Almost exactly nine years ago, the .INFO domain first started accepting registrations.  This was an historic event as it was the first time a new generic top-level domain (TLD) was launched to an existing domain marketplace and, in fact, was the first new TLD to be added since .com.  We’ve seen (and provided technology to power) many other TLD launches since then, with many business models.  As you seek to introduce your own new TLD however, you should carefully evaluate the different launch models that have been tried before and determine which one will work best for your specific TLD.

Trademark Protection
All new TLDs will require some form of trademark protection to ensure that Intellectual Property (IP) holders’ rights can be protected prior to live, public registrations.  Afilias has implemented a number of different types of trademark protection plans from pre-registration without trademark verification, to those with extensive application and verification processes.  We’ve seen the best success with a very focused trademark pre-registration period that has clear trademark parameters and works with a known trademark verification agent to weed through all of the submissions.  We also recommend that all registries lock pre-registered trademark domains for up to 60 days following their registration award to allow for any potential UDRP claims that IP owners may wish to file.  

Landrush
Landrush will be the most critical time for your TLD as it places the heaviest load on the technical registry system.  We’ve seen in excess of 300,000 names coming in through initial landrush opening minutes, so you want to be very careful about who you select as your registry partner.  You should make sure that their registry has been tested to withstand a significant landrush load.

In addition, you will have to make some policy decisions about how you want landrush to work. In almost all cases you should avoid pre-registration fees with a “chance” at getting your name. These can be viewed as lottery-based systems that can subject your organization to new legal restrictions.  We highly recommend that clients not charge for applications, but only for awarded names.

Regardless, you need to decide if you will open the floodgates all at once, or if you want to have multiple, specialized application periods (see below) in advance of the “public” opening.

Premium Names and Auctions
In recent years TLDs like .info, .mobi, .asia and .me have seen good success by reserving premium names, which are highly desirable generic or category terms.  In .info’s case, we reserved a number of country domains and have awarded them for use by their respective governments (some great examples are spain.info and germany.info).  Other TLDs have used reserved name lists for auctions following landrush.

Premium or other reserved names can fit well into your new TLD’s strategy, particularly if you will be representing a certain category or key community where they will present more value.  An auction approach helps to raise the price, and therefore perceived value of these names, and can help put your registry on a sound financial footing more quickly.  

RFPs
If auctions are not to your taste, other domains have also seen success by simply launching a period where interested users can respond to a “request for proposal” with a business and launch plan for a highly desirable name.  As a registry, you can offer additional promotion, partnerships or advertising to help assist with the launch of these sites, which can also act as great brand ambassadors for your fledgling TLD.

 

Each new TLD will have its own priorities. However, at the end of the day, you need a plan that will get lots of names into your target market quickly, generate awareness of your TLD (so it will be viewed as a legitimate place to visit by Internet users), and demonstrate actual use in the market (i.e. real sites and e-mail).  Your launch plan is critical to establishing these building blocks quickly. If you are not a TLD expert, consider teaming up with someone who has been there before.

What were you doing this week back in 1985? Answer: Probably watching the debut of Back to the Future, a early Steven Spielberg movie which incorporated novel uses of technology to travel in time. During that same time in 1985, however, another innovative use of technology was also making its debut—one with much greater implications for improving our lives on a global scale.

On July 10, 1985 the first .ORG domain name – mitre.org – was registered, joining the initial registrations in .com and 5 other “generic top level domains” in the Internet’s Root zone. This date marks the starting point of the Internet revolution by allowing Internet users to locate online resources by easy-to-remember names instead of complex numbers. Making the Internet more accessible has spurred global economic development, improved freedoms and increased access to knowledge for the last 25 years.

