ICANN Demands VeriSign Shut Down SiteFinder

October 3rd, 2003
By Thor Olavsrud

The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) escalated its war of words with VeriSign Friday, with a letter demanding the company suspend its controversial SiteFinder service.

"ICANN is disappointed that VeriSign has not suspended the service despite the widespread reports of adverse effects from these changes," ICANN President and CEO Paul Twomey said in a statement Friday. "Although ICANN takes this step reluctantly, we are left with no choice but to enforce the provisions of our contract with VeriSign."

The SiteFinder saga began when the service went into effect on Sept. 15. The service is essentially a redirect service for end users who misspell a Web site address or email address, which VeriSign implemented through changes to the .com and .net core domain name system (DNS). In the past, a "Page Not Found" or email bounce from the sender's ISP would have been the result.

With the SiteFinder service, errors now go to VeriSign's SiteFinder Web page, a click-per-view search engine that programmers claim gathers personal information. ICANN said the "wildcard" VeriSign deployed has "adversely affected anti-spam software, email deliveries, and core DNS operations, as well as raised privacy concerns."

ICANN has scheduled a special meeting of its Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SECSAC) on Oct. 7 to gather information about the ramifications of VeriSign's service. The organization's Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is also investigating. In the meantime, ICANN, which is charged with ensuring the stability of the DNS (define), wants the service shut down.

"VeriSign has refused numerous calls from ICANN and the rest of the Internet community to suspend its service," Twomey said. "Under these circumstances, the only prudent course of action consistent with ICANN's mission is to insist that VeriSign suspend these changes pending further evaluation and study. While the technical review is continuing, ICANN's responsibility to ensure the stability of the Internet requires us to take this step now."

VeriSign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. However, Russell Lewis, executive vice president, general manager, VeriSign Naming and Directory Services, in a letter sent to Twomey on Sept. 19, said it was premature to suspend the service.

"As to your call for us to suspend the service, I would respectfully suggest that it would be premature to decide on any course of action until we first have had an opportunity to collect and review the available data," Lewis said. "After completing an assessment of any operational impact of our wildcard implementation, we will take any appropriate steps necessary."

In the letter, Lewis noted that other registries have implemented similar wildcards, and that VeriSign only did so after "many months of testing and analysis and in compliance with all applicable technical standards."