A "Key" Event in Protecting the DNS
On 11 June 2017, the ICANN organization moved one step closer to changing the cryptographic keys that protect the Domain Name System (DNS). That was the date when a new key appeared in the DNS for the first time since 2010.
The new key is part of the ongoing effort leading up to a changing or "rolling" of the key signing key (KSK) - scheduled to occur on 11 October 2017.
A global outreach effort is currently underway to ensure that network operators around the globe are ready for the change in October. ICANN has set up a testing platform so these operators can verify that their systems are good to go for the pending change.
Learn more about the KSK rollover at: icann.org/kskroll.
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| | The fifth Africa Domain Name System (DNS) Forum attracted over 200 local and regional participants. |
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Fifth Africa DNS Forum Brings African Stakeholders to Tanzania
This year's Africa DNS Forum was organized by ICANN, in partnership with the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Africa Top-Level Domains Organization (AFTLD). The forum, hosted by the Tanzania Network Information Centre (tzNIC), took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 26-28 July 2017. For more information, visit the event page.
One of the forum's highlights was the session dedicated to discussing the Africa DNS Market Report and determining the key outcomes and next steps. Among other topics were securing the African DNS; legal issues affecting African registries, registrars and resellers; Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) deployment; and emerging trends in the DNS industry.
During the gala dinner, sponsors, past local hosts, and the organizing team of the Africa DNS Forum were recognized for their consistent support and partnership.
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It's Time to Register for ICANN60!
For the first time, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), will host an ICANN Public Meeting. The seven-day ICANN60 Annual General Meeting runs from 28 October to 3 November 2017. Register now!
Visit the ICANN60 page to find about travel (including visa requirements) and make hotel reservations. We'll post more information leading up to the meeting - be sure to bookmark the page and check back frequently.
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| Introducing ICANN's Chief Data Protection Officer (CDPO)
John Jeffrey, General Counsel and Secretary, ICANN
Data protection and privacy laws and regulations are constantly evolving. One of the ICANN organization's top priorities continues to be data protection and privacy compliance and maintaining the security of personal data we collect in the course of our operations. As part of the ICANN organization's overall data protection and privacy governance framework, we are creating a new role: the Chief Data Protection Officer (CDPO).
We have asked Daniel Halloran to be ICANN's Chief Data Protection Officer. Dan will take on this role, in addition to his current responsibilities as Deputy General Counsel. Dan has been deeply involved in our efforts surrounding data privacy and protection, and he will be an excellent fit for this new role. Dan will continue to report to me in both roles.
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RACI: Apply Now!
The Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE) Academic Cooperation Initiative (RACI) is accepting applications for its October 2017 meetings. Successful applicants from the RIPE region receive complimentary tickets, travel, and accommodations for the meetings and the opportunity to present their research.
Many ICANN community members have applied for and received RACI fellowships in the past. It's your turn to get involved - apply now!
Application deadline: 20 August 2017
- Eurasia Network Operators Group (ENOG 14): 10-11 October, Minsk, Belarus
- RIPE 75: 22-26 October, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The ICANN and RIPE communities are closely related. The RIPE community spans Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia, and deals with the administrative and technical issues regarding the operation of the Internet in that region.
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ICANN Middle Eastern Strategy Finalizing Second Year of Implementation Plan
In July 2016, the MEAC Strategy Working Group (MEAC-SWG), a group of 52 members and observers, started working on a regional strategy. By year's end, both the strategy and the Year 1 Implementation Plan were ready.
The first year kept everyone busy with capacity-building and training workshops, Arabic Script Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), engagement with law enforcement agencies and Computer Emergency Response Teams, academic engagement, Middle East Network Operators Group (MENOG) roadshows in partnership with the MENOG secretariat, and activities under the DNS Entrepreneurship Center (DNS-EC). By the end of the year, the MEAC-SWG comprised 66 members and observers.
Building on a successful first year, the MEAC-SWG is now finalizing the Year 2 Implementation Plan, and will publish it online soon at https://go.icann.org/28K0F0Z .
Are you interested in engaging with the MEAC-SWG? Do you have bright ideas to share? Send an email to meac.swg@icann.org.
