ICANN POLICY UPDATE | Volume 14, Issue 3 – March 2014 Issue
Special ICANN 49 Singapore Meeting Edition
PDF Version [557 KB]
http://www.icann.org/en/resources/policy/update
CONTENTS:
Across ICANN
ASO
ccNSO
- New Singapore ccNSO Meetings Page
- The ccNSO Now Counts 148 Members
- The ccNSO Internet Governance Coordination Group Begins Work
- ccNSO Launches New "Pools of Expertise" Initiative
GNSO
- GNSO Readies for 46 Sessions in Singapore
- Preliminary Issue Report on IGO & INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms
At-Large
- At-Large Community Members Prepare for ICANN's Singapore Meeting
- Board Director for Seat #15 Selected by the ALAC/At-Large to be announced during Singapore Meeting
- ALAC Submits Five Policy Advice Statements from mid-February to early-March
- The At-Large Community Expands to 168– At-Large Structures
- Xinyue (Ariel) Liang Joins ICANN as the new At-Large Policy Coordinator
GAC
RSSAC
SSAC
- SSAC Publishes Advisory on Search List Processing
- SSAC Publishes Advisory on DDoS Attacks Leveraging DNS Infrastructure
Read in Your Preferred Language
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ICANN Policy Update statement of purpose
Send questions, comments and suggestions to: policy-staff@icann.org.
Policy Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees
| Address Supporting Organization | ASO |
| Country Code Names Supporting Organization | ccNSO |
| Generic Names Supporting Organization | GNSO |
| At-Large Advisory Committee | ALAC |
| Governmental Advisory Committee | GAC |
| Root Server System Advisory Committee | RSSAC |
| Security and Stability Advisory Committee | SSAC |
Across ICANN
1. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment
A number of public comment periods are currently open on issues of interest to the ICANN community. Act now to share your views on such topics as:
ICANN Future Meetings Strategy. Help guide the Community through a proposed new strategy for the structure, purpose and locations of the ICANN public meetings. Comment period ends 20 March; reply period ends 13 April.
IDN Variant TLDs – LGR Procedure Implementation – Maximal Starting Repertoire Version 1 is Now Open for Public Comment. Community members and specifically those working on Internationalized Domain Names, including IDN ccTLD and new gTLD applicants, as well as experts working on the development of Label Generation Rules are kindly asked to provide feedback. Comment period ends 28 March; reply period ends 22 April.
Mitigating the Risk of DNS Namespace Collisions. Based on the public comments and discussions in Singapore and other fora, JAS Advisors is expected to revise and publish a final report. Comment period ends 31 March; reply period ends 21 April.
Draft Implementation Plan for the WHOIS Online Accuracy and Reporting System. In response to the recommendations of the WHOIS Review Team, the system is designed to produce statistical reports on WHOIS accuracy rates. The RFP will be based on the proposed model as described in the Draft Implementation Plan, as it may be updated following consultation with the Community, and consideration of the feedback received through this public comment forum. Comment period ends 1 April; reply period ends 23 April.
Initial Report Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) Part D PDP. The Report provides 12 preliminary recommendations to the six questions with which this PDP Working Group (WG) was chartered. Please note that the WG is seeking public comment particularly on Charter questions B and C to help inform its final recommendation. Comment period ends 3 April; reply period ends 25 April.
Preliminary Issue Report on Access by IGOs and INGOs to the Curative Rights Protections of the UDRP and URS. Input is sought on the Preliminary Issue Report requested by the GNSO Council concerning possible amendments to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure, to enable access to them by protected International Governmental Organizations and International Non-Governmental Organizations. Comment period ends 14 April; reply period ends 6 May.
ICANN Strategy Panels – Draft Reports. Designed to help catalyze transformation and advance ICANN's role, ICANN Strategy Panels are advisory in nature and serve as an integral part of a framework for cross-community dialogue. Comment period ends 30 April; no reply period posted.
For the full list of issues open for public comment, plus recently closed and archived public comment forums, visit the Public Comment web page.
The staff also populates a web page to help preview potential "upcoming" public comment opportunities. This page – "Public Comments – Upcoming" page – provides information about potential future public comment opportunities. The page is updated after every ICANN Public Meeting to help individuals and the community to set priorities and plan their future workloads.
ASO
2. ASO Activities at ICANN 49
At a Glance
The ASO Address Council will be participating actively at ICANN 49 in Singapore.
Recent Developments
The ASO AC will not be meeting formally at ICANN 49, but several ASO AC members will be in attendance. These members will participate in a variety of sessions during the week from the Cross-Community Working Group on Internet Governance session to a joint meeting with the At-Large community. The ASO AC members will also conduct an open meeting with the ICANN Board. Additionally, many of the NRO Executive Committee members will be in Singapore.
