Domain Registration Related News
ICANN warns world of domain hijacking
July 2005
A report by the internet's leading security experts has warned the
world of the risk of domain name hijacking and told the industry to
pull its socks up.
ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee has outlined several
famous and recent thefts of websites, including Panix.com,
Hushmail.com and HZ.com, and listed where the system went wrong and
what can be done to correct the flaws.
It has made 10 findings and, in response, 10 recommendations for how
the internet industry and consumers themselves can make sure that
people don't steal their online property.
The problem is relatively small at the moment, head of the committee
and ICANN Board member, Steve Crocker, told us but when it happened it
was a "full-scale disaster". Panix.com, for example, vanished from the
internet after a fraudulent request saw the website and its thousands
of customers' emails redirected to an entirely different part of the
internet.
Hushmail's website was cleverly stolen in steps, first a phonecall,
then an email, then a wholesale shift of the domain. The company is
still suffering the ill-effects of the hijacking, the company told the
SSAC.
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