IP: ICANN replies to post about anti-terrorist Net-cop

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 11:33:35 -0800
> To: politech () politechbot com
> From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
>
> *********
>
> From: "Andrew McLaughlin" <mclaughlin () pobox com>
> To: <declan () well com>
> Subject: RE: ICANN to be anti-terrorist Net-cop? and a response from R.  Forno
> Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 14:15:06 -0500
> In-Reply-To: <5.0.2.1.0.20011029084157.02575100 () mail well com>
>
> Declan:
>
> This screed is so deeply clueless, it's probably not worth responding.  But
> [sigh!]:
>
>    - ICANN has a very well-defined mission:  it coordinates the Internet's
> naming & address allocation systems.  It doesn't set technical standards;
> it's not responsible for general Internet security.  ICANN's not confused
> about the scope of its mission;  if anything, we're constantly working to
> narrow the scope of our work, distribute responsibility and authority down
> the DNS tree, and swat away efforts to add new responsibilities.  ICANN
> supporters do *not* favor expansion of its mission;  indeed, we often say
> that ICANN will only survive if it stays tightly focused on the coordination
> of unique identifiers, period.  Consistent with that, our budget is fixed;
> our staff is small (~16).  In no way is ICANN, as Mr. Forno states, "the
> Internet's governing body."  To even suggest that shows a basic
> misunderstanding of how the Internet works, and what the DNS does.
>    - Within the DNS, there are many organizations that provide services:
> the DNS root nameserver operators, the TLD registries, the registrars, and
> the regional Internet registries.  While none of these organizations
> constitutes a single point of failure in the DNS, each is potentially a
> single point of failure for its users/customers.  I.e., if a given TLD
> fails, its registrants will be harmed.  It's reasonable for Internet users
> to wonder about the security/integrity/resiliency of those operations.
>    - Therefore, it is a matter of ICANN concern to see that the DNS
> registries, registrars, root nameservers operators, etc., is doing all it
> should to assure the security of its operations, the integrity of its data,
> and the restoration of service in crisis situations.  That's what the
> November ICANN meeting is about:  a bottom-up discussion among those various
> groups about their own security practices and policies.
>
> In sum:  Mr. Forno doesn't seem to understand how the DNS is implemented and
> administered, and he certainly doesn't understand what ICANN does or how it
> does it.  ICANN is a coordinator, not a dictator.  It's not part of any
> "war" on anything.  It's a forum in which the organizations that provide DNS
> services will be discussing as a community potential security threats and
> vulnerabilities;  available technical tools and management practices to
> avoid and combat them;  and best practices for recovery and restoration of
> service.
>
> What Mike Roberts reasonably pointed out is that, in the wake of 9/11,
> assuring the security/integrity/resiliency of the DNS has taken on vastly
> greater importance.
>
> --andrew
>
> *********
>
> Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 10:11:53 -0800 (PST)
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> To: declan () well com
> Subject: Future of the Internet and ICANN
> Cc: lauren () pfir org, neumann () pfir org
>
>
>
>                        Future of the Internet and ICANN
>
>                               October 29, 2001
>
>
>         PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
>
>         [ To subscribe or unsubscribe to/from this list, please send the
>           command "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" respectively (without the
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>
>
> The following material was posted yesterday in another venue.  We felt that
> the issues mentioned would be of interest to the readership of this list.
> Also, today's short "Fact Squad Radio" vignette is on the related topic of
> "Who Controls the Internet?" at:
>
>     http://www.factsquad.org/radio
>
>
>                                - - - - -
>
> Date:    October 28, 2001
>
> From:    Lauren Weinstein
>          Peter G. Neumann
>
> Subject: Future of the Internet and ICANN
>
> As much as we respect Mike Roberts and his work, it is difficult to find his
> recent statements [1], about the "new ICANN" as anything other than extremely
> "problematic" at best.  ICANN's continuing controversies and problems have
> in large part been a function of ICANN's taking on functions well outside
> its appropriate purview.  As we have discussed previously [2], ICANN's
> historical basis and structure have not been and remain unsuitable for many
> of the tasks it has attempted to date, even given their sincere efforts.
>
> Recent events have not fundamentally altered the importance of the Internet.
> The Internet's crucial contributions to the world's infrastructure far
> predate the horrors so fresh in our minds, although some persons have only
> now begun to appreciate this reality.  But what has also long been true is
> that ICANN's stewardship of various key functions relating to the Net
> has been inadequate in many important respects.
>
> We continue to consider ICANN's deficiencies to be structural and
> increasingly intractable as the organization has stretched beyond its core
> competencies.  Our calls for the creation of a truly representative
> organization to help coordinate a comprehensive range of critical Internet
> responsibilities [3], seems more crucial now than ever before.
>
> Arguments claiming that ICANN is "the only game in town" and that not
> supporting ICANN risks chaos, nationalization, and other unwelcome prospects
> are fallacious and seem to border on fear-mongering.  The assignment of
> further important responsibilities to ICANN (by government or other groups)
> would only exacerbate already serious problems.  This is particularly true
> for critical aspects of the Internet, such as reliability and security, that
> go far beyond the relatively minor niceties of domain name assignment
> policies.
>
> ICANN itself is not the issue.  It is specifically the security, safety,
> reliability and numerous other attributes of the Internet that should be our
> central focus.  Now is the time to "bite the bullet" and admit to ourselves
> that ICANN is not the appropriate venue to be dealing with most of these
> extremely important matters.
>
> Rather than trying to continue building upon the limited framework of ICANN,
> we need to decide that we're going to do what's right for the Internet and
> the world.  Even the best technological concepts and "solutions" will be
> utterly meaningless in the absence of such a course.  We must take
> responsibility for our actions and move forward with the establishment of
> *appropriate* organizations that will provide a firm and stable foundation
> for the future of the Net and its users.  Any other path may well lead us
> directly into the abyss.
>
>      [1] Message from Mike Roberts
>          http://atlargestudy.org/forum_archive/msg01113.shtml
>
>      [2] PFIR Statement on Internet Policies, Regulations, and Control
>          http://www.pfir.org/statements/policies
>
>      [3] Proposal for a Representative Global Internet Policy Organization
>          http://www.pfir.org/statements/proposal
>
>  - - - - -
>
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () privacyforum org
> Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
> Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
> Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
>
> Peter G. Neumann
> neumann () pfir org or neumann () csl sri com or neumann () risks org
> Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
> Moderator, RISKS Forum - http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks
> Chairman, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
> http://www.csl.sri.com/neumann


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