Next Steps
The next ASO AC Monthly Teleconference is scheduled for 12:00 UTC on 2 April. The ASO AC is expected to conduct a face-to-face meeting at ICANN 50 in London this June.
More Information
Staff Contact
Barbara Roseman, Policy Director and Technical Analyst
Carlos Reyes, Senior Policy Analyst
3. NRO and RIR Updates
At a Glance
This section highlights recent developments in the Number Resource Organization and the five Regional Internet Registries.
Recent Developments
AFRINIC | AFRINIC 21 will be held in Mauritius from 22 to 28 November. More information can be found on the announcement page. AFRINIC expects to make an announcement about the local host for AFRINIC 21 soon.
APNIC | APNIC 38 will be held in Brisbane, Australia from 9 to 19 September. Originally scheduled to take place in Noumea, New Caledonia, APNIC 38 was relocated due to one-off logistical challenges. For more information and regular updates, please refer to the APNIC 38 website.
ARIN | ARIN's Public Policy Consultation report from NANOG 60 has been published. Various draft policies, notes, as well as meeting transcripts and presentations are now available for review ahead of ARIN 33 in Chicago, IL, USA from 13 to 16 April.
LACNIC | LACNIC provided comments to the Open Consultations and Multistakeholder Advisory Group meeting of the IGF in February. LACNIC recommended three potential themes for the IGF to be held from 2 to 5 September in Istanbul, Turkey. The themes include: 1) IGF evolution including the role of the MAG in between IGF meetings, 2) developing multistakeholder models at the national level, and 3) massive Internet surveillance. For more information, please refer to the full comments found on LACNIC's website.
NRO | The global 2-byte Antonymous System (AS) number pool is nearing depletion. Only 496 AS numbers remain in the 2-byte pool of 65,536. This is a critical point for network operators since networks must support 4-byte AS numbers to sustain the growth of the Internet. For more information about the global policy in effect since 2009 on allocation and transition from 2-byte to 4-byte AS numbers, please refer to the NRO announcement page.
NRO | The NRO submitted a contribution to the Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, or NetMundial, on behalf of the five RIRs. The contribution addresses two topics: 1) Internet Governance Principles and 2) Roadmap for the Further Evolution of the Internet Governance Ecosystem. The full document can be access from the NRO announcement page.
RIPE NCC | RIPE NCC recently published its annual report on Law Enforcement Agency requests for 2013. Last year, RIPE NCC received 11 requests from 3 countries. The report is publicly available and provides further details on the nature of the requests.
Background
The five RIRs (AfriNIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, and RIPE NCC) provide Internet resource allocation and management, registration services, regional policy development activities, and technical services supporting the global operation of the Internet. RIRs participate in the global Internet community independently, and jointly through the coordination of the NRO. Per a 2004 MoU with ICANN, the NRO fulfills the role, responsibilities, and functions of the ASO.
More Information
Staff Contact
Barbara Roseman, Policy Director and Technical Analyst
Carlos Reyes, Senior Policy Analyst
ccNSO
4. New Singapore ccNSO Meetings Page
At a Glance
The new Singapore ccNSO Meetings Page has launched
Recent Developments
The ccNSO Secretariat has developed a dedicated ccNSO meetings page with an overview of all the important details for the Singapore Meeting.
Next Steps
The page will be regularly updated to reflect the latest information.
Background
The ccNSO meetings page maintains all relevant information in one place and is meant to make it easier for community members to find information on what they need to prepare for the Singapore Meeting.
More Information
Staff Contact
Gabriella Schittek, Policy Specialist & CCNSO Support Manager
5. The ccNSO Now Counts 148 Members
At a Glance
.BW (Botswana) has joined the ccNSO as its newest member.
Recent Developments
The ccNSO recently had the pleasure of welcoming a new African member – .bw (Botswana) to its community. The ccNSO now counts 148 members.
Next Steps
The ccNSO looks forward to welcoming even further members!
Background
.bw is the second member to join the ccNSO in 2014.
More Information
Staff Contact
Gabriella Schittek, Policy Specialist & CCNSO Support Manager
6. The ccNSO Internet Governance Coordination Group Begins Work
Recent Developments
At its last meeting, the ccNSO Council created a group to provide the ccTLD community and the ccNSO Council with a comprehensive overview of the issues and discussions pertaining to Internet Governance as discussed in relevant fora and groups. If considered appropriate by the group, it may also advise the council and the community on a course of further actions, if any.