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ICANN61 Fellowship Application Round Now Open
LOS ANGELES - 04 August 2017 - Today, ICANN opened the Fellowship Program application round for individuals interested in attending ICANN61. The Public Meeting takes place from 10-15 March 2018 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The deadline to apply is 15 September 2017. Successful candidates will be announced on 1 December 2017 on https://icann.org/ .
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Data Protection, Privacy Issues, and the GDPR
Data privacy and data protection regulations are evolving. These include the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will affect the ICANN organization in at least two areas: - Personal data that participants in the domain name ecosystem collect, display, and process, including registries and registrars (pursuant to ICANN contracts)
- Personal data that ICANN collects and processes for internal or external services
In the past few months, we've had several discussions with the multistakeholder community about this topic. Learn more about recent activities on the newly launched Data Protection/Privacy Issues page.
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Empowered Community - ICANN Budget and Operating Plans in Effect
On 17 July 2017, the ICANN Empowered Community confirmed that it was not rejecting any of the following documents previously approved by the ICANN Board on 24 June 2017:
- ICANN's FY2018 Budget and Operating Plan
- IANA's Budget for FY2018
- ICANN's Five-Year Operating Plan
The confirmation followed the expiration of the 21-day period for the Empowered Community to raise a petition against any of these documents. Read more about these and other Empowered Community actions here.
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Coming Soon - New Accountability Indicators
Have you ever wondered how many events ICANN participates in by region and how many people we engage with? Or what is the state of ICANN's financials? Or how much is being spent on travel and meetings? What if you could find these answers and more in one central place on icann.org?
We'll soon be launching the new Accountability Indicators page, which will replace the KPI Dashboard. There, you'll have visibility into progress against ICANN's strategic and operating plans through through easy-to-read charts and detailed data. You'll now be able to drill down to view underlying data. This is one more way the ICANN organization is showing its commitment to accountability.
The page is scheduled to launch in the next few weeks - watch for the announcement!
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| Improving the Quarterly Stakeholder Reports
As part of the ICANN organization's accountability and transparency, for the past three years, we've held a quarterly call to report on the previous quarter's activities. We've been exploring ways to improve the calls. We've seen low turnout on the live calls, but a strong interest in the recordings and report posted on our website.
As a trial, we're removing the live call, and will instead present highlights in a short prerecorded Adobe Connect call. We'll continue to post the detailed quarterly report. If you have questions, email them in advance to engagement@icann.org and we'll answer them in the report.
This new format starts 7 September, when we'll post the FY17 Q4 update. As always, we'll announce when the recording and report are available. We welcome your feedback and suggestions - please email engagement@icann.org. |
Participate in ICANN Reviews
Reviews are mandated by ICANN's Bylaws to evaluate the performance of the ICANN organization, its Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs).
What's Happening?
- The Competition, Consumer Trust, and Consumer Choice Review Team (CCTRT) will publish new report sections (DNS Abuse, INTA Survey) for public comment in September and send its Final Report to the ICANN Board before ICANN60. Learn more.
- The second Security, Stability, and Resiliency of the DNS (SSR2) Review Team has been briefed on the implementation of review recommendations from SSR1. The team has also finalized the five broad topic areas that it will examine. Learn more.
- During its September meeting, the ICANN Board will consider the request to delay the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Review to August 2018.
Want to get involved with ICANN Specific Reviews? Become a Review Observer - find out how: CCTRT, SSR2, ATRT3, RDS/WHOIS2.
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Decisional Participants Approve Fundamental Bylaw Amendment
Exercising their power as Decisional Participants of the Empowered Community (EC), the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), Address Supporting Organization (ASO), Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO), Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), and Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) approved an amendment to an ICANN Fundamental Bylaw. On 18 May 2017, the ICANN Board approved an amendment to Section 4.2 to transfer responsibility for reconsideration requests to a new ICANN Board committee. This triggered the Empowered Community Approval Action Process, including the subsequent convening of the first Community Forum at ICANN59. During the Community Forum, the five Decisional Participants discussed the proposed Fundamental Bylaw amendment. Following the Community Forum, each Decisional Participant had 21 days to decide whether to support, object to, or abstain from the matter.
