News

While Internet filtering using the DNS (Domain Name System) is often cited in the fight against cybercrime and serves as input material for discussions on net neutrality, the AFNIC Scientific Council has studied the technique, the means for implementing it, the theoretical extent to which its objectives are met and the collateral effects it may or may not cause.

As an Internet registry operator, AFNIC is responsible for the effective functioning of DNS resolution under the .fr, .re, .tf, .wf and .yt Internet zones. The registry plays an active role in the international bodies involved in discussing, standardizing Internet core protocols.

The study by the AFNIC Scientific Council shows that DNS filtering is a technique that can theoretically be used to relocate the decision to authorize or prohibit the access to a domain name at the level of the country or a telecom operator. Circumventing these measures is technically simple, however.

The adoption of technologies such as DNSSEC could also be disrupted. Finally, the effectiveness of the measures usually advocated to bolster confidence in e-commerce sites, including checking the URL in the browser bar, would be diminished. 

This therefore indicates that the collateral effects of large-scale implementation of DNS-based filtering on Internet security are extensive. Its effects could permanently weaken the trust seals on which users rely today.

Download the report of the AFNIC Scientific Council: Consquences of DNS-based Internet filtering 

Prague, 10 January 2013 – On Sunday, 13 January 2013, it will be exactly 20 years since the family of top-level national domains was extended by the .CZ suffix. It was established as a replacement for the .CS domain, which had been in operation from 1991 and expired with the split-up of former Czechoslovakia. According to the statistics of the CZ.NIC Association, the administrator of the Czech domain since 1999, there are over 1,012,000 registered Internet addresses ending in .CZ today.

“.CZ is by far the most widely used top-level domain in the Czech Republic. This is primarily the result of two breakthrough developments, the first being the relaxation of rather strict registration rules in 1997. After this decision, domains could also be registered by individuals. Ten years later, CZ.NIC deployed FRED, its own system for domain administration and registration, which has made the registration process much faster and cheaper. Since then, there have been about 10,000 new domains registered every month,” says Ondřej Filip, Executive Director of the CZ.NIC Association.

According to the latest comprehensive statistics available to the CZ.NIC Association, the share of domains held by individuals is gradually increasing, today accounting for 58% of all .CZ domains. Most holders own only one domain; the largest number of .CZ domains registered to one holder is 4,054.In terms of regional distribution, the most holders are from Central Bohemia, the least from the Karlovy Vary region.

A content analysis of 1,200 randomly selected websites in the .CZ domain showed that the greatest number of sites are company websites (41 percent), followed by parked domains (19 percent), e-shops and idle domains (8 percent). Seven percent of domains are private websites.

Go to Original Article 

The December edtition of the CENTR Monthly Roundup magazine is now available.  The newsletter gives a monthly snapshot of the CENTR membership of ccTLD Registries with a focus on news and statistics. This month includes;

• Overview of European ccTLD news 
• Short Summary of the recent CENTR A-Level Survey 2012
• Median Growth rates of European ccTLDs
• WCIT Dubai Update
• Upcoming CENTR events

Press release 2012-12-22

ICANN has selected .SE as the provider of Pre-Delegation Testing services for the new gTLD Program. The purpose of the Pre-Delegation Testing is to verify that the applicant has met its commitment to establish registry operations in accordance with the technical and operational criteria described in the gTLD Applicant Guidebook (AGB). Each applicant will be required to complete Pre-Delegation Testing as a prerequisite to delegation into the root zone.
ICANN’s announcement
http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-21dec12-en.htm

For more information, please contact:

Maria Ekelund, Head of Communiationskommunikationschef
Phone: + 46 70 777 44 87
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About .SE

.SE (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation) is an independent public-service organization that acts to promote the positive development of the Internet in Sweden. .SE is responsible for the Internet’s Swedish top-level domain, .se, encompassing domain-name registration, and the administration and technical operation of the national domain name registry. Proceeds from domain-name registrations are used to finance initiatives that promote the development of the Internet in Sweden, through proprietary operations and the financing of independent projects.