Next Steps
The Group, with the support of the secretariat will create webpages on the ccNSO website with links to relevant sources and documents. It has also suggested sessions on Internet Governance for the upcoming ccNSO meetings in Singapore and London.
Background
At its meeting in Buenos Aires (20 November 2013), the ccNSO Council discussed the need to keep track of the developments in the various Internet Governance tracks such as the IStar group, 1Net, the Brazil conference on Internet Governance and ICANN's Strategy Panels. Volunteers related to ccTLDs and ccTLD regional Organizations offered to keep track of the developments, and inform the ccNSO membership on a regular basis. In order to structure the efforts of these volunteers and keep the ccNSO membership and the broader ccTLD community abreast of the developments pertaining to Internet Governance that are relevant to the ccTLD community, the ccNSO Council decided to create an Ad-Hoc Study Group on "Internet Governance".
More Information
Staff Contact
Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor
7. ccNSO Launches New "Pools of Expertise" Initiative
At a Glance
The ccNSO has gathered names of ccTLD Community volunteers who stand prepared to help out the ccNSO with their expertise when needed.
Recent Developments
The ccNSO Secretariat made a call for volunteers and then published a website with the gathered names.
Next Steps
During the upcoming months, the ccNSO will start working with volunteers grouped by "Pools of Expertise" to determine if the concept works and/or if improvements are needed.
All ccTLD Community members are welcome to submit their name to the "pools" most relevant to them and their area of expertise.
Background
In 2013, the ccNSO Council initiated a Study Group, which looked into ways of building capacity in the ccNSO Community.
One of the Study Group recommendations was to "find out the skill set of the community members, target this more efficiently and enhance the skills that exist."
In order to meet this recommendation, the ccNSO Secretariat has asked community members to indicate skills or areas of expertise that they can share with the ccNSO community. The Secretariat will maintain a list with the existing skill sets. When needed, the relevant pool of experts will be contacted.
Situations where such "pools of expertise" could be needed are, for instance, when the ccNSO receives a request for input from ICANN (or other relevant institutions) and quickly needs to react, or when a Working Group is established to study and make recommendations about a certain topic.
More Information
Staff Contact
Gabriella Schittek, Policy Specialist & ccNSO Support Manager
GNSO
8. GNSO Readies for 46 Sessions in Singapore
At a Glance
Another ICANN Meeting, another busy GNSO agenda – ICANN 49 in Singapore will feature no fewer than 46 sessions. For in-person attendees, most of the GNSO sessions will take place in the Sophia room, but please make sure to consult the Daily Scheduler and the Venue Map to avoid any scheduling confusion.
More Information
Preceding the official opening of the ICANN 49 Meeting, the GNSO Council will gather for its working session on Saturday 22 March and Sunday 23 March. This traditional weekend meeting consists in itself of 22 sessions and as always it is open to all. This two-day preparatory event will include the traditional reporting of the various PDP and non-PDP Working Groups, meetings of the Council with the ICANN Board and the ICANN CEO, as well as face-to-face meetings with the SSAC and the GAC. In addition, Cyrus Namazi, ICANN Vice President, DNS Industry Engagement, will provide an update on the New gTLD Program and Theresa Swinehart, ICANN Sr. Advisor to the President on Strategy, will present the latest developments from ICANN's Strategic Initiatives Department. Sunday will conclude with the various GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies holding concurrent meetings, some of which are private meetings.
The GNSO gets underway even before Monday's official ICANN Opening Session. At 7.30am the PDP Working Group on Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information will meet for a face-to-face discussion with the Community to present its work to-date and gather input on its charter questions. In addition to the opening ceremony, there are some additional non-GNSO meetings on Monday that will be of interest to the GNSO community such as the Cross-Community Working Group on Internet Governance Public Session and the update from the ICANN Strategy Panels & Planning Process. The same is true for the meeting on Exploring a Replacement for WHOIS and the RSSAC Update.
It is worth noting that this is the first time the RSSAC meets in person at an ICANN meeting since 1999 so this is a great opportunity to meet with this ICANN Advisory Committee which is responsible for advising the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the operation, administration, security, and integrity of the Internet's Root Server System.
Tuesday remains the traditional GNSO's Stakeholder Group and Constituency (SG/C) day with no fewer than twelve meetings overall. The various SG/Cs will meet among themselves in open meetings to discuss issues relevant to their groups. For an overview of the various meetings and to consult the different agendas please consult Tuesday's agenda. The day also marks the Stakeholder Groups' meetings with the ICANN Board. All four of these meetings will be held in the main venue, Padang. First up will be the Commercial SG meeting with the ICANN Board, followed by the Registries SG, the Registrars SG, and finally the Non-Commercial SG. All Stakeholder Groups will meet with the Board for sixty minutes each.
