Report on Domain Hijacking Gets Mixed Reaction

July 2005

A report by an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers Latest News about Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) panel on domain Free How-To Guide for Small Business Web Strategies - from domain name selection to site promotion. hijacking that was intended to raise a red flag in the Internet community about the practice has been met with mixed reaction, leaving at least one victim seeing red.

The Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) report was issued last week during ICANN's annual meeting in Luxembourg, along with 10 recommendations for thwarting domain robbers. ICANN is the group that governs the Internet.

The recommendations ranged from circulating "best practices" information to domain registrars to suggesting ICANN investigate "whether stronger and more publicly visible enforcement mechanisms are needed to deal with registrars that fail to comply with the transfer policy, and to hold registrars accountable for the actions of their resellers."
Tougher Penalties Sought

However, Alexis Rosen, president of the Public Access Networks Corporation (Panix), an Internet service provider (ISP) in New York City whose domain was hijacked earlier this year, contended that even if the committee's recommendations were followed, they would do little to deter domain thieves. He called for tougher penalties for domain registrars.