SWITCH’s statement on Registrar Alliance

[news release] The cooperative Registrar Alliance announced on 15 January 2014 that it will be applying for registry status for the .ch TLD.

 

SWITCH has been the registry for the .ch TLD for over 25 years and ensures the security and stability of the Swiss Internet. As an independent non-profit foundation and partner of the Swiss universities, SWITCH puts a great deal of technical expertise as well as unique know-how and experience into accomplishing this task, which is a huge responsibility. The SWITCH foundation is convinced that it is best placed to perform the registry function.

Urs Eppenberger, Head of Commercial Customers at SWITCH, explains: “In operating the DNS (Domain Name System) infrastructure for .ch, SWITCH makes sure that the Swiss Internet is stable and protects it against failures and attacks.” Protecting the Internet in Switzerland is SWITCH’s top priority. In 2010, for example, it became the first national registry to start successfully combating malware (harmful software) on its country’s websites. This makes the .ch TLD one of the most secure in the world.

SWITCH currently performs the functions of both registry and registrar under contract to the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), but its contract expires at the end of March 2015.

While OFCOM was evaluating the separation of these two functions, SWITCH expressed its support for maintaining State control over the registry function while opening up the registrar function to the free market. Registrars are partners of SWITCH. They are official domain name providers and offer their customers additional services needed for their websites.

Critical infrastructure
The registry for .ch is a critical infrastructure for Switzerland and must therefore meet particularly high security standards. SWITCH’s many years of experience and proven track record guarantee the robust design and stable operation of this critical infrastructure. At the national level, SWITCH fosters close contact with authorities and organisations such as the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES), the Cybercrime Coordination Unit Switzerland (CYCO) and the Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance (MELANI).

Internationally connected
At the international level, meanwhile, SWITCH is in contact or involved with a large number of key organisations, including ICANN, CENTR and ENISA as well as the IGF, ITU, OECD, DNS-OARC, IETF, FIRST and the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

Explanation of terms:

Registry

A registry, often called a Network Information Centre (NIC), is an organisation responsible for the central administration of resources needed to operate a country’s Domain Name System (DNS). In particular, it is in charge of registering the country’s domain names. Examples include nic.at in Austria and denic.de in Germany. SWITCH is contracted by OFCOM in Switzerland to register domain names ending in .ch and by the Office for Communications in the Principality of Liechtenstein to register domain names ending in .li.

Registrar

A registrar is a company that offers its customers domain name registration services as well as additional services such as e-mail and website hosting. It thus acts as a partner of the registry and an interface between the registry and the end customers (domain name holders).

Top-level domain (TLD)

TLDs include all the world’s country domains, such as .ch (Switzerland), .de (Germany) and .at (Austria), as well as the “generic” TLDs such as .com, .net, .org etc.

This SWITCH announcement was sourced from:
www.switch.ch/about/news/2014/stellungnahme-registrar-alliance.html

 

Total Internet Group First To Implement World-First auDA Registrar Information Security Standard

HKIRC Launches .HK LOCK: Better protection for .hk websites as the Internet becomes less secure

[news release] Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (HKIRC) today announced the launch of .hk LOCK, a new security measure for .hk domain name owners. Through the service, .hk domain name owners will have the ability to lock their domain name server (DNS) records and prevent any unauthorised changes. By offering this service, HKIRC aims to deliver an additional layer of security for .hk domain names to make .hk websites safer, contributing to a more secure and trusted place for online business.

 

Rising cyber security threats pose challenges to every organisation. A recent spate of high profile international incidents involving unauthorised access to domain name records has drawn attention to big names like The New York Times, Google and Yahoo. Visitors to the affected sites were redirected to various fraudulent websites. These have highlighted the need for additional security measures at the DNS level.

Attacks from the outside are not the only threat to the security of the DNS. In some instances employees made errors to domain name records unintentionally, opening the website up to the same harmful effects that come from cyber-attacks. Unexpected changes of domain name records, whether made inside or outside the organisation, may result in the loss of confidential information, impacting the business and ruining a brand’s reputation.

“MarkMonitor applauds HKIRC for adding registry lock functionality with .hk LOCK, an important protection that benefits the entire Internet community by increasing the security of the .hk namespace. As a registrar charged with safeguarding the domain name portfolios for some of the world’s largest global brands and most-trafficked Internet properties, MarkMonitor has continually recommended this Best Practice to all registry operators for implementation as an additional safeguard available to domain name owners.” said Matt Serlin, Vice President of Domain Management of MarkMonitor Inc.