There are six GNSO sessions scheduled on Wednesday. The day will kick off with the meeting of the new gTLD Applicants Group (NTAG). The NTAG is open to all new gTLD applicants and is currently comprised of 99 members, representing approximately 1000 applicants. Next up is the IRTP Part D PDP Working Group that will present its Initial Report to the Community. This is the last in a series of IRTP-related PDPs and the Group has prepared twelve preliminarily recommendation, on which it seeks community input before it formulates its Final Report. Wednesday morning is then rounded off with the main decision-making meeting for the Brand Registry Group board and members.
ICANN 49's public GNSO Council meeting will take place on Wednesday afternoon in the main venue, Padang. The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend, including remote participants. For access to the Adobe Connect room, as well as all relevant agenda items, please consult the GNSO Council meeting agenda. All motions that the Council may consider during this session will also be available beforehand.
The Policy and Implementation Working Group will meet on Wednesday afternoon for a face-to-face meeting, presenting its work and exchanging views with the community. The final meeting of day is the joint ccNSO/GNSO Council meeting. This in-person meeting provides an opportunity for productive discussions on issues of joint interest to the ccNSO and GNSO community.
Thursday, the final day of ICANN 49, will see the GNSO-ccNSO-ALAC Cross Community Working Group Drafting Team meet in the morning discuss the charter for a new Working Group that will take on the creation of a framework of operating principles that will guide the formation, operation, and termination of future Cross Community Working Groups.
The non-PDP Working Group on Data and Metrics for Policy Making will meet for a face-to-face meeting on Thursday morning, too. The WG's key objective is to consider additional methods for collecting necessary metrics and reporting from contracted parties and other external resources to aid the investigating and deliberation of Working Groups and Policy Development within the GNSO. Thursday morning is also the time when the Privacy and Proxy Services Accreditation Issues Working Group will gather to discuss issues surrounding options for policies relating to the accreditation of privacy and proxy service providers. Finally, the GNSO Council will meet for its concluding Wrap-Up Session, during which Counselors will meet to discuss the input from the various meetings during the week and plan the Council's work for the coming months.
Staff Contact
Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director
9. Preliminary Issue Report on IGO & INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms
At a Glance
A Preliminary Issue Report has been published on the possibility of protecting the names and acronyms of International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) in all gTLDs by amending the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure (URS).
Recent Developments
In November 2013, the GNSO Council unanimously adopted all the consensus recommendations of the GNSO's Working Group on the Protection of International Organization Names in All gTLDs (IGO-INGO WG). One of these recommendations was to request an Issue Report, to assist in determining whether a Policy Development Process (PDP) should be initiated in order to explore possible amendments to the UDRP and URS, to enable access to and use of such curative rights protection mechanisms by IGOs and INGOs. An Issue Report is a required preliminary step in any potential PDP initiated by the GNSO.
Next Steps
The Preliminary Issue Report on this topic has been published for public comment. Following the close of the public comment period, a Final Issue Report will be prepared for the GNSO Council, which will then vote on whether or not to initiate a PDP on the issue.
Background
The GNSO's IGO-INGO WG developed a number of consensus recommendations for protecting the identifiers of IGOs and INGOs in all gTLDs, including those launching under ICANN's New gTLD Program. The recommendations were adopted unanimously by the GNSO Council, and are currently pending before the ICANN Board. One of the IGO-INGO WG's recommendations was that the GNSO Council request an Issue Report on amending the UDRP and URS to enable their use by IGOs and INGOs. As currently designed, the UDRP and URS are not entirely suited for use by IGOs and INGOs. For example, both procedures require that a party to proceedings agree to submit to the jurisdiction of a national court for purposes of an appeal, which may prejudice an IGO's status as being immune from national jurisdiction. The UDRP and URS were also designed as mechanisms for trademark protection; however, not all IGOs and INGOS own trademarks in their names or acronyms and as such may not be entitled to rely on these procedures to protect their identifiers.
More Information
Staff Contact
Mary Wong, Senior Policy Director
At-Large
10. At-Large Community Members Prepare for ICANN's Singapore Meeting
At a Glance
Representatives from the At-Large community will hold 24meetings during the 49th ICANN Public Meeting in Singapore.These meetings include traditional policy meetings, At-Large Working Group Meetings, and meetings with the ccNSO, GAC leadership, NCSG, SSAC, RSSAC and ICANN Board of Directors.
In addition, the At-Large community members will also participate actively in many of the public meetings taking place during the ICANN meeting inSingaporeeither in person or using remote participation tools.