Afilias is pleased to be a partner with .ORG, The Public Interest Registry (PIR) in supporting the millions of .ORG domains now in use worldwide. We are proud to provide state of the art registry and DNS services which ensure that .ORG is a reliable and secure home for the millions of organizations worldwide who depend on their .ORG online identity to pursue their missions. We have worked closely for the past seven years with PIR and its parent organization, the Internet Society (ISOC), to continuously upgrade the critical infrastructure supporting .ORG to meet the needs of both current and future Internet users. The recent deployment of a significantly upgraded security technology, DNSSEC, across the .ORG domain is but one example of how PIR, ISOC and Afilias join together to ensure the .ORG domain is exemplary, safe and trusted.

Since 2003, when PIR became the steward of .ORG, .ORG has grown by almost 300% to over 8 million domains. This growth is a testament to the dedicated and focused team at PIR, the secure and reliable technology underpinning the registry, and to the engaged base of active registrars, who serve the expanding core of .ORG registrants and the larger universe of .ORG Internet users. The achievements of .ORG over the past twenty-five years in general and the seven years in particular point to a great renaissance and a period of extraordinary activity and success for .ORG, and bode well for the next twenty-five years.

The entire team at Afilias congratulates Alexa Raad, CEO of PIR, her team, ISOC and the Internet community on achieving this important and historic milestone. Happy Birthday .ORG!

To see a timeline of the History and Growth of .ORG, please click here.

The application period for the next round of new top-level domains moved one step closer to commencement after a productive and well-attended ICANN meeting in Brussels last week.

The board resolved on Friday to dedicate its two-day retreat in September entirely to working on the issues that remain outstanding in the Draft Applicant Guidebook. The current version of the DAG, the fourth, is expected to be the final draft before applications become open to potentially hundreds of prospective new TLD registry operators.

ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said the final Applicant Guidebook could be ready or almost ready for approval as early as December this year, when the ICANN community will meet in Cartagena, Colombia. Companies wishing to apply for their ".brand" TLD in the first round could find themselves able to do so in the first half of next year and should start their planning process now if they have not already.

However, because ICANN is a bottom-up policy-making organization, there are still issues that the community needs to resolve before the board can act. The procedures for providing intellectual property protection to trademark holders have almost been finalized, and the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee has been asked for further guidance on how to handle its concerns about "morality and public order" in new TLDs. Registries and registrars are also continuing to make progress towards a consensus view on cross-ownership and vertical integration.

One key element of the new TLD process is the requirement that all new TLDs incorporate DNSSEC at launch.  DNSSEC took another significant step forward at this meeting with the signing of http://www.isoc.org/ as the first second level .ORG to be secured by this new security protocol.  The .org TLD is the largest TLD to date to deploy DNSSEC at the zone level; and the http://www.isoc.org/ signing paves the way for EVERY .ORG to be secured via DNSSEC.

There was also good news in Brussels for the world's over one billion Chinese speakers, as the ICANN 

Board voted to approve three Chinese-script internationalized domain names for addition to the root. The country-code managers for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, who received standing ovations following the Board's decision, will soon be able to distribute addresses ending in their IDN scripts.  These TLDs will join several other country-specific strings that were applied for in the "fast -track" process approved at the Nairobi meeting.

 

DUBLIN, IRELAND - 1 June 2010 - Today Afilias, a leading provider of Internet infrastructure services, announced that its Chief Technology Officer, Ram Mohan, has been named to IDG's InfoWorld CTO 25 Awards for his work and innovation in deploying Domain Name Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in the Internet's domain name system (DNS).

 

 

 

 

 "We congratulate Ram on this prestigious and well deserved recognition of his technology leadership which has improved DNS security across the Internet," said Hal Lubsen, CEO of Afilias. "The deployment of DNSSEC in our systems preceded a broader commitment to DNSSEC worldwide from other parts of the DNS ecosystem, including the Root zone operators, other domain registries, and major ISPs who are now deploying the technology to finally bring the security benefits of DNSSEC to end users."  

