[kictanet] Elections take center-stage on the internet

Alex Gakuru alex.gakuru at yahoo.com
Sat Feb 24 21:02:47 EAT 2007


The Future of WHOIS Policy

This is a contentious issue, involving tradeoffs between privacy, anonymity, and accountability pitting consumers' right to information with domain owner's privacy rights. 

A public discussion webcast held in New York is available for download  here   http://punkcast.com/1064/

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-24nov06.htm
 
 ICANN launches Public Comments on WHOIS Task Force Report
 http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/prelim-tf-rpt-22nov06.htm   
 
 The Public Comment Period is from 24 November 2006 to 15 January 2007.
 
 Send comments to: whois-services-comments at icann.org
 View comments at: http://forum.icann.org/lists/whois-services-comments
 
 ICANN is launching a public comments period on the Preliminary Task
 Force Report on Whois Services. This report forms part of the GNSO
 policy development process (PDP) on Whois which seeks to build consensus
 on policy issues in the generic top level domain (gTLD) space. The
 public comment period will last from 24th November, 2006 to 15 January,
 2007.
 
 After the public comment period, the Whois Task Force will consider the\npublic comments received and prepare a final task force report for
\nsubmission to the GNSO Council. The Council is expected to deliberate on
\nthe final task force report in early 2007, and work to achieve a
\nsuper-majority vote on a recommendation to the ICANN Board. The GNSO
\nCouncil will then submit a report to the ICANN Board, and the Board will
\nthen carry out its own deliberations and voting.
\n
\nThis report sets out the key findings that have emerged during the work
\nof the Whois Task Force on the following terms of reference:
\n
\n(3) Determine what data collected should be available for public access
\nin the context of the purpose of Whois. Determine how to access data
\nthat is not available for public access. The current elements that must
\nbe displayed by a registrar are:
\n
\n- The name of the Registered Name;
\n
\n- The names of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for
\nthe Registered Name;
\n
\n- The identity of Registrar (which may be provided through Registrar's
\nwebsite);
\n
\n- The original creation date of the registration;
\n
\n- The expiration date of the registration;
\n
\n- The name and postal address of the Registered Name Holder;
\n
\n- The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and
\n(where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered
\nName; and
\n
\n- The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and
\n(where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the
\nRegistered Name.
\n
\n(4) Determine how to improve the process for notifying a registrar of
\ninaccurate Whois data, and the process for investigating and correcting
\ninaccurate data. Currently a registrar "shall, upon notification by any
\nperson of an inaccuracy in the contact information associated with a
\nRegistered Name sponsored by Registrar, take reasonable steps to
\ninvestigate that claimed inaccuracy. In the event Registrar learns of",1] );  //-->
 public comments received and prepare a final task force report for
 submission to the GNSO Council. The Council is expected to deliberate on
 the final task force report in early 2007, and work to achieve a
 super-majority vote on a recommendation to the ICANN Board. The GNSO
 Council will then submit a report to the ICANN Board, and the Board will
 then carry out its own deliberations and voting.
 
 This report sets out the key findings that have emerged during the work
 of the Whois Task Force on the following terms of reference:
 
 (3) Determine what data collected should be available for public access
 in the context of the purpose of Whois. Determine how to access data
 that is not available for public access. The current elements that must
 be displayed by a registrar are:
 
 - The name of the Registered Name;
 
 - The names of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for
 the Registered Name;
 
 - The identity of Registrar (which may be provided through Registrar's
 website);
 
 - The original creation date of the registration;
 
 - The expiration date of the registration;
 
 - The name and postal address of the Registered Name Holder;
 
 - The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and
 (where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered
 Name; and
 
 - The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and
 (where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the
 Registered Name.
 
