Mistura Aruna Moves from Anxiety to Answers
First in the "Who Is ICANN?" Series
At ICANN, we often highlight the global effect our policies have toward strengthening the stability and security of the Internet. But ICANN's positive impact also extends to individuals.
In the weeks before our meeting in Singapore, 19 – 24 June, we will occasionally highlight how involvement with ICANN empowers individual participants. Some of the best examples of such stories come from our Fellowship Program. Individuals who apply, meet certain criteria, and are selected by an independent committee can receive travel support to attend and be heard at a particular ICANN meeting.
If you're wondering whether participation in ICANN's volunteer community is a good idea for you, invest six minutes and hear Mistura Aruna of the Nigerian Communications Commission explain how ICANN helped further her goals.
The application round for attending our October meeting in Dakar, Senegal, as a Fellow is open 27 May through 8 July 2011. Check our web page to learn more about the Fellowship Program.
We'll post further profiles of ICANN participants in the near future.
Historic First Meeting Between INTERPOL and ICANN Focuses on Internet Security
Officials from ICANN and INTERPOL, the world's largest police organization, meet at INTERPOL's headquarters in Lyon, France.
23 May 2011 | Lyon, France –A landmark visit to INTERPOL's General Secretariat headquarters by top officials from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) provided both international bodies with an opportunity to explore avenues for closer collaboration on Internet security.
With cyber-security, financial & high tech crime high on the agenda, talks between ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble focused on Internet security governance and enhancing common means for preventing and addressing Internet crime.
As part of efforts to enhance their cooperation, both organizations agreed during the visit that an INTERPOL delegation would attend ICANN's international conference in Singapore next month, when INTERPOL's membership of the ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) as an international observer will be explored. News release [PDF, 227 KB]
18 May 2011 | Turkey President Abdullah Gül welcomed ICANN leaders and staff for an exchange of ideas about the past and future of the Internet.
Turkey President Abdullah Gül Meets With ICANN
Leaders In Advance of Istanbul Board Retreat
Turkey President Abdullah Gül welcomed ICANN leaders and staff, including CEO Rod Beckstrom and Board Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush, at the Presidential Palace on 18 May for an exchange of ideas about the past and future of the Internet. The personal meeting with President Gül and the Ambassador Chief of the Cabinet to the President H. Avni Karslıoğlu was a capstone to a series of meetings with Turkish officials and Internet industry groups scheduled prior to ICANN's 19-21 May Board retreat in Istanbul.
Marking World Telecommunications Day, Beckstrom invited representatives from Turkey's telecommunications products and services companies to join in ICANN's multi-stakeholder process during his keynote address [PDF, 186 KB] at an event sponsored by TÜTED, a non-profit and non-governmental industry association. At this event held in Izmir, Beckstrom and İhsan Durdu, Turkey's GAC representative, met with Binali Yıldırım, former Minister of Transportation and Communications. The next day, ICANN leaders and staff met with the current Minister of Transportation and Communications prior to their meeting with the President.
L to R: Rod Beckstrom – ICANN President and CEO; Filiz Yilmaz – Senior Director, Participation and Engagement; Peter Dengate Thrush – Board Chair; Turkey President Abdullah Gül; Mehmet Akcin – Manager, DNS Operations
Jeff Moss Appointed ICANN Chief Security Officer
Jeff Moss, Vice President and Chief Security Officer
Respected Hacker to Lead Risk Management Efforts
Jeff Moss, founder of DEF CON, the world's largest hacker conference, and Black Hat, a global technical security conference, has been named Vice President and Chief Security Officer of ICANN. A self-proclaimed hacker for over 20 years, he was a Director at the Secure Computing Corporation, where he established the professional services department in Asia, Australia and the United States. He also worked in the information system security division of Ernst & Young, LLP.
"I can think of no one with a greater understanding of the security threats facing Internet users and how best to defend against them than Jeff Moss," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and Chief Executive Officer. "He has the in-depth insider's knowledge that can only come from fighting in the trenches of the on-going war against cyber threats."
Read more [PDF, 266 KB] about his appointment and reaction from the infosec community.
New gTLD Program: Tracking to the Timeline
GAC Scorecard Response and
New Applicant Guidebook Discussion Draft
Following the direction set by ICANN Board to advance the new gTLD Program towards launch, ICANN posted the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook – April 2011 Discussion Draft and ICANN's reply to the GAC Comments [PDF, 275 KB] (regarding theGAC's Scorecard of new gTLD issues [PDF, 332 KB]). In addition, six Explanatory Memoranda related to the GAC-Board discussion points were published to explain rationale for several current positions.
Peter Dengate-Thrush and Heather Dryden at the Silicon Valley Meeting in San Francisco during one of the Board/GAC consultations sessions.
These publications meet the current Board timeline for new gTLDs set during the recent ICANN Silicon Valley meeting but more importantly, they describe many substantive changes in the Guidebook intended to address GAC concerns with the new gTLD Program. This recent set of substantive consultations between ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee and the ICANN Board of Directors lays the groundwork for improving the effectiveness of governments' role in future ICANN policy discussions.
The Board's draft timeline [PDF, 117 KB] shows the key milestones to be met on that path. Keeping with the draft timeline, ICANN plans to post a final version of the Guidebook by 30 May 2011, in time for consideration of the New gTLD implementation program at an extraordinary meeting of the ICANN Board to be held on Monday, 20 June 2011, at the ICANN meetings in Singapore.
The comment period will remain open until 15 May 2011.
GAC Comments on the Board Response to the GAC Scorecard following S...
Every significant piece of work that ICANN produces goes through a period of public comment, typically 30 days, so that the broader Internet community has an opportunity to comment. Often one document will go through several stages of review and revision before being finalised. Below are all the comment periods that are currently open. More ...
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