DNSSEC technology solves Internet security problems like the "Kaminsky bug" (also known as cache poisoning), a highly publicized critical flaw to the DNS which allows malicious third-parties to get control of the DNS communication channel between an end user and a Web site. DNSSEC is an Internet standard developed by the IETF over a decade ago that solves this vulnerability by attaching cryptographic signatures to each DNS query and response. However, large-scale DNSSEC implementation was stalled until .ORG, the Public Interest Registry began work on signing their top-level domain, with technical implementation carried out by Afilias (PIR's technical services provider).  Ram Mohan, CTO and Executive Vice President of Afilias, architected the deployment of DNSSEC for .ORG, one of the largest and most trusted domain name registries in the world, completing the signing of the top-level domain in June of 2009.

"This year's honorees reinvented untenable legacies, provided game-changing insight, and managed both their own teams and key organization stakeholders to make their businesses succeed through the use of technology. Our honorees did much more than implement technology well; they brought its use to a new level," said Galen Gruman, Executive Editor/News and Features, InfoWorld.   

"I am honored to receive this award and to be supported by an incredible team at Afilias. I'd also like to thank everyone at .ORG for their vision and commitment to DNSSEC," said Ram Mohan. "Much work has been done at the top of the DNS hierarchy, including ICANN, IANA and NTIA, to make DNSSEC a reality. Now is the time for the rest of the chain of trust, from registrars to application providers to enterprises, to embrace it and make DNS security a priority."

About the  InfoWorld CTO 25 Awards

Chief technology officers are often the unsung heroes of IT. They may drive new technology development for customer-facing and/or internal use. They may manage and improve the core technology that underpins the business operations. In any case, they translate the promise of technology into business benefit. Each year, the InfoWorld CTO 25 Awards honor senior IT executives who have demonstrated leadership within their companies and in the IT community.

 

Inclusion in the InfoWorld CTO 25 rankings does not imply endorsement of an organization's products or services.  Selection is based on the excellence and quality of the work environment, and not state or imply that your organization's product or service is being honored. The full list of 2010 winners is available at: http://www.infoworld.com/t/leadership/the-best-ctos-2010-618 

 

About InfoWorld Media Group

InfoWorld Media Group helps IT Decision Makers choose the right technology, within the context of a cohesive strategy for business impact at their organizations. InfoWorld identifies and promotes emerging technology segments that add unique value for the organizations that implement them, as well as the vendors that provide those solutions. Using an integrated communications approach including online, events, research, and a continued investment in an independent Test Center, InfoWorld analysts and editors provide hands-on analysis and evaluation, as well as expert commentary on issues surrounding emerging technologies and products. Visit InfoWorld at http://www.infoworld.com

 

About International Data Group

International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, events, and research company. IDG's online network includes more than 450 web sites spanning business technology, consumer technology, digital entertainment and video games worldwide. IDG also publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers in 85 countries. IDG's media brands include CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, and PC World. IDG's lead-generation service, IDG Connect, matches technology companies with an audience of engaged, high-quality IT professionals, influencers, and decision makers. IDG is a leading producer of more than 750 technology-related events including Macworld Conference & Expo, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, Entertainment for All Expo (E for All), DEMO, Storage Networking World, and IDC Directions. IDC, a subsidiary of IDG, is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events. Over 900 IDC analysts in more than 90 countries provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends.  Additional information about IDG, a privately held company, is available at http://www.idg.com.

 

About Afilias

Afilias is a global provider of Internet infrastructure services that connect people to their data. Afilias' reliable, secure, scalable, and globally available technology supports a wide range of applications including Internet domain registry services, Managed DNS, and services in the RFID and supply chain market with its Afilias Discovery Services. 

Many ccTLD registries are contemplating deploying Domain Name Security Extensions (DNSSEC). This Webinar will review the “lessons learned” from major players in the DNS industry who have taken a leadership position in deploying DNSSEC among TLDs and the Root infrastructure. This Webinar will give you key questions to ask yourself when deciding upon DNSSEC deployment parameters and timeline. It will also give you a good understanding of the infrastructure changes required for your registry and DNS systems to support DNSSEC.