“A domain name is the digital asset that represents a company online. Protecting domain names should be a key priority for any company, especially for high traffic websites and large corporations, where the domain name is a critical part of their business. The .hk LOCK is an essential tool to manage the potential risks and better secure business in an unsecured world. Looking ahead, HKIRC will continue to innovate and promote other security measures, and work together with others to help prepare against possible threats and safeguard .hk domain name for a more secure future”, said Jonathan Shea, CEO of HKIRC.

About .hk LOCK

The .hk LOCK offers an additional protection to prevent .hk domain names from unauthorised changes. It is a security process that is purposely designed for requiring human interactions through traditional channel to authorise a change. Each change request will be verified by HKIRC’s human-to-human contact. Only the authorised individuals who are validated can gain access to .hk domain name records to lock, unlock and relock the domain name.

After successfully completing the authentication process, the domain name record will be protected from unwanted modifications, transfers and deletions, ensuring web traffic is directed to the intended web addresses. For more information, please view here.

This service is only available to .hk domain name owners through their accredited registrars.

This news release was sourced from here.

Eight More New gTLDs Delegated, including .Dance, .Marketing and .Social

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that 8 more new gTLDs were delegate, bringing the total number to 91 new gTLD strings.

 

The eight new gTLDs are : .Cheap, .Zone, .Democrat, .Marketing, .Social, .Moda, .Dance and .Agency.

Donuts subsidiaries got .Agency, .Cheap, .Zone and .Marketing, while United TLD say .Democrat, .Moda , .Dance and . Social go live.

Here are all the new gTLDs that have been delegated up until now :

 .ZONE     Outer Falls, LLC
.CHEAP     Sand Cover, LLC
.MARKETING     Fern pass, LLC
.DEMOCRAT     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.SOCIAL     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.AGENCY     Steel Falls, LLC
.MODA     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.DANCE     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.BERLIN     dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG
集团 (xn--3bst00m) – Chinese for “group”     Eagle Horizon Limited
我爱你 (xn--6qq986b3xl) – Chinese for “I love you”     Tycoon Treasure Limited
中文网 (xn--fiq228c5hs) – Chinese for “Chinese network”     TLD Registry Limited
.WANG     Zodiac Leo Limited
.KIWI     Dot Kiwi Limited
.WIEN     punkt.wien GmbH
.EMAIL     Spring Madison, LLC
.IMMOBILIEN     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.在线 (xn--3ds443g) – Chinese for “online”     TLD Registry Limited
.INSTITUTE     Outer Maple, LLC
.CEO     CEOTLD Pty Ltd
.SOLAR     Ruby Town, LLC
.FARM     Just Maple, LLC
.EDUCATION     Brice Way, LLC
.GLASS     Black Cover, LLC
.ONL     I-REGISTRY Ltd. Niederlassung Deutschland
.INTERNATIONAL     Wild Way, LLC
.CODES     Puff Willow, LLC
.TRAINING     Wild Willow, LLC
.HOUSE     Sugar Park, LLC
.KAUFEN     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.NINJA     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
.REPAIR     Lone Sunset, LLC
.BUILDERS     Atomic Madison, LLC
.COFFEE     Trixy Cover, LLC
.FLORIST     Half Cypress, LLC
.HOLIDAY     Goose Woods, LLC
.SOLUTIONS     Silver Cover, LLC
.BUZZ     dotStrategy Co.
.SUPPORT     Grand Orchard, LLC
.RECIPES     Grand Island, LLC
.COMPUTER     Pine Mill, LLC
.ACADEMY     Half Oaks, LLC
.CAREERS     Wild Corner, LLC
.CAB     Half Sunset, LLC
公益 (xn--55qw42g) – Chinese for “charity”     China Organizational Name Administration Center
政务 (xn--zfr164b) – Chinese for “government”     China Organizational Name Administration Center
.SYSTEMS     Dash Cypress, LLC
.DOMAINS     Sugar Cross, LLCviajes
.VIAJES     Black Madison, LLC
.COMPANY     Silver Avenue, LLC
.CAMP     Delta Dynamite, LLC
.LIMO     Hidden Frostbite, LLC
.MANAGEMENT     John Goodbye, LLC
.PHOTOS     Sea Corner, LLC
.SHOES     Binky Galley, LLC
.CENTER     Tin Mill, LLC
.RUHR     Regiodot GmbH & Co. KG
.MENU     Wedding TLD2, LLC
.UNO     Dot Latin, LLC
.diamonds     John Edge, LLC
.tips     Corn Willow, LLC
.photography     Sugar Glen, LLC
.directory     Extra Madison, LLC
.enterprises     Snow Oaks, LLC
.kitchen     Just Goodbye, LLC
.today     Pearl Woods, LLC
.plumbing     Spring Tigers, LLC
.graphics     Over Madison, LLC
.contractors     Magic Woods, LLC
.gallery     Sugar House, LLC
.sexy     Uniregistry, Corp.
.construction     Fox Dynamite, LLC
.tattoo     Uniregistry, Corp.
.technology     Auburn Falls
.estate     Trixy Park, LLC
.land     Pine Moon, LLC
.bike     Grand Hollow, LLC
.VENTURES     Binky Lake, LLC
.CAMERA     Atomic Maple, LLC.
.CLOTHING     Steel Lake, LLC
.LIGHTING     John McCook, LLC
.SINGLES     Fern Madison, LLC
.VOYAGE     Ruby House, LLC
.GURU     Pioneer Cypress, LLC
.HOLDINGS     John Madison, LLC
.EQUIPMENT     Corn Station, LLC
شبكة (xn--ngbc5azd) – Arabic for “web/network”     International Domain Registry Pty. Ltd.
онлайн (xn--80asehdb) – Russian for “online”     CORE Association
сайт (xn--80aswg) – Russian for “site”     CORE Association
游戏(xn--unup4y) – Chinese for “game(s)”     Spring Fields, LLC