CENTR has published its report on the WCIT conference held in Dubai recently.  
Go to the report here 
 

The processing of the results of the 2012 CENTR A-level survey is done. Since 2002, every 2 or 3 years the CENTR A-level survey gives an insight on the organization and main policy rules of the registries in the CENTR community. A record number of 50 members participated to the CENTR A-level survey.

One of the eye catchers in the report is the high number of DNSSEC deployments planned for 2013. By the end of next year 42 of the 50 registries in the survey will have launched DNSSEC; that is 85%.

Much more in the report which is available at http://centr.org/Survey_2012-A_Level_Survey .  (members only)

Eleanor Bradley has been appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer.

In recognition of the breadth of her new responsibilities, Eleanor has joined the Nominet Board taking a seat that was previously vacant.  

Nominet congratulates Eleanor on her new role, which will focus on ensuring we continue to deliver excellence in both our operational and corporate services.

The Communique from the November Board meeting has also now been published.

On December 4, the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ and the Technical Center of Internet have generated DNSSEC keys for .RU, one of two Russian national domains. The ceremony was attended by media as well as CC and TCI experts. A formal event signified the first phase of signing .RU with DNSSEC, with all works expected to be finalized by end of December 2012. A year ago, .SU domain zone was signed, and Russia's Cyrillic domain, .РФ, has been DNSSEC signed since October 29, 2012.

During the event, the KSK keys were generated (the key signing keys are used only to sign keys contained in a zone). Four crypto-officers will ensure the security and safety of the key: Maria Kolesnikova and George Georgievsky (the Coordination Center), and Igor Lidin and Alexander Shcherbakov (the Technical Center of Internet). Crypto-operators Valery Temnikov and Nikolay Labaznikov, domain zone administrators Pyotr Andreev and Dmitry Kovalenko, register administrators Vasily Funtikov and Andrey Kirillin, as well as two observers Robert Gledenov and Sergey Fedotov, took part in the ceremony. The key is generated in a console mode, and kept on a device that is not connected to any network.

After every crypto-officer has received their part of the complex password, the devices containing parts of the password were placed in special safety containers and sealed. This way, the access to any manipulations with the KSK key is only possible with all crypto-officers present. Also, a reserve copy of the key is kept on a sealed computer as well; this device is kept in one of the TCI's datacenters in Russia. The open part of the key is public and available to everyone in the Internet community.

"In the nearest future, the largest Russian domain zone, .RU, will see DNSSEC fully deployed, allowing additional security options for website owners. This is a very important step for us as this December, the DNSSEC will be effective in both Russia's national domains, .RU and .РФ, as well as in .SU. We hope that Russian Internet community will use the new capabilities actively, as it is essential to join our efforts in building the trust chains, making the Internet safer", says Elena Voronina, chief technical officer at TCI.

.. Go to Orginal Article

The Supervisory Board of the Estonian Internet Foundation has decided to reduce the .ee domain price by 11.8% (to EUR 15) in 2013. The amendment to the Domain Regulation extending available domain registration periods to 2 and 3 years has also been approved.
Go to full

“The budget of our foundation for the year 2013 takes into account the reduction of the domain price from EUR 17 to EUR 15. Currently 1,000 domain names are registered per month on average. We estimate that registration of about 88% of all domains will be extended in 2012. Our strategic objective is to further increase the domain quantity, thus enabling us to reduce the fee again and substantially,” stated Heiki Sibul, Chairman of the Management Board of the Estonian Internet Foundation.

2013 will also see the prolongation of the maximum domain registration periods to 2 and 3 years instead of the current maximum time of one year. The domain price will be, accordingly, EUR 15, 29 and 42.

“We are witnessing considerable demand for longer domain registration periods, hence we expect this change to boost the domain numbers. The advantageous rates for longer domain registration periods are another illustration of our commitment to price reduction,” Sibul added.

The changes will come into force on 1 March 2013.

The domain registration fee is the fee that registrars are to pay the Estonian Internet Foundation. The cost for the end user who wishes to register a domain is subject to the particular registrar’s pricing policy in the context of free market competition. The fee is subject to VAT.

Go to original Article