Moderator:
John Kane, VP Corporate Services - Afilias

Panelists:
Rickard Bellgrim - .SE registry
Lauren Price - .ORG, The Public Interest Registry
Steve Crocker – Shinkuro and ICANN SSAC
Ram Mohan, CTO - Afilias

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If you are a new TLD applicant, one of the key pieces of your plan is how you intend to go to market. Many applicants will be required by ICANN to use registrars, and there are many good reasons for this. Registrars understand the domain business, they are experienced domain marketers and most importantly, they have existing business relationships with many of the same registrants you will need to make your TLD successful.

The question is: HOW do you get registrars to support YOUR new TLD? Afilias has more experience introducing new TLDs to registrars than anyone, and we’d like to suggest 3 principles for success:

1. First, choose an attractive string: The most important reason for a registrar to support you is if your TLD will sell. Make sure your string has a strong reason for being—that it adds value to the Internet and will serve a market that will buy it!
2. Second, Provide Support: Be sure to give registrars tools that will help them sell your TLD. For example you’ll need to ensure competitive pricing and provide marketing materials and promotional support. Plan to work as a TEAM with your registrars
3. Third, Keep it simple: Registrars are going to be swamped with new offerings. If YOUR TLD is simpler to implement, your chances for success are better.
   • Simplicity begins with the accreditation process—Study what new TLDs have done in the past and don’t re-invent the wheel.
   • Pricing should also be simple and sustainable. Look at how registrars sell domains today and try to replicate that model.
   • And last, Technical systems must be familiar and standards-compliant: Registrars don’t have time to learn a whole new system. They will support TLDs that use systems they are familiar with, as it saves them time and money.

Registrars are the key to distribution so you must learn how to succeed through them. How? Choose an attractive string, provide appropriate support for your registrars, and keep it simple for them.

Of course, it isn’t quite that simple. That’s why you should work with an expert who is already dealing with registrars and has done this for many new TLDs before. Afilias already has a group of accredited registrars that together support over 90% of the active domain name marketplace. This coupled with our registry technology which already supports 15 different TLDs, has the kind of experience you’ll need in gaining distribution to make your new TLD successful.

Afilias is a sponsor of the 12th AfriNIC Public Policy Meeting and AfNOG.

The deployment of Domain Security Extensions (DNSSEC) has crossed another milestone this month with the publication of DURZ (deliberately unvalidatable root zone) in all DNS root servers on 5 May 2010.

While this change was virtually invisible to most Internet users, this event and the remaining testing that will occur over these next two months will dictate the ultimate success of DNSSEC deployment across the Internet.

Until now, ICANN and its partners have been rolling out DURZ to each of the root servers individually. With this step, all root servers now have DURZ. We will now get to see, before a validatable root zone is published, how the DNS infrastructure will behave as more queries for DNSSEC information result in larger responses. Answers to the important question about how the DNS scales with the addition of DNSSEC will hopefully start to filter in, as well as the opportunity to watch for abnormalities in the system. The final step in the root’s DNSSEC deployment will occur in July when a validatable root zone is published.

If you are an application provider, ISP, or a TLD registry thinking of DNSSEC deployment you should take this event as an actionable item and allow your technical teams time to participate in DNSSEC testing.

The next milestone will be the deployment of a validatable signed root. Signed TLDs will be able to submit their keys to the root zone after it is signed, creating a single, hierarchical, secure infrastructure, in contrast to the islands of trust we have today.

We have spent the better part of the past three years working closely with .ORG and the Public Interest Registry towards the deployment of DNSSEC in .ORG throughout the domain name system. This June, second level .ORG names will be able to submit their key information and be signed, which will propagate throughout the DNS, a first-ever in a major gTLD. We look forward to learning, sharing and helping the system become stronger across this and future DNSSEC deployments across the other TLDs we support.