Recent Developments
The ALAC will be busy in policy development activities in 24 At-Large meetings, which include:
- An ALAC and Regional Leadership Meeting
- A NARALO Monthly Meeting
- A joint ALAC/ccNSO Meeting
- An At-Large ICANN Accessibility Working Group Meeting
- An At-Large Roundtable on Registration Directory Services: Now and the Future
- An At-Large Workshop: TOR and alternative naming mechanisms to the DNS
- An ALT with GAC Leadership
- ALAC Meeting with the ICANN Board
- Two ALAC Work Sessions – Part 1 and Part 2
- An At-Large New gTLD Working Group Meeting
- An At-Large Registration Issues Working Group Meeting
- An ALT and RALO Officers Working Breakfast
- An APRALO Monthly Meeting
- Two ATLAS II Organizing Committee Meetings – Part 1 and Part 2
- An Academy Working Group Session
- A Joint ATLAS II. Capacity Building and Regional Secretariats Meeting
- An AFRALO / AFRICANN Joint Meeting
- At-Large Board Director Voting – Round 2 – Phase 2 (TBC)
- An At-Large IDN Working Group Meeting
- An APRALO Showcase and Reception
- An At-Large Future Challenges Working Group Meeting
- An ALAC & Regional Leadership Wrap-Up Meeting
- An ALAC and NCSG Meeting
- An ALAC Leadership Team Meeting
More Information
More information on At-Large Meetings scheduled to take place during ICANN's 49th Public Meeting in Singapore, including agendas in English, Spanish, and French and remote participation instructions, is available on the At-Large Singapore Meeting Agendas Workspace.
Staff Contact
11. Board Director for Seat #15 Selected by the ALAC/At-Large To Be Announced At Singapore Meeting
At a Glance
The members of the ALAC and the RALO Chairs will vote in the first round of voting for Board Director Seat #15 on 16 and 17 March 2014. The current 5 candidates will be reduced to three during this first round. The second round will take place face-to-face on Sunday, 23 March during the Singapore Meeting. The winner is scheduled to be announced by the ALAC on Thursday, 27 March during the Singapore Meeting.
Background
On 28 January, the At-Large Board Candidate Evaluation Committee (BCEC) announced the names of the slate of candidates to fill Seat #15 of the ICANN Board. The following five candidates will be voted on by the ALAC and RALO Chairs.
| List of Candidates on Slate (in alphabetical order by family name) |
Country of Citizenship | Country of Residence | Public Information from EOI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rinalia Abdul Rahim | Malaysia | Malaysia/Hong Kong | 2014 At-Large Board Candidate – Rinalia Abdul Rahim – Public Information on EOI |
| Sébastien Bachollet | France | France | 2014 At-Large Board Candidate – Sebastien Bachollet – Public Information on EOI |
| Alan Greenberg | Canada | Canada | 2014 At-Large Board Candidate – Alan Greenberg – Public Information on EOI |
| Evan Leibovitch | Canada | Canada | 2014 At-Large Board Candidate – Evan Leibovitch – Public Information on EOI |
| Jean-Jacques Subrenat | France | France | 2014 At-Large Board Candidate – Jean-Jacques Subrenat – Public Information on EOI |
More Information
See the At-Large Board Member 2014 Workspace
Staff Contact
Heidi Ullrich, Senior Director for At-Large
12. ALAC Submits Five Policy Advice Statements from mid-February to early-March
At a Glance
The ALAC continues its high rate of preparing Statements in response to ICANN Public Comment periods as well as other comments and communications. Between mid-February and early-March, the ALAC submitted five Policy Advice Statements.
Recent Developments
The five ALAC Policy Advice Statements submitted between mid-February and early-March are summarized below.
- The At-Large Advisory Committee applauds the initiative of the Multistakeholder Ethos Award. Indeed while oftentimes the upper strata of the ICANN ecosystem receive frequent praise, seldom are the people working hard in working groups credited for their efforts.
- The ALAC agrees with the suggested list of criteria but would recommend adding a factor of time spent (devotional factor) by the candidates in achieving their goal of facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue. Discussion and dialogue are one thing – doing the hard lifting to keep the system going is another.
- In a bottom-up environment such as ICANN, it is vital to recognize people at all levels of the multi-stakeholder system in any of ICANN's many communities, if only to keep the bottom-up multi-stakeholder system going. The ALAC therefore fully supports the creation of this award and looks forward to applaud its first laureate(s).
- The current TCR model has been effectively performing its functions of ensuring trust in the KSK management process.
