[At-Large] The SSAC has published SAC123 and SAC122

Thu Dec 21 11:34:03 UTC 2023

I suspect it may well be too late (20 years too late!) to use the
"reserve for posterity" approach for namespaces. A call to do this would
no doubt be taken up at WIPO not ICANN anyway given the long standing
issue with ICANN surrendering names as solely for business and
governmental utility over its designed use for edge to edge resolution
services. That would further push DNS away from the Internet edge and so
itself be destabilising.

There's also a question whether the single root argument made by IAB
in 2000 is still gospel in a world where e2e offers secure
frameworks for attestations of an infinite variety of namespaces and
identifiers than is even conceivable for the DNS infrastructure. 

Particularly as DNS resolution is interpretative (punycode etc) today
and largely anycast with geographical routing depending source and
destination addressing which in turn depend on unofficial geo IP
databases which are far from dependable given the growth in over and
under private networks using their own choice of gateways into the
"Internet". I am almost never in the place "The Internet" tells me I am
in!

But I take your insider political perspective on the ICANN
firmament. But it rather confirms my concern that ICANN has been far to
comfortable with the DNS industry as a private club believing everybody
has to go through the DNS that it "controls".

The reality is ICANN does not control the DNS just access to the root
server resolution system. That is implemented as a tax and unsurprising
if users think differently

C

Alejandro Pisanty via At-Large <at-large at atlarge-lists.icann.org> writes:

> 1.  ( ) text/plain          (*) text/html           
>
> Matthias,
>
> thanks very much for this rich information. The summaries alone should be considered as strong alarm signs. The
> foci of attention of ALAC and At-Large seem way out of phase, lagging years behind these developments. This is
> not uniform; some RALOs are in even worse shape, considering recent publicly available evidence. 
>
> Alejandro Pisanty
>
> On Thu, Dec 21, 2023 at 12:21 AM Matthias M. Hudobnik via At-Large <at-large at atlarge-lists.icann.org> wrote:
>
>  Hi colleagues, the SSAC has published SAC123 and SAC122.
>
>   
>
>   
>
>  ### SSAC Report on the Evolution of Internet Name Resolution (SAC123):
>
>  ·         Internet name resolution is evolving beyond just the global DNS to include alternative naming systems
>  that are experimenting with different approaches for reasons like speed, privacy, censorship resistance, and
>  governance.
>
>  ·         Many alternative systems adopt DNS name syntax to leverage existing software.
>
>  ·         Two concerning trends are increased ambiguity where the same name can resolve differently in
>  different systems, and less visibility of names to end users even as names remain vital for security and trust.
>
>  ·         Maintaining integrity and coordination in the shared domain namespace is important.
>
>  ·         The report explores different perspectives on these trends from end users and developers.
>
>  ·         It identifies proposals to facilitate namespace coordination and recommends ICANN continue tracking
>  these issues and provide regular updates to the community.
>
>  I highly recommend having a look at chapter: 7.1 End Users (some key aspects as follows):
>
>  ·         Domain names used to play an important role for end users in discovering web resources, but search
>  engines have now replaced them as the primary method of discovery.
>
>  ·         End users today rarely directly interact with domain names due to the dominance of search engines and
>  mobile devices. Features like browser "omnibars" also allow more free-form input.
>
>  ·         Other identifiers like QR codes and social media handles now also compete for users' attention rather
>  than domain names.
>
>  ·         Domain names are becoming less visible in users' environments, yet they still provide an underlying
>  ubiquitous resolution context relied upon by other technologies.
>
>  ·         Surveys found search engines are by far the predominant method for accessing websites, with domain
>  name usage declining. QR code usage is increasing but still limited except in Asia.
>
>  ·         Decreased domain name visibility makes it easier for fraudsters to deceive users with lookalike names.
>  Users are also generally unaware that some TLDs signal a different resolution context.
>
>  In summary, domain names are no longer the primary method end users employ to find and access Internet
>  resources, decreasing their visibility and understandability while introducing security issues.
>
>   
>
>  Link to the report:
>  https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/security-and-stability-advisory-committee-ssac-reports/sac-123-15-12-2023-en.pdf
>  
>
>   
>
>   
>
>  ### SSAC Report on Urgent Requests in gTLD Registration Data Policy (SAC122)
>
>  ·         Focus is on handling of Urgent Requests in proposed gTLD registration data policy 
>
>  ·         Urgent Requests refer to imminent threats to life, injury, infrastructure or child exploitation
>
>  ·         Proposed policy requires response to Urgent Requests in 24 hours generally
>
>  ·         SSAC contends proposed policy for Urgent Requests is not fit for purpose
>
>  ·         Definition and required response times are incompatible 
>
>  ·         Questions if need and rationale for separate Urgent Request process is fully justified
>
>  ·         Existing ICANN policy and industry practices offer useful precedents 
>
>  ·         Proposed extensions allow responses up to 7 days, not reflecting urgency
>
>  ·         Lack of concrete data on frequency and handling of such requests currently
>
>  ·         Risks reputation of ICANN multistakeholder model effectiveness  
>
>  -          Provides 3 recommendations 
>
>  §  Add structure to ensure Urgent Requests handled expediently 
>
>  §  Tighten response time requirements to be fit for purpose
>
>  §  Gather data on Urgent Requests for future policy making
>
>  Link to the report:
>  https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/security-and-stability-advisory-committee-ssac-reports/sac-122-12-12-2023-en.pdf
>  
>
>   
>
>  Have a nice evening!
>
>  Best,
>
>  M.
>
>   
>
>  ______________________________
>
>  Ing. Mag. Matthias M. Hudobnik
>
>  FIP • CIPP/E • CIPT • DPO • CIS LA
>
>  matthias at hudobnik.at
>
>  http://www.hudobnik.at
>
>  @mhudobnik
>
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-- 
Christian de Larrinaga 