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ICANN Names New Chief Security, Stability and Resiliency Officer

29 October 2013

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Los Angeles, California… John Crain has been named ICANN's new Chief Security, Stability and Resiliency Officer. In this newly created position Crain will assume the responsibilities of Jeff Moss, who announced he is stepping down from his position as Chief Security Officer at the end of the year.

More broadly, Crain will lead a team focused on the security, stability and resiliency (SSR) of the Internet's unique identifier systems. They will work closely with the ICANN community to enhance SSR and increase understanding of its importance.

Crain, who has been at ICANN for 13 years, has served most recently as ICANN's Senior Director of Security, Stability and Resiliency. In his new role he will report to Akram Atallah, President of the Generic Domains Division (GDD).

"John was a natural pick for us," said Atallah. "He knows ICANN, he is well respected across the community and his extensive expertise in the arena of SSR has been firmly established."

Moss, who was appointed to his current position in April of 2011, said even though he is leaving ICANN, he intends to stay an active part of the community.

Most recently, Moss and Crain worked together to help ICANN devise ways to study and address the "name collision" issue with measures and procedures aimed at mitigating any potential problems.

"We are taking a slow and careful approach to this issue and since the roll-out of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) will be very gradual, I'm confident that name collisions will not pose any major issues that can't be responded to responsibly," said Moss. "Now that we have a clear path forward, I feel like this is a good time to announce my departure."

"Jeff has been at the forefront of protecting the Internet's addressing system during his tenure at ICANN," said Atallah. "We are grateful for his contributions and wish him the best moving forward."

ICANN also announced the formation of a new Security, Stability and Resiliency Executive Committee, led by Chief Executive Officer Fadi Chehadé and made up of members of ICANN's executive team. The committee will keep abreast of emerging SSR issues, track potential risks and develop mitigation strategies.

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To download a high-resolution photograph of John Crain, please visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/icann/10332605796/sizes/c/

To download high-resolution photographs of Jeff Moss, please visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/icann/5658860869/sizes/l/in/photostream/

To watch a video interview with John Crain, please visit:
http://www.icann.org/en/news/press/kits/video-crain-security-stability-17sep13-en.htm

MEDIA CONTACTS:

James Cole
ICANN Global Media Coordinator
Washington, D.C.
Tel. +1 202.570.7240
james.cole@icann.org

Andrew Robertson
Edelman Public Relations
London, U.K.
Tel. + 44 (7811) 341 945
andrew.robertson@edelman.com