Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

ICANN screws up (again)

ICANN reveals address of applicants for new top-level domains

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' program to expand the number of domains on the internet has suffered another embarrassing setback.

ICANN has temporarily taken down details of domain suffix applications after it inadvertently published the addresses of applicants.

A statement issued by ICANN says: "It has come to our attention that we have published the postal addresses of some primary and secondary contacts for new generic top-level domain applications. This information was not intended for publication. The addresses appeared as responses to portions of questions six and seven on the application.

"We have temporarily disabled viewing of the application details and will provide more information on this matter as it becomes available."

In April, ICANN was forced to suspend the process of applying for so-called 'dot word' domains like .bank after its system was found to reveal details of applicants' file name and usernames. The system was brought back online in May.

ICANN's method of dealing with applications for new domains has also been the subject of criticism. ICANN is proposing to deal with the 1930 applications it received in batches of 500, which could mean that domains dealt with in later batches will come online years after those in earlier batches.

To determine which batch an application is placed in ICANN is proposing to employ a controversial system dubbed "digital archery": Applicants will nominate a particular time then attempt to click a mouse button as near to that time as they can, with those closest to the nominated time receiving preferential treatment when the applications are divided into batches.

Over 10 per cent of the proposed new domains have more than one applicant, meaning they will be subject to ICANN's dispute resolution process.

More than 30 Australian businesses and non-profit organisations have applied for new top-level domains.

Rohan Pearce is the editor of Techworld Australia. Contact him at rohan_pearce at idg.com.au.

Follow Rohan on Twitter: @rohan_p

Follow Techworld Australia on Twitter: @techworld_au

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: ICANN, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, NN
References show all
Comments are now closed.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Six Reasons to Empower Your SharePoint Citizen Developers
    More and more business applications are being created by “citizen developers” - end users who are not IT developers but who create solutions for themselves and their groups. This white paper explores six reasons to embrace citizen development in an intelligent way that minimises risks and maximises the return on your SharePoint investment. Read now.
    Learn more »
  • ESG Whitepaper: Integrated Computing Platform Survey
    Data centres, servers, storage and more are being combined for simplified management and cost savings. In this survey, ESG looks at the current and future trends surrounding today’s integrated computing solutions. Download to find out how organisations are more likely to see commit IT budgets to the purchase of integrated solutions. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • IDC: Delivering Customer Value with Enterprise Flash Deployments
    When it comes to flash, “one size does not fit all.” IDC examines recent flash trends in enterprise storage deployments. This includes: highlighting how SSDs are filling in gaps of existing storage systems when coupled with intelligent archiving and automated tiering, the pros and cons of different SSD approaches, and tips to overcome concerns of reliability, manageability and scalability.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments