Grandfathering registrations of a .TW in Chinese characters are opened for .TW domain names’ holders

Domain names in .TW in Chinese characters - .台灣
Image source: Yenyu_Chen via Pixabay

The .TW registry (TWNIC) offers grandfathering registrations for holders of existing ASCII.TW domains that wish to register the same ASCII domain under .台灣 (.xn--kpry57d).

Before the official opening, TWNIC provides priority registration for registrants who meet the eligibility requirements.

For example, twnic.tw can be registered for twnic.台灣 in the grandfathering period.

The following eligibility criteria apply and are checked by the registry:

  • The creation date for ACSII.tw should be earlier than the same ASCII name under .台灣 (.xn--kpry57d)
  • The registrant of ASCII.台灣 (.xn--kpry57d) should be the same as ASCII.tw
  • ASCII.tw and ASCII.台灣 (.xn--kpry57d) should be managed under the same registrar when creating ASCII.台灣.

Grandfathering Period : from January 7th, 2020 to February 10th, 2020.

The ASCII.tw Domain Name “.台灣(.xn--kpry57d)” will be starting  on February 18, 2020.

For more information on the conditions for registration of your .台灣, don’t hesitate to contact us.

*An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet domain name that contains at least one language-specific script or alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Hebrew.  It allows the use of domain names in the native language of Internet users using special characters such as Asian, Arab or African users.

BREXIT – The plan of the .EU for UK citizens

Following BREXIT, Eurid (.EU registry) had recently updated its Domain names Registration Policy, by modifying the conditions of attribution of a .EU domain name for the British and Gibraltarians, according to the plan below:

* From 1st November 2019, EURid will NOT allow the registration of any new domain name where the registrant’s residence or establishment country code is either GB or GI, unless the citizenship country code of the registrant corresponds to an EU27 Member State.

* On 24 October 2019, and following explicit confirmation by the Commission, EURid will notify by email both GB and GI registrants and their providers about their forthcoming non-compliance with the .eu regulatory framework.

During this two-month period, the domain names concerned remained active and could continue to be used by their holders.

* As of 1 January 2020, all registrants who did not demonstrate their eligibility will be deemed ineligible and their domain names will be WITHDRAWN. A WITHDRAWN domain name no longer functions, as the domain name is removed from the zone file and can no longer support any active services (such as websites or email).

Twelve months after the UK withdrawal, i.e. on 1 November 2020, all the affected domain names will be REVOKED, and will become AVAILABLE for general registration. Their release will occur in batches from the time they become available.

* No transfer to GB / GI registrants will be possible during the two-month period between 1 November and 1 January, unless they have a citizen country code from an EU27 member state. The transfer to a non GB / GI registered will remain possible.

Following the UK’s official leave from the European Union on January 31, the United Kingdom and the EU will enter into the so-called “transition period” until December 31, 2020.

During this “transition period”, residents and citizens of the United Kingdom will continue to be able to own and register .eu domain names. The plan described above will apply from the end of the transition period and will soon be updated accordingly.

Nameshield will keep you informed as soon as Eurid will update the rules.

For its part, the British register (NOMINET) has no plans currently to restrict .uk domain names – they can be registered irrespective of nationality or place of residence. All are eligible.

FIC 2020 – Nameshield’s DNS Premium labelled France Cybersecurity once again

During the 12th edition of the International Cybersecurity Forum (FIC), the major event in terms of cybersecurity and digital confidence, which currently takes place from January 28 to 30 in Lille, Nameshield was given once again the France Cybersecurity Label for its DNS Premium solution.

Nameshield’s DNS Premium labelled France Cybersecurity
8th Edition of the France Cybersecurity Labels ceremony, January 29, 2020

Nameshield’s DNS Premium labelled France Cybersecurity

The DNS is at the heart of companies’ critical services: Internet, email, applications…

Exposed more and more frequently to attacks, like DDoS, Man in the Middle… it must remain available.

The Nameshield’s DNS Premium is the solution which meets DNS protection needs with a redundant, ultra-secure infrastructure with all the key DNS services (anycast, DDoS protection, DNSSEC, statistics…).

The DNS Premium solution labelled France Cybersecurity, thus allows its users to protect their digital assets from any attack and ensures a high availability of their Internet services.

France Cybersecurity Label, the guarantee of a certain level of quality in terms of cybersecurity

Nameshield’s DNS Premium labelled France Cybersecurity

For reminder, the France Cybersecurity label is the guarantee for users that the Nameshield’s products and services are French and possess clear and well defined functionalities, with a certain level of quality in terms of cybersecurity, verified by an independent jury.

It answers to several needs and objectives:

  • Raise awareness among users and international ordering parties regarding the importance of the French origin of a Cybersecurity offer and its intrinsic qualities ;
  • Certify to users and ordering parties the quality and functionalities of labelled products and services ;
  • Promote French cybersecurity solutions and increase their international visibility ;
  • Certify to users and ordering parties the quality and functionalities of labelled products and services ;
  • Increase their overall use and the users’ security level.