 (4) Determine how to improve the process for notifying a registrar of
 inaccurate Whois data, and the process for investigating and correcting
 inaccurate data. Currently a registrar "shall, upon notification by any
 person of an inaccuracy in the contact information associated with a
 Registered Name sponsored by Registrar, take reasonable steps to
 investigate that claimed inaccuracy. In the event Registrar learns of\ninaccurate contact information associated with a Registered Name it
\nsponsors, it shall take reasonable steps to correct that inaccuracy."
\n
\n(The full terms of reference are available here:
\nhttp://gnso.icann.org/policies/terms-of-reference.html)
\n
\nPublic comments are particularly invited on specific proposals in the
\nreport:
\n
\n* The Operational Point of Contact (OPoC) proposal ­ pages 38 to 42
\n    * The Special Circumstances proposal ­ pages 43 to 49
\n    * The five proposals in the discussion on access to data ­ pages 24
\nto 27.
\n
\n-- 
\nGlen de Saint Géry
\nGNSO Secretariat - ICANN
\ngnso.secretariat[at]gnso.icann.org
\nhttp://gnso.icann.org
\n-- 
Office:   +254 20 2732311, 2732312   
Mobiles:                                           
GSM:    +254 722 739100 (safaricom)
CDMA:  +254 20 2013393 (telkom)\n",0] ); D(["ce"]);  //-->
 inaccurate contact information associated with a Registered Name it
 sponsors, it shall take reasonable steps to correct that inaccuracy."
 
 (The full terms of reference are available here:
 http://gnso.icann.org/policies/terms-of-reference.html)
 
 Public comments are particularly invited on specific proposals in the
 report:
 
 * The Operational Point of Contact (OPoC) proposal ­ pages 38 to 42
     * The Special Circumstances proposal ­ pages 43 to 49
     * The five proposals in the discussion on access to data ­ pages 24
 to 27.
 
 -- 
 Glen de Saint Géry
 GNSO Secretariat - ICANN
 gnso.secretariat[at]gnso.icann.org
 http://gnso.icann.org
 ----------- 

rgds,

/Alex

Office:   +254 20 2732311, 2732312   
Mobiles:                                           
GSM:    +254 722 739100 (safaricom)
CDMA:  +254 20 2013393 (telkom)


John Walubengo <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote: QED (though I can't seem to remember what that meant...)

But I think Judy, you have actually solved the riddle! none
of the official site were hacked.  someone simply
registered similar names of the official sites and then put
up whatever they wanted on it....

But that is technical details.  What I must admit is that
whoever did it was simultaneously simplistic and brilliant
(perfect profile for nasty hackers).  I do ofcourse condone
the act but cannot fail to acknowledge this type of
intelligence...i highly suspect it was Kenyan proving yet
again that Kenyans are at the top of their game - both the
positive and bad side of things.

Nway, in the absence of the ICT Bill/Act, I wonder if
anyone/someone can hold this chap accountable?  ICT
Lawyers, here is chance to make another first in Kenya...

walu.



--- Judy Okite  wrote:

> I actually came across a very interesting link....in
> regards,with this
> matter....
> 
> http://www.mambogani.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6273
> 
> They key part,being:
> 
> 
> Folks,
> 
> A few days ago, some sick nuthead, whom we suspect is a
> NARC-K sympathiser,
> or perhaps the latest government project, using
> mwaikibaki at yahoo. com
> address, discreetly sent e-mails to individuals who are
> known to support
> ODM-K, especially in Washington DC. The e-mails simply
> notified them of the
> following websites: Kalonzofoundation. org. and
> odm-kenya.org. Clicking on
> the Kalonzofoundation. org URL re-directs one to the
> Raila2007.com website,
> with the top browser bar showing a message that reads:
> "Kalonzo backs
> Raila". Clicking on the odm-kenya.org URL re-directs one
> to a Kenya
> government website. But a quick check reveals that
> neither
> kalonzofoundation. org belongs to Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka
> Foundation, nor does
> odm-kenya.org belong to ODM-K. Needless to say, the
> fraudsters are
> attempting to hoodwink Kenyans into believing a lie. This
> is only a sick
> prank, as none of the genuine websites have been hacked.
> 
> The fact is, the correct website for Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka
> is:
> www.kalonzomusyokaf oundation. org, while ODM-K's
> website, which is not
> fully developed is: www.odmk.org. None of these websites
> were hacked. The
> Standard's headline, unfortunately, is misleading. The
> pranksters simply
> registered variations of the names of the said
> organizations and re-directed
> any queries to Raila2007.com, and to the government
> website respectively.
> This is not the same as hacking. Anyone with a website
> can re-direct their
> URLs to another website. It doesn't take half-a-brain to
> do this.
> The pranksters simply juggled the names and registered
> them. The jargon for
> this kind of registration is "cyber-squatting" . People
> register names with
> the hopes of cutting a cash deal with the real owners. In
> most cases, all
> the squatter needs to cough up is only $10.00 to register
> a domain name.
> It's as cheap as $2.00 with other companies. These
> particular dunderhead(s)
> registered these names with the following internet domain
> registrar:
> 
> DomainsByProxy. com
> 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
> Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
> United States
> Phone:+1.4806242599
> 
> Registration details:
> Admin Email:KALONZOFOUNDA TION.ORG@ domainsbyproxy. com
> Tech ID:GODA-116462376
> Tech Email:KALONZOFOUNDA TION.ORG@ domainsbyproxy. com
> Name Server:NS3.SECURESE RVER.NET
> Name Server:NS4.SECURESE RVER.NET
> Admin Email:ODM-KENYA. ORG at domainsbypro xy.com
> Tech ID:GODA-122841719
> Tech Name:Registration Private
> Tech Organization: Domains by Proxy, Inc.
> DomainsByProxy. com
> 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
> City:Scottsdale
> State/Province: Arizona
> Tech Postal Code:85260
> Country:US
> Phone:+1.4806242599
> FAX:+1.4806242599
> Email:ODM-KENYA. ORG at domainsbypro xy.com
> Name Server:PARK9. SECURESERVER. NET
> Name Server:PARK10. SECURESERVER. NET
> All the compainant needs to do is contact the company and
> file a complaint.
> The culprit will be smoked out and taken to court. The
> FBI has been on the
> trail of such obscure websites, some of which are used by
> terrorist
> organizations to convey coded messages. It will only be a
> matter of time
> before these ones are smoked out.
> 
> The purpose of this infantile prank was of course meant
> to have the Kalonzo
> and Raila camps go after each other's throats. What's
> surprising is the
> shallow and very un-sophisticated manner in which it was
> played. It would
> have been laughable had it not for the fact that many
> gullible Kenyans will
> be hoodwinked into believing that this was actually the
> work of one ODM camp
> against another. It would do us all good if the Standard
> corrects this
> flawed perception that they have created. I think the
> newspaper should have
> first done a thorough investigation before splashing such
> a misleading
> headline.
> Whatever the case, the pumbavus will never succeed, and
> the sooner they
> realize this the better. Fortunately, those who received
> the e-mails saw
> through the sick jokes and decided to ignore them.
> We hope other Kenyans will equally treat them with the
> contempt they
> deserve.
> 
> Very Best regards
> 
> J Sang.
> Washington DC
> ============ =
> 
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> On 2/22/07, Bill Kagai  wrote:
> >
> > Hiya,
> >
> > I have received a fone call from an ODM supporter
> wishing to find out why
> > their website www.odm-kenya.org is pointing to a
> government website. This
> > poses a serious challenge to us in the 'internet
> business' with regard to
> > whether we have secure systems in place.
> >
> > However, upon digging a bit deeper, I have realised
> that possibly, this is
> > a simple blackmail prank since the WHOIS records have
> not been altered and
> > only the MX record has been changed to point the
> website to an innocent Govt
> > server. Tracert'ing the address also shows that it is
> the admin and
> > registrant of the website who have access to the odm
> website registry. I am
> > sure many ODM supporters might be pointing a finger at
> Govt just because
> > someone managed to ping the communications website and
> put the server
> > address on the opposition website to create a furore
> and possibly make money
> > Pablo Escobar Way. [Plata o plomo] Spanish for [silver
> or lead] literally
> > meaning pay up the bribe or face assassination.
> >
> > How do we contain these Matheri's of the internet???.
> Seems the games have
> > just begun???
> >
> > --
> > --
> > With Kind Regards,
> > Bildad Kagai


 
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