[governance] ICANNLeaks - Loosing Trust to Maintain the Secrecy

[klaus.stoll]

Friends,

we need to get back to what it is all about. We need to remind ourselves and
ICANN that it is a innovative concept of self governance and transparency.
We need to remember that the Internet changed everything and that it gave
itself a governance structure that is worthy of its revolutionary nature and
that this is something worth "fighting" for.

I was thinking tonight: Why did I get involved in ICANN? Because people like
Carlos Afonso in their words and deeds and day to day integrity and
honorable behavior showed me that besides all the problems, ICANN is the way
to go.

Has the Internet and the commercial and political interests that are
associated with it become to much to handle for ICANN? The answer is simply:
Only if ICANN has lost his believe into the values and mechanisms it gave
itself and if ICANN has lost the ability for internal reform and renewal.

ICANN needs to rethink and reorganize itself!

My proposal is that there is a special ICANN meeting called in which nothing
else but ICANNs mission and vision and the way this is translated into
action today is discussed.

I know that this is not the simple answer, I know it will cause a lot of
arguments and fights, but in the end it might be worth doing.

Some of you might know that I am a theologian by trade so this should not
come as a surprise, even if it sounds mad. Synods are traditionally the
answer of the Christian churches to respond to internal and external
challenges, to renew itself and to respond to a changing world.  We need a
ICANN synod, not regular ICANN business meetings where we talk ourselves
deeper and deeper into trouble without resolving anything.

We need a new platform from which ICANN can respond to the challenges it
faces, the present system does not work any more.

Yours

Klaus

PS: Dare I say it? "Vint come back, all is forgiven!"

-----Original Message-----:
From: Carlos A. Afonso
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 2:14 AM
To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Fwd: [governance] ICANNLeaks - Loosing Trust to Maintain the
Secrecy

I agree, Alan, and this investigator needs to be a systems specialist
and truly independent of board and staff.

I also agree with Maria that we should do whatever we can reasonably to,
how to say it, help protect Icann from itself?

frt rgds

--c.a.

On 04/18/2012 06:24 PM, Alain Berranger wrote:
> Dear friends,
>
> Indeed, ICANN needs to self-reboot... or else it will have to be
> reinvented... a Multi-stakeholder bottom up process and institution like
> ICANN strives for is the only sane alternative to an international
> government-driven... given the increasing number of rogue or incompetent
> governments we have to put up with, the alternatives are kafkaesque!!!
>
> The Board needs to appoint an independant investigator with full powers to
> get to the bottom of this. This is the priority of priorities for ICANN
> and
> a comprehensive independant report must be tabled before Prague.
>
> Alain
>
> On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 11:01 AM, klaus.stoll
> <klaus.stoll at chasquinet.org>wrote:
>
>> Dear Friends
>>
>> Unfortunately all of the below is true. Many questions but little
>> answers.
>> It seems to me the time has come to start a comprehensive re-thinking and
>> re-planning process. If things go on as they are the damage will increase
>> and increase. ICANN is not perfect, ICANN has a lot of problems, ICANN at
>> times is a madhouse of interests and egos, BUT ICANN is the best system
>> for
>> Internet Governance we have, we should be proud for the way it worked so
>> well so far, everything else is even worse. Now it seems that ICANN is
>> under real pressure we need to work twice as hard to protect ICANN and at
>> he same time think twice as hard about possible solutions. Now is the
>> time
>> for self-confidence and innovation, everything else is counter
>> productive.
>> Thinking back over the years we need to look where things started to get
>> seriously wrong and correct the basic mistakes made. Any suggestions
>> where
>> it all went wrong?
>>
>> Does anybody know where the reset button is on that one?
>>
>> Yours
>>
>> Klaus
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Carlos A. Afonso
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 2:18 PM
>> To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>> Subject: Fwd: [governance] ICANNLeaks - Loosing Trust to Maintain the
>> Secrecy
>>
>>
>> Imram pretty much summarizes the extension of the incredible blunder,
>> especially in its liability aspects.
>>
>> At a minimum ICANN will need to hire independent specialist auditors to
>> do a full check on the damage and on who has been affected (although I
>> do not believe in the tale that just a few have been affected). But
>> these auditors would be chosen by staff, so the blunder might rise to
>> new levels. Could the applicants participate in this choice?
>>
>> This is going to escalate, the question now is how far it will go.
>>
>> What should NCSG do about it? I frankly do not know what to propose
>> right now. The IOC/RC process, the refusal by the NTIA to renew the IANA
>> contract, and now this incredible TAS blunder, all in a few months... it
>> seems ICANN is trying hard to burn itself out.
>>
>> I wonder who are the "four candidates" for the post of Beck Rodstrom
>> (sic on purpose :)), the brave individuals who wish to come to ICANN and
>> try and clean up this mess?
>>
>> frt rgds
>>
>> --c.a.
>>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: [governance] ICANNLeaks - Loosing Trust to Maintain the Secrecy
>> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:29:17 -0700 (PDT)
>> From: Imran Ahmed Shah <ias_pk at yahoo.com>
>> Reply-To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org,**Imran Ahmed Shah <
>> ias_pk at yahoo.com>
>> To: governance at lists.igcaucus.org <governance at lists.igcaucus.org**>
>> CC: Imran @IGFPak.org <imran at igfpak.org>
>>
>> Dear
>> All,
>> Security, Stability and Resiliency of the Internet layers was the prime
>> responsibility of the ICANN, but the organization
>> couldn't protect/ secure its latest online application submission system
>> of new
>> gTLDs (TAS). Would it be fair to say the best practices were not followed
>> to
>> design the system which was built to keep the information secure,
>> confidential
>> and protected. This
>> application supported the collection of 850+ applications and over $150m
>> funds.
>>
>> ICANN
>> has been informed about this the glitch on 19th but ICANN did not taken
>> it
>> seriously, decision making took about 23 days.
>> ICANN took its TAS Application
>> offline on 12th April which was the last date when it has to be closed
>> automatically. ICANN has its plan to reopen this TAS system to the
>> public that
>> mean Expansion the 90days window by extension of closing
>> date.
>> "We have learned of a possible glitch in the TLD application system
>> software that has allowed a limited number of users to view some other
>> users' file names and user names in certain scenarios."
>>
>> Technically it was necessary to use the secure method
>> and variables should not be displayed in the URL. According to the
>> policy the
>> information of the applicants will not be disclosed however, the
>> applicant name
>> and the applied for string has to publically announced at a later stage.
>> Many of them may have lost their
>> secrecy& confidentiality. It is next to impossible to discover that who
>> is
>> the beneficiary and who is the looser? However, it will raise the
>> conflicts
>> and bidding values.
>> In
>> short ICANN has lost its trust for maintaining the confidentiality,
>> Integrity and Information Security. ICANN has to re-define its policy or
>> call public comments that how to deal with this scenario.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Imran Ahmed Shah
>> .
>>
>
>
>