- While some believe that the size of the TCR pool is large enough, others believe that the current size needs to be expanded to cater for unforeseen circumstances (includes but is not limited to terrorist attacks, flight disruptions, state of emergency, civil war, etc) that could render a majority of the 21 TCRs unable to attend to their responsibilities. The possibility of having signing at the same time in either the same country or different countries or frequency of signing could also exhaust reserves leading to overburdening these volunteers.
- The community believes that TCRs should meet the existing criteria merited of what would comprise a responsible TCR. TCRs should actively engage by writing reports which are made public. Minimum participation should include, attendance, engagement, carrying out responsibilities, writing full and thorough reports and listing concerns if any.
- While some believe that the existing pool and their indefinite terms are sufficient and that the 21 TCRs are more than enough, others believe that there is a need for term limits as the original TCR mechanism is silent on the term. There should be a constant requirement to disclose any and all potential conflicts of interest to disable the risk of "capture" by any stakeholder or interest.
- Some believe that the current system should be retained although TCRs should be cost-neutral for those not supported by firms or other entities. Others believe in an externally managed fund like the one set-up for the Independent Objector (IO).
ALAC Statement on the Related-Issue Compliance Submission Process
- ICANN Contractual Compliance (CC) accepts complaints either on a one-by-one basis using web-based submission tools, or for selected partners, using a bulk-submission process. The ALAC understanding is that regardless of the submission vehicle, each complaint is reviewed on its merits and processed individually.
- However, this methodology is not suitable when the subject of a complaint is not an individual occurrence, but a more wide-spread problem that affects multiple gTLD registrations.
- Just as the UDRP allows multiple related disputes to be filed in the same single complaints, CC should allow multiple, related issues to be raised in a single complaint.
- If such a process were created, the workload of CC could be better controlled, and substantive issues could be resolved quicker and earlier than by using today's methodology alone.
- It is reasonable that, at least at the start, the use of such a "related complaint" submission process be used only by those with whom ICANN can develop a good working relationship, and possibly accreditation for the existing bulk-submission tool could be used to determine who could use the new process.
- This recommendation is being submitted to CC on behalf of the At-Large Advisory Committee, and the ALAC believes that it is to all parties' mutual advantage that we have the opportunity to further investigate such a process with Contractual Compliance.
- We advise the ICANN Board to: (1) Place equal emphasis on recommendations and observations, and address key issues outlined in the observations indicated in Appendix B and C of the report in advance of the next WHOIS and Security, Stability and Resiliency (SSR) reviews; and (2) Take measures to improve future reviews by ensuring that review processes are accorded sufficient time for a thorough and effective assessment and to ensure that ICANN is better prepared organizationally to support the review process.
- We believe that the Board should examine both Recommendations and Observations in the ATRT2 report with equal diligence. A careful examination of the Observations laid out in Appendix B and C on the reviews of the WHOIS Review Team and the Security, Stability and Resiliency Review Team implementation reveals serious issues requiring Board attention. Developing new recommendations on these topics are outside of the ATRT2 scope, but the issues remain within the purview of the Board. Ignoring these issues at this stage will likely worsen the problems in a few years' time. We recommend that the issues be addressed now through appropriate mechanisms.
- The ATRT2 report includes a section on its review work experience in Appendix E. This section highlights observations and recommendations on "Improving Future Reviews" for the next Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT3). We note with concern that the ATRT1 and the ATRT2 processes had less than 12 full months to undertake their review and that this affected their work. Given the importance of the review process, we recommend that ICANN be better prepared organizationally to support future reviews and that the ATRT3 be provided with a full year (12 months) for its review work, even if review commencement is delayed.
- The ALAC supports the details of the process described, but recommends that it be widened to include cases such as the various shop objections where the objected-to strings were not identical, but the results were just as inconsistent. Moreover, the ALAC notes that it has previously made statements to this effect (https://community.icann.org/download/attachments/2261148/AL-ALAC-ST-0913-04-01-EN.pdf?api=v2 [PDF, 370 KB]) and deeply regrets that it has taken ICANN so long to react to the overall situation that it must now choose to accept many of the other seemingly illogical results. One of the ALAC's prime responsibilities in ICANN is to protect the interests of individual Internet users, and the delegation of confusingly similar TLDs does not meet the needs of these users.
More Information
- All ALAC Statements may be viewed on the At-Large Correspondence webpage.
- To see upcoming ALAC Statements, please visit the At-Large Policy Development page.
Staff Contact
Xinyue (Ariel) Liang, At-Large Policy Coordinator
13. The At-Large Community Expands to 168– At-Large Structures
The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) has certified one new organization as an At-Large Structures (ALS): ISOC Kenya. This new ALS expands the regional diversity of the At-Large community, which represents thousands of individual Internet end-users. With the addition of this new organization, the number of accredited ALSes will now total 168.
