(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Domain name registry operator Afilias (www.afilias.info) announced on Tuesday that Brian Cute, vice president of discovery services has been named to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Online Safety and Technology Working Group.
Established in the “Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act,” the 30-member working group will report to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information on industry-implemented online child safety tools and efforts.
The group will promote online safety through different educational efforts, as well as study the effectiveness of various safety tools and practices.
The group will issue a report to the Commerce Department within a year of its first meeting.
“As a global steward of key Internet technology, Afilias is deeply concerned about Internet security and safety,” says Cute. “I am honored to serve on such a prestigious committee and contribute to the ongoing discussion about improving online child safety and Internet best practices.”
Afilias’ discovery services division provides secure and selective visibility services to global supply chain participants.
Cute, who joined the company last year, has over 12 years of experience in the Internet and communications industry and has been active in Internet of Things technology, policy and market development since 2005.
Afilias also announced it joined the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (www.maawg.org) as part of its ongoing domain name anti-abuse efforts, making it the first domain name registry operator to become a member.
MAAWG focuses on protecting electronic messaging from online exploits and abuse in an effort to enhance user trust and confidence.
Other members include AOL, AT&T, Cloudmark, Yahoo!, and Verizon.
By joining the organization, Afilias will further enhance its ability to combat domain name abuses such as spam and phishing within .INFO.
In the past, Afilias has successfully prevented abusive use of .INFO domain names by monitoring domains and enforcing its pioneering Anti-Abuse Policy.
In 2008, .INFO was among the “least-phished-in” top level domains according to studies by the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
Afilias provides Internet infrastructure services, including Internet domain registry services, services in the RFID and supply chain market with its Afilias Discovery Services, and managed DNS services, which it launched earlier this year.
