Fergie's Tech Blog

Proposed Expansion of TLDs Generates Security Concerns

Marcia Savage writes on SearchFinancialSecurity.com:

A plan by Internet policymakers to expand the number of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) has generated concern in the financial industry over the security and trademark protection implications of a slew of new Internet domains.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit that coordinates the Internet's addressing system, is working to expand the number of gTLDs (.com, .org, .edu) from 21 to potentially hundreds. They could include industry sectors like .bank, places such as .paris, company names or sport franchises. According to ICANN, the expansion will allow for more innovation and choice to the Internet's addressing system.

But the program, which ICANN has been planning for more than three years and hopes to launch next year, has been controversial with a range of business groups expressing concern about trademark protection and the potential for malicious conduct like phishing attacks. In the financial sector, the concern has been acute, with the American Bankers Association (ABA), Bank of America Corp. and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association among those filing objections with ICANN.

posted by Fergie @ 7/20/2009 02:13:00 PM