Over the last three years, the Anti-Phishing Working Group’s semiannual Global Phishing Survey has become a widely cited source of information about the state of phishing and its place in the Internet landscape. Afilias’ Director of Domain Security, Greg Aaron, has been co-authoring these reports with Rod Rasmussen of Internet Identity, with the goal to show the community what phishers are doing and how anti-abuse measures are effective. The newly published edition of the report highlights how criminals have utilized the domain name space, but offers good news about the domain name community has helped diminish the effects of some very dangerous phishing. It’s an encouraging success story.

The new Global Phishing Survey reveals that in the second half of 2009, the Avalanche phishing gang perpetrated two-thirds of all phishing attacks on the Internet! This criminal entity utilizes a botnet comprised of consumer-level computers to host its phishing and malware too. By running its own distributed, illegal hosting, the gang tries to make its phishing “bullet-proof” – resistant to take-down because there’s no traditional hosting provider to call. But such phishing can be stopped by suspending the domain names. Fortunately we saw a number of domain name registrars and registries shut down Avalanche phishing in an increasingly effective fashion, often neutralizing the phishers’ technical advantage.

In the second half of 2009, we saw Avalanche registered 4,141 domain names in various TLDs, and hosted up to 40 separate attacks on each domain. Avalanche prefers to register domains at registrars that react slowly (or not at all) to abuse reports and/or have weak fraud-detection routines. Similarly, Avalanche prefers TLDs where the registry operators do not have effective anti-abuse policies and procedures to help the registrars and provide swift action when needed. Unfortunately, we saw Avalanche victimize certain registrars and TLDs over and over again.

Avalanche and similar threats have prompted many industry members to adopt best practices to fight phishing and other criminal abuses. Afilias adopted its .INFO Anti-Abuse Policy in 2007, defining what constitutes abusive use, and reiterating the registry’s right to take action. Registrars also have terms of service in their registration agreements, and those terms prohibit illegal activities and allow the registrars to suspend domain names at their discretion. In practice, Afilias monitors for phishing and other problems in the .INFO space, and communicates abuse reports and documentation to its registrars. The registrars examine the reports and work on mitigation as they feel appropriate. On occasion Afilias will also suspend domains directly, especially to stop large-scale abuse in a timely fashion. This kind of cooperation and information-sharing is adaptable and effective, allows registrars and registries to install good process, and appropriately manage risk. On a daily basis, it saves thousands of Internet users from becoming victims.

The 2009 data shows that Avalanche phish stayed up for less than half the time as other phish—a great result. How did it happen? First, the entire response community concentrated attention on Avalanche, pushing phishing attack alerts to each other. That response community includes the banks and online services targeted by the phishers, security companies and researchers, registries, and registrars. Second, a number of registrars and registries took quick action, looking for Avalanche domains and killing them through the summer and fall of 2009. Education and data sharing clearly helped. In November 2009, members of the security community shut down Avalanche’s infrastructure for a week. After re-establishing its operations, Avalanche kept registering domains, but launched fewer attacks. Avalanche attacks decreased from 26,411 in October 2009 to just 59 in April 2010. We’ll continue to monitor Avalanche, but it appears that overall, the domain industry may be more prepared for whatever comes next.

The median up-time for all phishing attacks on the Internet has fallen remarkably over the past two years, from 19 hours 30 minutes in early 2008 to 11 hours 44 minutes in the second half of 2009. The falling times point to improved awareness, responsiveness, and detection across the board. Here at Afilias, our policies and procedures have dissuaded phishers like Avalanche from registering .INFO domains, and non-Avalanche phish in .INFO stayed alive for less than half the industry average.

The results above emphasize the effectiveness of best practices and processes. Domain industry players are becoming increasingly sophisticated about e-crime, and can greatly improve the safety of the Internet for everyone.

To see all the details, please read the new APWG report, at: http://www.apwg.org/reports/APWG_GlobalPhishingSurvey_2H2009.pdf

Afilias' Desiree Miloshevic will be chairing this panel discussion entitled 'How long will the Internet remain a level playing field?' on Net neutrality at the University of Surrey, Guildforde. Networking and refreshments at 19.00 with the debate starting at 19.30. Visit the Web link to register for this free event!