Heritage Auction Partners with RightOfTheDot.com To Provide Auctions of New gTLD Domains

Heritage Auction and RightOfTheDot, LLC announced an exclusive partnership to provide live auctioneer and live online auction services for premium domain names in new TLD extensions.

 

You can read the press release after the jump:

“An exclusive joint partnership has been announced between Heritage Auctions and RightOfTheDot, LLC to provide live auctioneer and live online auction services for premium domains in new TLD extensions that are being launched over the next several years.

Examples of premium domain names that may potentially be for sale via this new offering could include names like Night.Club, Tour.London, Hotels.NYC, Divorce.Law, Poker.Vegas, Concert.Tickets, and on, across the spectrum of recently created new domain space. The partnership will also continue to provide auctions of existing, established TLDs such as premium .Com domains.

Heritage Auctions and RightOfTheDot will also offer additional Contention Resolution Auction Services, such as a customized ascending clock auction service to help competing applicants for new TLDs resolve their contention prior to last resort auctions being offered by ICANN.

RightOfTheDot, LLC was founded in 2010 by Monte Cahn and Michael H. Berkens, Esq., two well-known domain industry veterans. With a combined 30 years of experience, Michael and Monte have participated in more than $350,000,000 in domain sales, advised and assisted in launching many of the existing 22 gTLDs, and pioneered many domain industry products and services.

“This joint venture with Heritage exponentially expands our footprint for live auction and live online auction services for the domain industry,” said Cahn, President of RightOfTheDot, LLC. “Our exclusive partnership provides the industry with a unique, worldwide live auction platform that hasn’t existed until now. Heritage’s leading technology and long history combined with our industry experience and success is custom made to offer the very best service to the entire domain name industry for years to come.”

Heritage Auctions has completed more than $8 Billion in auction transactions since 1976, is the world largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house in the world. Heritage’s website is among the most-trafficked websites on the web and it has offices and buying capability all over the world. The company is licensed in all 50 States and has clients in 186 countries, holding more than 500 auctions in 38 unique categories per year. The Intellectual Property Division is headed up by another domain industry pioneer, Aron Meystedt.

“Heritage thinks that this partnership with RightOfTheDot is a win-win for all involved,” said Meystedt. “Right of the Dot is well-connected and has tremendous experience navigating the domain industry. Both sides in this partnership bring valuable expertise and services.”

Meystedt has 10 years of experience in domain name valuations, sales and development. He is credited with owning the first domain name registered on the Internet: Symbolics.com.”