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Study on Whois Misuse

27 November 2013

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Forum Announcement: Comment Period Opens on Date: 27 November 2013
Categories/Tags: Policy Processes
Purpose (Brief):

This study, conducted by Carnegie Mellon University's Cylab (CMU), examines the extent to which public Whois contact information for gTLD domain names is misused (i.e. harmful actions such as spam, phishing, identity theft or data theft are taken using gTLD registration data).

The findings from the study provide empirical data needed by the ICANN community to assess community concerns about misused Whois contact information, identify the most common forms of misuse, and highlight the effectiveness of anti-harvesting measures in reducing misuse. The findings will also inform future policy development by ICANN and the GNSO in relation to improvements to the Whois system.

Public Comment Box Link: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/whois-misuse-27nov13-en.htm