WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - Several key issues relating to the Internet's growth, security and stability were discussed at length at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number's (ICANN) 25th International Meeting held in Wellington, New Zealand, March 25-31, 2006.
According to a press release by the Corporation, these meetings constitute an essential part of ICANN's global Internet community consensus-development and outreach efforts.
During the meeting, ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) issued a communiqué identifying public policy issues relating to the ICM Registry's application to operate the proposed .xxx sponsored Top-Level Domain (sTLD), paving the way for further consideration of the application by the Board.
Having received feedback from the GAC on the ICM Registry sTLD application, the Board resolved that ICANN's President and General Counsel should analyze all publicly received inputs and continue negotiations with ICM Registry and to return to the Board with any recommendations regarding amendments to the proposed agreement.
The Wellington Meeting also saw developments in relation to Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). Strong community feedback was received that backed ICANN's progress towards the implementation of non-Latin character sets into the Root, following a period of thorough testing to ensure that stability of the Domain Name System (DNS) is maintained.
Another key outcome of the meeting was the release of two reports by ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC). The first report examined amplified DNS Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, while the second report looked at alternate Roots and IDNs. The reports appeal to the Internet community to take these issues seriously.
The DDoS report identifies short and long-term measures to reduce the opportunities for and minimize the effects of DDoS attacks, while the report into alternate Roots and IDNs examines and identifies the motives that cause "breakaway" activities, and explains the issues and conditions that can accelerate fragmentation of the root name service. It also examines the consequences that such activities may have on Internet users and service providers.
Furthermore, the ICANN Board voted to approve the 2006-2009 strategic plan, providing the organization with a clear future direction.
Commenting on the Wellington Meeting, President and CEO of ICANN Dr Paul Twomey applauded its outcomes stating that it had been productive and had addressed some of the key issues facing the DNS.