This label is governed by a committee composed of representatives gathered in 3 colleges:

  • College of officials: representatives from the “Direction Générale de l’Armement” (DGA, the French Government Defense procurement and technology agency), the “Direction Générale des Entreprises” (DGE, the French Directorate General for Enterprise within the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Digital), and the “Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information” (ANSSI, the French National Cybersecurity Agency).
  • College of industrials: representatives from the “Alliance pour la Confiance Numérique” (ACN – Alliance for digital confidence) and HEXATRUST.
  • College of users: representatives from groups of users, such as: CIGREF, GITSIS, CESIN, CLUSIF ISSM space.

Nameshield, a 100% French company, certified ISO 27001 on all its registrar activity, was able to bring all the necessary guarantees to obtain the France Cybersecurity Label for its offer, the DNS Premium and illustrates its engagement to always provide the best services and standards regarding cybersecurity.

For more information on our labelled solution DNS Premium, please visit Nameshield’s website.

The launch of .GAY is close

The launch of .GAY - New gTLDs - dotgay - Nameshield Blog
Image source : Top Level Design website

On June 1970, one year after the Stonewall Riots, which marked the birth of the LGBTQ rights movements, the first Gay Pride parades took place in many US cities to claim liberty, equality and denounce prejudice, persecution, bigotry and hate.

Fifty years later, with the launch of the new extension .GAY by the registry TOP LEVEL DESIGN, a new digital space is created for the LGBTQ community. This extension is thus intended for individuals, organizations, businesses supporting the LGBTQ community. It will increase their visibility and create a safe online space.

The launch of .GAY will follow the calendar below.

.GAY Launching Calendar

  • Sunrise period: from 10/02/2020 to 06/05/2020
  • EAP (Early Access Period): from 11/05/2020 to 18/05/2020
  • General availability: from 20/05/2020

.GAY donations to LGBTQ nonprofit organizations

Note that for each new domain name registered, the .GAY donates 20% of registration revenue to LGBTQ nonprofit organizations like GLAAD and CenterLink which are currently the inaugural beneficiaries.

A .GAY domain name registration will become a way to express support to the LGBTQ community.

.GAY rights protections policy

The .GAY will give the possibility to create a safer space online for LGBTQ community. Indeed, the extension will be subject to a .GAY rights protections policy, which will allow to report any content that is harmful or harassing LGBTQ people, and to act against them by removing the content or suspending the site itself.

“The use of .gay for anti-LGBTQ content or to malign or harm LGBTQ individuals or groups is strictly prohibited and can result in immediate server-hold. Prohibited behavior includes harassment, threats, and hate speech” highlights the registry.

.GAY domain name registrations will be prohibited to parties that are, or are associated with, recognized hate groups inciting violence against the LGBTQ community.

For more information on the conditions for registration of your .GAY, don’t hesitate to contact a Nameshield’s consultant.

Why is the sale of .ORG registry a source of debate?

Sale of .ORG registry - PIR Public Interest Registry - dot ORG - Nameshield

In November 2019, a press release announced that .ORG registry, Public Interest Registry (PIR), a non-profit organization managed by Internet Society, is going to be sold off to Ethos Capital, a private equity firm.

.ORG is the extension for non-profit organizations. The acquisition of PIR by Ethos has quickly concerned the organizations using .ORG, on the basis of the potential misuse of the extension by its new owner, which has, by its very nature, profit motives.

The concern? That the registrations and renewals fees for .ORG domain names increase.

Yet, key figures of the Internet’s world, like Andrew Sullivan (Internet Society CEO) are exited, seeing in this a strong strategic partnership and a significant financial contribution allowing Internet Society to advance its mission of a “more open, accessible and secure Internet for everyone”, as he wrote in the press release about the acquisition of November 13, 2019.

It would seem that the fears created find their origin in the “surprise” and lack of transparency around the deal, since the transaction amount has not been disclosed.

These fears are, of course, the corollary of the removal on June 30, 2019, of the price caps imposed until now to .ORG fees (historically low) by ICANN, despite many reservations expressed by the community. Finally, the fact that Ethos has directly or indirectly a number of close connections to former ICANN members raises concerns to several voices of the industry.

The fear to see the increase of .ORG prices led Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to launch the SaveDotOrg campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the potential impact of a .ORG price increase on the NGO’s budget constraints.

Also the possibility that Ethos Capital later implements a principle of rights protections that could lead to a form of censorship, as currently practiced in some countries wishing to silence NGOs.

In front of these protests, ICANN suspended the acquisition operation last December and requests clarification from the Internet Society.

More recently, in January 2020, a new candidate of the .ORG extension acquisition has appeared. It is a cooperative corporation (Cooperative Corporation of .ORG Registrants), gathering some web pioneer and former members of ICANN.

To be continued!