working session will allow the ICANN Thick WHOIS Implementation Team to review the status of key tasks, deliverables and timelines with the Implementation Review Team.

• Deploying the IETF ‘s WHOIS Replacement
  Date/Time: Thursday, 16 October 2014 – 10:30 to 11:45 PDT
  What is the future of WHOIS ? It’s the Registry Data Access Program, and it’s on its way. Find out more about what this means for you and the Internet community as a whole. We’ll also provide information on how you can take part in shaping the future of registry directory services by contributing to the RDAP roadmap.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-51-los-angeles-global-domains-division-gdd-sessions

ICANN : IDN ccTLD Request from the Republic of Belarus Successfully Passes String Evaluation

ICANN is pleased to announce the successful completion of String Evaluation on proposed IDN ccTLD string for the Republic of Belarus.

 

Details of the successful evaluation are provided here: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/idn/fast-track/string-evaluation-completion

The IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) ccTLD Fast Track Process was approved by the ICANN Board at its annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea on 30 October 2009. First requests were received starting 16 November 2009. The process enables countries and territories to submit requests to ICANN for IDN ccTLDs, representing their respective country or territory names in scripts other than Latin. IDN ccTLD requesters must fulfill a number of requirements:

    the script used to represent the IDN ccTLDs must be non-Latin;
    the languages used to express the IDN ccTLDs must be official in the corresponding country or territory; and
    a specific set of technical requirements must be met (as evaluated by an external DNS Stability Panel comprised of DNS and IDN experts).

The request and evaluation processes entail three steps:

    Preparation (by the requester in the country / territory): Community consensus is built for which IDN ccTLD to apply for, how it is run, and which organization will be running it, along with preparing and gathering all the required supporting documentation. Requests are submitted through an online system together with additional material supporting the process at: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/
    String Evaluation: Requests are evaluated in accordance with the technical and linguistic requirements for the IDN ccTLD string(s) criteria described above.
    String Delegation: Requests successfully meeting string evaluation criteria are eligible to apply for delegation following the same ICANN IANA process as is used for ASCII based ccTLDs. Requesters submit string delegation requests to IANA root zone management:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

With this announcement, a total of 34 countries/territories requests have successfully passed through the String Evaluation. Of these, 26 countries/territories (represented by 36 IDN ccTLDs) are delegated in the DNS root zone; with the remainder either readying to apply, or actively applying for, delegation of the string. Up-to-date numbers about the IDN Fast Track Program will continue to be provided on the Fast Track Process web page at: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track

ICANN looks forward to enabling the availability of non-Latin country-code domains for countries that meet the Fast Track Process requirements. ICANN will continue to accept new string evaluation requests in the Fast Track Process. Staff support is available to help all countries and territories interested in participating in the Fast Track Process. Please email
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
for any inquiries for participation.

.Church Domain Names – A Big Hit

The new top level domain name .Church was made available gor general registrations last week. Since its launch, more and more congregations acquired a .Church domain name.

 

The new .Church domain name is incresing in popularity with many congregations registering their .Church domain name every day.One of the congregations that has chosen to register a new .Church domain name is Brookhaven United Methodist Church o Brookhaven,Georgia.

“I saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of important geographic branding opportunities domains that immediately and easily identify my church with the Brookhaven and greater Atlanta area have long been taken,”  said Wesley Sanders ,pastor at Brookhaven United Methodist.

“I had been planning on doing a redesign of our church’s website for a while, and the release of the new dot church domain names gave me a good opportunity to implement a new online presence,” he added.

“Churches need to constantly keep up with design trends so that visitors will not get the idea that the church is five or 10 years behind in their embrace of technology. This includes making sure the web page is easily navigable from mobile devices as well,” Sanders continued.

.Church ranks as the 84th new gTLD , with 5,677 registrations, according to ntldstats.com.

M8.com Domain Name Sells for $75,500

M8.com domain name changed hands for a whopping $75,500 at SnapNames.The payment is still pending so we don’t know who the buyer is.

 

According to whois records, the domain was first registered in 1996.

The domain name resolves to a page where there is the following notice :

“This domain name registration has expired and renewal or deletion are pending. If you are the registrant and want to renew the domain name, please contact your registration service provider.”

Congratulations to both the seller and the buyer.