Minutes | Board Technical Committee (BTC) Meeting 30 September 2021

Board Member and Liaison Attendees: Harald Alvestrand, Avri Doria, Rafael Lito Ibarra, Manal Ismail, Akinori Maemura (Chair), Patricio Poblete, Kaveh Ranjbar, and Tripti Sinha.

Board Member with Apologies: Merike Käo, Mandla Msimang, and Nigel Roberts.

ICANN Organization Attendees: Adiel Akplogan (Vice President for Technical Engagement), Jennifer Bryce (Project Manager), Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Specialist), David Conrad (Chief Technology Officer), Steve Conte (Director, IROS Operations), John Crain (Chief Security, Stability, and Resiliency Officer), Kinga Kowalcyzk (OCTO Administrative Assistant), Matt Larson (VP, Research), Wendy Profit (Board Operations Senior Manager), Erika Randall (Associate General Counsel), Ashwin Rangan (SVP, Engineering & Chief Information Officer), Carlos Reyes (Strategic Policy Planning Director - RSSAC & ASO Support), and Sarah Zagha (Counsel).

Invited Guests: James Galvin and Matthew Thomas (Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) Name Collision Analysis Project (NCAP) Working Party (WP) chair) – only present for agenda item no. 1.


The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken, and actions identified:

  1. BTC Session with the Name Collision Analysis Project (NCAP) DG Admin Co-Chairs – The Committee received an update on the NCAP work from James Galvin, one of the co-chairs of the NCAP discussion group. He noted that a detailed project plan has been put together for Study 2. The delivery date of this plan's final work product is set for 10 June 2022. He also noted that over the next four months, detailed discussions will take place with the community.

    James Galvin and Matthew Thomas left the meeting following the NCAP update.

  2. Action Items Review – The Committee Chair established the agenda for the meeting. and reviewed the three open action items.

    • The action item regarding OCTO working with Harald Alvestrand to conduct an analysis of SSAC's work on security risks remains open but it is anticipated a document related to this work will be ready to share in the coming weeks.
    • The action item regarding Harald Alvestrand to continue gathering information and input from the IETF proceeding regarding the reserved private use of TLDs remains open.
    • The action item regarding a scoping document on alternative roots by Lito Ibarra and Tripti Sinha remains open. A draft document is in progress and will be shared in the coming weeks.
  3. Priority Project Updates – The Committee received an update on the following projects:

    • Root Zone Management Study: ICANN org members reported that the study is underway. The contractor engaged for this work has begun to write the draft report. Once completed, the next step will be to publish the report for Public Comment.
    • IMRS Strategy: ICANN org members reported that OCTO is in the process of revising the IMRS strategy, OCTO-16. The rewrite focuses on points raised during the Public Comment period.
    • Root Server System Governance Working Group (RSS-GWG): ICANN org members supporting the RSS-GWG gave a high-level update on the status of the work. The RSS-GWG was previously on hold while consultations with root server operators were being conducted, yet it was noted that the consultations have since been concluded. The RSOs developed a fairly comprehensive document on success criteria for root server system governance. This document will be transmitted to the RSSAC, likely on 01 October 2021, and the RSSAC will finalize the document and publish it. The RSS-GWG awaits this document, and will provide next steps upon receipt.
    • Domain Name System Security Facilitation Initiative (DSFI) Technical Study Group: The DSFI Technical Study Group sent its draft of the final set of recommendations (to present to the ICANN President and CEO) to approximately 20 or 30 experts, and received approximately 500 individual comments. The TSG went through these comments, and agreed with the substantive comments. The Study Group expects to have completed a final draft by the week of 04 October 2021, which will need to be approved by the TSG once again. The TSG aims to send the final set of recommendations to ICANN's President and CEO before 14 October 2021.
  4. Updates from Technical Liaisons – The Committee received an update from the following Board Technical Liaisons:

    • SSAC (James Galvin): The Committee was briefed on ongoing work in the SSAC about DNS abuse, including the SSAC's engagement with the community on this topic. The Committee was also notified that the SSAC had a joint meeting with contracted parties on DNS abuse. The purpose of this meeting was to identify opportunities to work together, and five potential topic areas for further collaboration were identified.
    • RSSAC (Kaveh Ranjbar): No significant updates to report.
    • Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) (Harald Alvestrand): No significant updates to report.
  5. Any Other Business – The Committee gave words of thanks and appreciation to the Chair for his years of dedicated service to the Committee. The Committee acknowledged David Conrad's departure from ICANN org, and offered their gratitude for his years of service to ICANN org.

The Chair called the meeting to a close.

Published on 26 October 2021