Recent Developments
The ALAC has voted for the certification of ISOC Kenya as At-Large Structure (ALS). The certification process included due diligence carried out by ICANN staff and regional advice provided by the African Regional At-Large Organization (AFRALO).
Additional information on the new At-Large Structure:
ISOC Kenya is located in Nairobi, Kenya. The mission of ISOC Kenya includes, among others, to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world. This organization will be an ALS within AFRALO.
Background
One of the strengths of the At-Large community is that it incorporates the views of a set of globally diverse, Internet end-user organizations, or ALSes, organized within five RALOs. The views of these grassroots organizations are collected through an internal, bottom-up, consensus-driven policy development process and find representation in the official documents of the ALAC.
More Information
- A complete list of certified and pending ALSes
- Statistical information on global ALS representation
- Global map of certified ALSes
- Information on how to join At-Large
- ICANN At-Large web site
Staff Contact
Nathalie Peregrine, Policy staff support for At-Large
14. Xinyue (Ariel) Liang joins ICANN as the new At-Large Policy Coordinator
At a Glance
Ariel will support the ALAC and At-Large community in its policy and process activities. With her cultural background and language skills, including native Mandarin Chinese, fluent English and proficient Japanese, Ariel expands the global reach of the Policy Staff in support of At-Large. Ariel is based in the ICANN Washington, D.C. engagement office.
Background
Ariel previously interned at the United Nations Secretariat in New York to assist the marketing communications efforts of the Department of Public Information. She also worked at the Washington D.C. office of Mitsui & Co., where she researched, analyzed, and reported on U.S. policy issues significant to Mitsui's business in the Asia-Pacific region. Ariel completed a Master's Degree in Communications at Columbia University and received her Bachelor's Degree in Global and Transnational History from Vanderbilt University.
More Information
Staff Contact
Heidi Ullrich, Senior Director for At-Large
Xinyue (Ariel) Liang, At-Large Policy Coordinator
GAC
15. The GAC Prepares for ICANN 49 in Singapore
At a Glance
Based on responses received to previous advice and information requests, GAC Members are preparing their positions for deliberations and concluding advice at the Singapore meeting in March. Remaining issues regarding new gTLDs are in focus for the meeting, as well as reviews of GAC working methods.
Recent Developments
Remaining new gTLD issues on the agenda for Singapore include protection of IGO acronyms and Red Cross/Red Crescent national names, plus assessment of responses received from the relevant ICANN Board Committee and staff. A proposed Framework of Interpretation for revocation of ccTLDs is also up for consideration. Regarding working methods, outcomes from a GAC working group and from the ATRT2 will be discussed, as well as coordination efforts under way to improve early engagement of the GAC in GNSO work.
Next Steps
GAC members will prepare their positions, exchange views and discuss issues before and during the Singapore meeting, where a GAC Communiqué with advice will be issued. Planning for the London meeting is also on the agenda.
Background
ICANN receives input from governments through the GAC. The GAC's key role is to provide advice to ICANN on issues of public policy, especially where there may be an interaction between ICANN's activities or policies and national laws or international agreements. The GAC usually meets three times a year at ICANN Public Meetings to discuss issues with the ICANN Board, Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees and other groups. The GAC may also conduct discussions with the Board at other times, meeting face-to-face or by teleconference.
More Information
- GAC Buenos Aires Communiqué [PDF, 97 KB]
- GAC website
Staff Contact
Olof Nordling, Senior Director, GAC Relations
Jeannie Ellers, Manager, GAC Coordination
Julia Charvolen, Coordinator, GAC Services
RSSAC
16. RSSAC Convening at ICANN Meeting for First Time since 1999
At a Glance
The RSSAC has a public session to update the ICANN community on its recent activities and future work on Monday 24 March from 16:30 to 17:15 local time in the A. Padang room.
Recent Developments
The ICANN Board appointed co-Chairs and initial members of the RSSAC Executive Committee in July 2013. A membership committee was established in November 2013 to evaluate potential members of RSSAC. The RSSAC Executive Committee has scheduled meetings with the Board, ALAC, GAC, and SSAC throughout the week.
Next Steps
The RSSAC Executive Committee is expected to make more progress on its restructure at ICANN 49.
