https://www.icann.org/news/blog/contractual-compliance-addressing-domain-nam... Contractual Compliance: Addressing Domain Name System (DNS) Infrastructure Abuse A previous blog, Six weeks in Contractual Compliance and Consumer Safeguards<https://www.icann.org/news/blog/six-weeks-in-contractual-compliance-and-cons...>, briefed the ICANN community on three Contractual Compliance department initiatives. Today’s blog is an update on two of those initiatives: increasing transparency around compliance activities and Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure abuse. Many of you may have seen some of the recent improvements in transparency. The Contractual Compliance Monthly Dashboard<https://features.icann.org/compliance/dashboard/report-list> now includes more information regarding registrar-related DNS abuse report handling complaints, including reports regarding spam, pharming, phishing, malware, and botnets. It also includes information on counterfeiting, online pharmaceutical concerns, fraudulent and deceptive practices, trademark or copyright infringement, and complaints regarding registrar abuse contacts. The second initiative, addressing DNS infrastructure abuse, takes place at a time when large sections of the community have raised concerns about the prevalence of this abuse, and questioned the willingness and ability of the ICANN organization and contracted parties to address it. For example, the Competition, Consumer Choice and Consumer Trust Review Team’s final report<https://www.icann.org/public-comments/cct-final-recs-2018-10-08-en> includes a lengthy chapter on DNSi nfrastructure abuse and includes several related recommendations. The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has also raised concerns about DNS infrastructure abuse in the Copenhagen Communiqué<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/gac-to-icann-15mar17-en...>, and elsewhere. In Contractual Compliance, we are conducting audits that are specifically focused on the topic of DNS infrastructure abuse. We have broadened the scope of questions and testing in our registrar and registry audits, focusing on process, procedures, and handling of DNS infrastructure abuse. The revised audit testing focuses on reviewing security threat reports for completeness and comparing them against publicly available reports. ICANN previously included the expanded audit questions in the March 2018 Registry Audit<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/contractual-compliance-ra-audit-...> conducted on 20 generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Through this audit, we identified actions that registries and registrars are taking to address DNS infrastructure abuse. They include conducting security threat analyses frequently and retaining reports for future reference. These reports identified abusive domains that were also identified in publicly available abuse reports (e.g., MalwarePatrol, PhishTank, Spamhaus and SURBL), and included evidence of actions taken against abusive domains. The audit also showed that there were incomplete analyses and security reports for 13 top-level domains (TLDs), as well as a lack of standardized or documented abuse handling procedures and no action being taken on identified threats. These 13 new gTLDs will be retested in the next round. This week, ICANN launched an audit focused on DNS infrastructure abuse for nearly 1200 gTLDs<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/compliance-registry-audit-01nov1...>, and held two audit webinars<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/contractual-compliance-audit-web...> with the registries to address questions and concerns. Some of these concerns were also raised in a recent email<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/austin-to-serad-hedlund...> from the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) and addressed<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/hedlund-to-austin-08nov...> by Contractual Compliance. For the first time, and to help prepare for the upcoming audit, we sent the auditees the complete list of gTLDs that are included in the audit, and a pro-forma list of questions and data requests<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/contractual-compliance-proforma-...> that will be included in the November 2018 Registry Audit round. In another first, ICANN is making this information publicly available on ICANN.org<https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/audits-2012-02-25-en> in an effort to increase transparency. ICANN’s mission is to maintain the security and stability of the DNS. Consistent with our mission, ICANN Contractual Compliance is now addressing DNS infrastructure abuse by conducting registry and registrar audits. The purpose of these audits is to ensure that the contracted parties uphold their contractual obligations with respect to DNS infrastructure abuse and security threats. Upon completion of the audits, ICANN Contractual Compliance will publish our findings and observations, including examples of strategies and processes to mitigate DNS infrastructure abuse. If you have any audit-related questions, please contact ICANN Contractual Compliance at complianceaudit@icann.org<mailto:complianceaudit@icann.org> . Jamie Hedlund Senior Vice President, Contractual Compliance and Consumer Safeguards Managing Director, Washington, DC Office Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Telephone: +1 202 570 7125 Mobile: +1 202 374 3969 Skype: jamiehedlund www.icann.org<http://www.icann.org>