(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In its latest attempt to save the reputation of China’s domains, the administrative agency responsible for China’s Internet affairs, CNNIC (www.cnnic.net.cn), has announced an indefinite suspension all “.CN” registrations from overseas registrars.
.CN domains have become so synonymous with spam, pornography, fraud and other illegal activities that many networks outside China have started blocking incoming emails that contain links to .CN domains. Last month, CNNIC put into place new requirements for supporting documentation required to be submitted with new registrations.
CNNIC says the latest suspension on overseas registrations, announced this week, will give it time to implement a better methodology to verify registrant information.
In an email to The WHIR, OpenSRS (www.opensrs.com) domain services director Adam Eisner explained that its registration provider, Neustar (www.neustar.biz), has been cutoff as well, meaning that it has no other option but to suspend new .CN registrations. Renewals and transfers will continue to be supported, however, orders for new .CN domains will fail.
One of the other frustrations of CNNIC’s decision is that domain companies are without a timetable for the resolution of new registrations.
In addition to barring overseas registrations, CNNIC has introduced two more changes in its registration policies, according to a post from domain reseller network RRPproxy (www.rrpproxy.net). “(1) Since January 1st, 2010, China domestic registrants are no longer allowed to register a .CN domain via an oversea registrar. (2) If any registrant’s business license or personal ID are not in Chinese or English, he has to file in a notarized English translation of these documents for domain name application starting with January 15th, 2010, 9:00 AM (Beijing Time).”
Online security and research provider Spamhaus (www.spamhaus.org) notes that CNNIC’s recent actions to reclaim the .CN TLD are not entirely the most they can do to secure their domain. “[U]nlike other ccTLD registries, CNNIC has not yet shared its domain zone data with the widely respected anti-spam, anti-fraud and anti-cybercrime organizations (of which Spamhaus is just one),” notes a Spamhaus blog. “This sharing helps Spamhaus work with both the registry and the individual registrars to identify the bad domains and suspend them. Spamhaus would welcome an opportunity to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CNNIC to make information sharing of this nature possible.”
No related posts.