More Information
Staff Contact
Barbara Roseman, Policy Director and Technical Analyst
Carlos Reyes, Senior Policy Analyst
SSAC
17. SSAC Publishes Advisory on Search List Processing
Recent Developments
On 13 February 2014 the SSAC published an advisory on search list processing. The advisory examines how current operating systems and applications process search lists. The advisory outlines the issues related to the current search list behavior, and proposes both a strawman to improve search list processing in the long term and mitigation options for ICANN and the Internet community to consider in the short term. The purpose of these proposals is to help introduce new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) in a secure and stable manner with minimum disruptions to currently deployed systems. Specifically, the SSAC:
- Invites ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, and the DNS operations community to consider the proposed long term behavior for search list processing outlined in this advisory and comment on its correctness, completeness, utility and feasibility;
- Recommends ICANN to work with the DNS community to encourage the standardization of search list processing behavior; and
- Recommends ICANN, in the context of mitigating name collisions, to consider additional steps to address search list processing behavior.
Next Steps
The SSAC will brief the ICANN community on the advisory at the ICANN meeting in Singapore in March 2014.
Background
According to the advisory, a Domain Name System (DNS) "search list" is conceptually implemented as an ordered list of domain names. When the user enters a name, the domain names in the search list are used as suffixes to the user-supplied name, one by one, until a domain name with the desired associated data is found or the search list is exhausted.
Processing search lists was weakly standardized in early Requests For Comments (RFCs) and implemented in most operating systems. However, as the Internet has grown, search list behavior has diversified. Applications (e.g., web browsers and mail clients) and DNS resolvers process search lists differently. In addition, some of these behaviors present security and privacy issues to end systems, can lead to performance problems for the Internet, and might cause collision with names provisioned under the newly delegated top-level domains.
More Information
- SAC064: SSAC Advisory on Search List Processing [PDF, 931 KB]
- SSAC Web Site
Staff Contact
Steve Sheng, Policy & Technical Advisory Support, Senior Manager
18. SSAC Publishes Advisory on DDoS Attacks Leveraging DNS Infrastructure
Recent Developments and Next Steps
On 18 February 2014 the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published an advisory on Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks leveraging DNS infrastructure. The advisory is intended for the Internet technical community, particularly authoritative and recursive Domain Name System (DNS) operators, network operators, ICANN, and policy makers. It explores several unresolved critical design and deployment issues that have enabled increasingly large and severe DDoS attacks using the DNS.
The SSAC notes in its advisory that while DDoS attacks can exploit multiple characteristics of network infrastructure and operations, the prevalence and criticality of the DNS means that securing it is both challenging and urgent. These unresolved DNS issues and related DDoS attacks pose a real and present danger to the security and stability of the Internet. The SSAC strongly recommends that all types of DNS operators and network operators take immediate steps to mitigate the design and deployment issues that make large scale DDoS attacks possible. Specifically, the SSAC strongly recommends that:
- ICANN should help facilitate an Internet-wide community effort to reduce the number of open resolvers and networks that allow network spoofing. This effort should involve measurement efforts and outreach.
- All network operators should take immediate steps to prevent network address spoofing.
- Recursive DNS server operators should take immediate steps to secure open recursive DNS servers.
- Authoritative DNS server operators should support efforts to investigate authoritative response rate limiting.
- DNS server operators should put in place operational processes to ensure that their DNS software is regularly updated and communicate with their software vendors to keep abreast of the latest developments.
- Manufacturers and/or those who configure customer premise networking equipment, including home networking equipment, should take immediate steps to secure these devices and ensure that they are field upgradable when new software is available to fix security vulnerabilities, and aggressively replace the installed base of non-upgradeable devices with upgradeable devices.
Next Steps
The SSAC will brief the ICANN community on the advisory at the ICANN Public Meeting in Singapore4.
Background
The SSAC advisory notes that basic controls for network access and DNS security have not been as widely implemented as is necessary to maintain and grow a resilient Internet. When increasingly higher-speed Internet connections are combined with the growing power of individual end user devices, an unintended result is an extraordinary and growing capacity for conducting extremely large scale and highly disruptive DDoS attacks using unsecured DNS infrastructure. Paradoxically, the networks that fail to implement the best current security practices are the sources, not the destinations, of attack data flows. Defenders are powerless to influence the design and implementation of the attackers' preferred networks. It takes only a relatively modest number of end-user devices, for example, to build or rent as a botnet for an attacker to generate significant attack traffic using only a very few, generally well-managed DNS authoritative servers operated by entirely innocent third parties.
These attacks have been growing in size over time, and are disrupting individual businesses; entire networks, critical applications and services; and entire countries. The scale of attacks will continue to grow if the Internet community takes no further action.
More Information
Staff Contact
Barbara Roseman, Policy Director and Technical Analyst
policy-update-mar14-en.pdf [557 KB]