WASHINGTON, October 30, 2009–The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) supports ICANN’s initiative to examine gTLD WHOIS policy. CADNA’s Top Ten List from September 22, 2009, identified WHOIS reform as a priority action for ICANN.
It is important that all domain names have full and accurate registrant and contact information to enable the identification and prosecution of bad actors. CADNA urges ICANN to ensure that registrars require their customers to display accurate WHOIS records in order to promote accountability in the space.
“Addressing numerous issues corrupting the domain name space should be a top concern for ICANN,” said Josh Bourne, President of CADNA.
On October 23, ICANN requested proposals from independent researchers to examine the accuracy of reported WHOIS information. WHOIS databases are maintained by the registrars of record for all domains and hold identifying information such as the registrant of the domain and the registrant’s physical and email addresses. To date, ICANN has not done enough to ensure that registrars and their customers display current and accurate WHOIS. As a result, mal-intending domain name owners have been able to operate anonymously and evade apprehension.
Congressional and White House concerns about cybersecurity make ICANN’s decision to review WHOIS timely. A poorly operated WHOIS program is a threat to national security. CADNA urges both Congress and the White House to further explore the critical importance of an accurate WHOIS program to national security as they begin to draft legislation and hold hearings in the coming months.
A stable and transparent Internet is not possible without WHOIS reform. CADNA’s list of issues that ICANN must address in order to ensure a safe, secure Internet for users worldwide can be found on CADNA’s Web site.
The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization dedicated to ending the systemic domain name abuses that plague the Internet today. For more information, please visit www.cadna.org.