ICANN is publishing today the contention sets identified by the string similarity review for applications submitted as part of the New gTLD Program.

Overall statistics about Contention Sets

2 Non-Exact Match Contention Sets

.hotels & .hoteis

.unicorn & .unicom

230 Exact Match Contention Sets

754 Total Applications in contention

The Current Application Status page on the new gTLD microsite will be updated to reflect these contention sets.

The role of the String Similarity Panel is to assess whether a proposed gTLD string creates a probability of user confusion due to similarity with any reserved name, any existing TLD, any requested IDN ccTLD, or any new gTLD string applied for in the current application round.

Per the Applicant Guidebook, a contention set is a group of two or more applications containing identical or visually similar applied-for gTLD strings. For more information on string contention procedures, please refer to Module 4 [PDF, 428 KB] of the Applicant Guidebook.

As a reminder, the objection filing period is open until 13 March 2013. For more information refer to the Objection & Dispute Resolution page.

This announcement was sourced from :

http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-26feb13-en.htm

Microsoft have announced the launch of their new Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) Registry Security Assessment Service to help registry operators find and fix security vulnerabilities before they are exploited. The service is available now and is being made available at no charge to registry operators.

The announcement of the new service by Microsoft Security Staff is republished below:

Microsoft Offers Security Assessment Service for Country-Code Top-Level Domain Registries (ccTLD)

The exploitation of vulnerabilities specific to country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries has become an increasingly common problem, especially in relatively small markets around the world. A ccTLD is an internet domain registry generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory, such as .co.uk (for United Kingdom) or .fr (for France). This allows web sites to be associated with their specific country, territory or geographic location and it provides the foundation for internet experiences by ensuring people using the internet reach the services they expect.  Today, over 300 country-code top-level domain name registries are responsible for servicing hundreds of millions of domain names worldwide.

Attacks on ccTLDs have far-reaching effects on private individuals, large and small companies, non-profits, and government organizations. Individuals attempting to reach certain web services may be redirected to inappropriate content where their computers can become infected by malware, putting their personal information at risk. Additionally, it is difficult for people to determine whether the problem is with the ccTLD or the organization that runs the service they are trying to reach.  This often results in an erosion of confidence in online service providers when, in fact, they had nothing to do with the incident.

Today, at the information security RSA Conference in San Francisco, Scott Charney, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Trustworthy Computing, announced during his keynote the availability of our new Microsoft Country-Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) Registry Security Assessment Service to help registry operators find and fix security vulnerabilities before they are exploited. The service is available now and is being made available at no charge to registry operators.

The Online Services Security and Compliance team (OSSC) that I lead is responsible for securing Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure and data centers that host over 200 cloud services for more than one billion customers, over 20 million businesses and 76 markets worldwide. We are pleased to be able to provide this service to the greater online community and share many of the lessons we have experienced in our own environment.

Microsoft’s History of Support for Country-Code Top-Level Domain Registries

The OSSC team works closely with industry groups such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that manages market domain name registries. Many of the companies that manage ccTLD registries are small organizations that may lack the resources to protect themselves from the constant onslaught of attacks. In the past three months, we observed several domain registry attacks that have occurred worldwide. Like the rest of the online community, Microsoft has also had to defend our web services against these types of attacks.

Microsoft has been working with industry peers to support and urge ccTLD operators to adopt important security practices. We have also participated in efforts to work with the ICANN community to provide more oversight in ensuring members adopt these practices. While both of these steps are positive for the industry, our new service is an effort to provide more support.

Microsoft’s Country-Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) Registry Security Assessment Service

Microsoft’s ccTLD Registry Security Assessment service is based on an existing internal program that we use to better protect our own web and online services. It provides scanning and reporting of security vulnerabilities of a ccTLD’s externally-facing web applications and servers. After requesting the security assessment service, ccTLDs will receive a vulnerability assessment report. If vulnerabilities are discovered, Microsoft will provide a consultation with guidance on how to remediate the problems. We will also provide periodic re-scanning to help ccTLDs continue to protect their domain registry services on an ongoing basis. Microsoft will also offer free secure development guidance and operations best practices that we employ in Microsoft’s own cloud environment.

The service is available to any top-level domain registries, including country-code top-level domain (ccTLD), generic top-level domain (gTLD) and sponsored top-level domain (sTLD).

How ccTLD Operators Can Receive the Service

If you own a domain registry and are seeking a solution to help identify vulnerabilities and receive guidance that may help to improve the security of your service, please visit: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/jj992598 to schedule an assessment.

Through programs and initiatives like these, we hope to help create a safer, more trusted online experience for everyone and support a dynamic environment for increasing the dialogue and sharing of best practices within our industry.

Pete Boden
General Manager
Online Services Security & Compliance

This announcement by Microsoft Security Staff was sourced from:
blogs.technet.com/b/security/archive/2013/02/25/microsoft-offers-security-assessment-service-for-country-code-top-level-domain-registries-cctld.aspx

Top Level Domain Holdings Limited,also known as Mind + Machines,announced today that it has received up to $15 million in funding to support its participation in an auction in relation a specific gTLD application.

You can read the press release after the jump :

“The Board of Top Level Domain Holdings Limited announces that the Company has agreed a funding facility to support its participation in a prospective auction in relation to a specific contested gTLD application. The conditional funding will be provided solely in exchange for a perpetual share in the gross revenue generated by the gTLD string so funded (“Auction gTLD”) should the Company be successful in the auction.

Under the funding agreement, TLDH has the right to call up to US$10m, to be used exclusively to acquire from ICANN the right for the Company to own and operate the Auction gTLD.  The funding provider has the right to increase its funding by up to a further US$5m. The funding provider’s participation will be limited to a share of the gross revenues from the future operation of the Auction gTLD. The funding is not repayable other than through the gross revenue share. TLDH will retain sole management rights and responsibilities in the running of the Auction gTLD.

“We believe that this funding model provides an attractive way to secure the resources to participate in an auction of those contended strings that we believe have significant revenue potential, while at the same time avoiding dilution to our shareholders,” said Fred Krueger, executive chairman.