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GNSO Confirms James Bladel as Representative to the Empowered Community Administration
The GNSO Council confirmed James Bladel, GNSO Chair, to represent the GNSO as a Decisional Participant on the Empowered Community Administration until the end of his term at ICANN60. Since October 2016, Bladel has served as the interim representative. The GNSO Council asked the GNSO Standing Selection Committee to develop the criteria and process for selecting the permanent GNSO representative. The GNSO Council adopted the proposed criteria and process during its meeting on 28 June 2017. The process stipulates that the GNSO Council leadership team will select one of its members (chair, vice chairs) to serve as the representative. The GNSO Council confirmed the decision during its meeting on 13 July 2017.
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ccNSO Council Adopts CWG-UCTN Final Paper
One week before ICANN59, the Cross-Community Working Group on the Use of Country and Territory Names as Top-Level Domains (CWG-UCTN) submitted its final paper to the ccNSO and GNSO Councils for deliberation and decision-making. ccNSO members also discussed the recommendations of the CWG-UCTN during the ccNSO members meeting.
At its 20 July meeting, the ccNSO Council adopted the CWG-UCTN final paper (read the executive summary)and supported the following recommendations:
- The chartering organizations (ccNSO and GNSO) should close the CWG-UCTN in accordance with and as foreseen in the charter.
- The ICANN community should consolidate all policy efforts relating to geographic names to enable in-depth analyses and discussions on all aspects related to all geographic-related names.
- Future policy development work must facilitate an all-inclusive dialogue to ensure that all members of the community have the opportunity to participate.
With respect to the format for the upcoming work, the ccNSO Council decided to first consult its appointed members on the CWG before making any decisions.
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At-Large Community Enters Next Phase of the Organizational Review Process
The At-Large community started developing a feasibility assessment and implementation plan in response to the review recommendations proposed by ITEMS, the independent examiner conducting the review. At-Large aims to submit this plan to the ICANN Board Organization Effectiveness Committee in late August, prior to ICANN Board action on the ITEMS recommendations. With significant input from across the community, including the ALAC, Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs), and At-Large Structures, the ALAC Statement on the At-Large Review Draft Report has laid the groundwork for analyzing the ITEMS recommendations.
To facilitate this phase of work, a workspace and a Google document have been developed with prepopulated content drawn from the previous ALAC statement. The community will focus on refining the content, giving input, proposing implementation steps for each recommendation, and creating a list of priorities. In addition, the community will review and consider if the RALO Statement on the At-Large Review Draft Report should be incorporated into this document.
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GAC Looks Ahead to ICANN60
Since ICANN59, the GAC leadership has focused on follow-up items such as the cross-community discussion on "Who Sets ICANN's Priorities?" The GAC also provided input to the General Data Protection Regulation Compliance Consultation Group. The GAC plans to meet with the ICANN Board in mid-August to discuss the ICANN59 GAC Communiqué.
Several nominations have been received for the next round of GAC leadership elections, which will conclude during ICANN60. The nomination period closes on 13September 2017.
The GAC is also preparing for ICANN60 with a particular focus on cross-community work. With guidance from the GAC Public Safety Working Group, the GAC submitted several topics for potential cross-community sessions, including DNS Abuse Mitigation.
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WHOIS Data Gets High Marks for Accuracy in Syntax and Operability
The WHOIS Accuracy Reporting System (ARS) June 2017 report is now available. Key findings show that 98.6 percent of WHOIS records contain information that can be used to establish immediate contact through an email or phone number that meets all operability requirements of the 2009 Registrar Accreditation Agreement.
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Just Published in July 2017: Updated gTLD Marketplace Health Index
The gTLD Marketplace Health Index (Beta), first published in July 2016, presents statistics and trends related to generic top-level domains (gTLDs). A community advisory panel is working with ICANN to refine the Index in preparation for publishing version 1.0. View the Health Index.
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Domain Name Registrants - How We Are Increasing Knowledge and Awareness
Domain name registrants are entities or individuals that have acquired the right to use a domain name for a period of time via an agreement with a registrar or reseller.Registrants are integral to the Domain Name System (DNS). Learn more about what the ICANN organization is doing to help increase registrant knowledge - read the recent blog or visit the Information for Domain Name Registrants page.
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Seven New gTLDs and Eight ccTLDs Were Delegated in June and July 2017
| SEARCH | MAP | اتصالات, "Etisalat", /itissalat/
| | PHD | GROCERY | MERCKMSD |
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Join us at these upcoming events in the EMEA region:
Learn more about how ICANN will be participating in regional events near you.
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