Security, Stability, and Resiliency Review (SSR)

Rec #

Implementation Status

Priority Level Assigned by the Community

Description

Notes

1.1

In progress

P4

The ICANN Board and ICANN org should perform a further comprehensive review of the SSR1 recommendations and execute a new plan to complete the implementation of the SSR1 Recommendations (see Appendix D: Findings Related to SSR1 Recommendations).

N/A

The ICANN Board and ICANN org should ensure specific budget items relating to ICANN org’s performance of SSR related functions are linked to specific ICANN Strategic Plan goals and objectives. ICANN org should implement those mechanisms through a consistent, detailed, annual budgeting and reporting process.

The ICANN Board and ICANN org should create, publish, and request public comment on detailed reports regarding the costs and SSR-related budgeting as part of the strategic planning cycle.

4.1

Complete

N/A

ICANN org should continue centralizing its risk management and clearly articulate its Security Risk Management Framework and ensure that it aligns strategically with the organization's requirements and objectives. ICANN org should describe relevant measures of success and how to assess them.

See implementation documentation.

5.1

Not started

Not eligible for prioritization

ICANN org should implement an ISMS and be audited and certified by a third party along the lines of industry security standards (e.g., ITIL, ISO 27000 family, SSAE-18) for its operational responsibilities. The plan should include a road map and milestone dates for obtaining certifications and noting areas that will be the target of continuous improvement.

There is a dependency on the migration to the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.

5.2

Not started

Not eligible for prioritization

Based on the ISMS, ICANN org should put together a plan for certifications and training requirements for roles in the organization, track completion rates, provide rationale for their choices, and document how the certifications fit into ICANN org's security and risk management strategies.

There is a dependency on the migration to the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.

ICANN org should require external parties that provide services to ICANN org to be compliant with relevant security standards and document their due diligence regarding vendors and service providers.

5.4

Not started

P4

ICANN org should reach out to the community and beyond with clear reports demonstrating what ICANN org is doing and achieving in the security space. These reports would be most beneficial if they provided information describing how ICANN org follows best practices and mature, continually-improving processes to manage risk, security, and vulnerabilities.

N/A

7.1

ICANN org should establish a Business Continuity Plan for all the systems owned by or under the ICANN org purview, based on ISO 22301 "Business Continuity Management," identifying acceptable BC and DR timelines.

ICANN org should ensure that the DR plan for Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) operations (i.e., IANA functions) includes all relevant systems that contribute to the security and stability of the DNS and also includes Root Zone Management and is in line with ISO 27031. ICANN org should develop this plan in close cooperation with the Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) and the Root Server Operators (RSO).

ICANN org should also establish a DR Plan for all the systems owned by or under the ICANN org purview, again in line with ISO 27031.

ICANN org should publish a summary of their overall BC and DR plans and procedures. Doing so would improve transparency and trustworthiness beyond addressing ICANN org’s strategic goals and objectives. ICANN org should engage an external auditor to verify compliance with these BC and DR plans.

9.1

Complete

N/A

The ICANN Board should direct the compliance team to monitor and strictly enforce the compliance of contracted parties to current and future SSR and abuse related obligations in contracts, baseline agreements, temporary specifications, and community policies.

See implementation documentation.

10.1

In progress

P1

ICANN org should post a web page that includes their working definition of DNS abuse, i.e., what it uses for projects, documents, and contracts. The definition should explicitly note what types of security threats ICANN org currently considers within its remit to address through contractual and compliance mechanisms, as well as those ICANN org understands to be outside its remit. If ICANN org uses other similar terminology -- e.g., security threat, malicious conduct -- ICANN org should include both its working definition of those terms and precisely how ICANN org is distinguishing those terms from DNS abuse. This page should include links to excerpts of all current abuse-related obligations in contracts with contracted parties, including any procedures and protocols for responding to abuse. ICANN org should update this page annually, date the latest version, and link to older versions with associated dates of publication.

N/A

The ICANN community and ICANN org should take steps to ensure that access to Centralized Zone Data Service (CZDS) data is available, in a timely manner and without unnecessary hurdles to requesters, e.g., lack of auto-renewal of access credentials.

16.1

Complete

P3

ICANN org should provide consistent cross-references across their website to provide cohesive and easy-to-find information on all actions -- past, present, and planned -- taken on the topic of privacy and data stewardship, with particular attention to the information around the RDS.

21.1

In progress

P1

ICANN org and PTI operations should accelerate the implementation of new RZMS security measures regarding the authentication and authorization of requested changes and offer TLD operators the opportunity to take advantage of those security measures, particularly MFA and encrypted email.

N/A

22.1

In progress

P4

For each service that ICANN org has authoritative purview over, including root-zone and gTLD-related services as well as IANA registries, ICANN org should create a list of statistics and metrics that reflect the operational status (such as availability and responsiveness) of that service, and publish a directory of these services, data sets, and metrics on a single page on the icann.org web site, such as under the Open Data Platform. ICANN org should produce measurements for each of these services as summaries over both the previous year and longitudinally (to illustrate baseline behavior).

N/A

22.2

Not started

P4

ICANN org should request community feedback annually on the measurements. That feedback should be considered, publicly summarized after each report, and incorporated into follow-on reports. The data and associated methodologies used to measure these reports' results should be archived and made publicly available to foster reproducibility.

N/A

23.1

Not started

P3

PTI operations should update the DNSSEC Practice Statement (DPS) to allow the transition from one digital signature algorithm to another, including an anticipated transition from the RSA digital signature algorithm to other algorithms or to future post-quantum algorithms, which provide the same or greater security and preserve or improve the resilience of the DNS.

N/A

23.2

In progress

P1

As a root DNSKEY algorithm rollover is a very complex and sensitive process, PTI operations should work with other root zone partners and the global community to develop a consensus plan for future root DNSKEY algorithm rollovers, taking into consideration the lessons learned from the first root KSK rollover in 2018.

N/A

ICANN org should coordinate end-to-end testing of the full EBERO process at predetermined intervals (at least annually) using a test plan that includes datasets used for testing, progression states, and deadlines, and is coordinated with the ICANN contracted parties in advance to ensure that all exception legs are exercised, and publish the results.

24.2

Complete

P4

ICANN org should make the Common Transition Process Manual easier to find by providing links on the EBERO website.

See implementation documentation.