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FTC Wants Whois Databases Kept Open
David Utter
Staff Writer
2006-06-27
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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has considered limiting requests to the Whois databases of domain name information to just "technical purposes only."
 | | FTC Wants the Door to Whois Databases Kept Open |  |
Investigating Internet scams and spammers will be harder to do if ICANN shuts off access to the Whois listings, the Federal Trade Commission contended during an ICANN meeting in Morocco. FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz spoke to the group in response to the suggestion from an ICANN advisory body about restricting Whois access.
"If ICANN restricts the use of Whois data to technical purposes only, it will greatly impair the FTC's ability to identify Internet malefactors quickly - and ultimately stop perpetrators of fraud, spam, and spyware from infecting consumers' computers," Leibowitz said.
Whois data helped the FTC investigate and shut down one group of scammers who were placing spyware on consumer machines via drive-by downloads (FTC vs Seismic Entertainment). "Using Whois data, the FTC found the defendants, stopped their illegal conduct, and obtained a judgment for millions of dollars in consumer redress. It is uncertain whether the FTC would have been able to locate the defendants without the Whois data," said Leibowitz.
Spyware and phishing schemes have been a recent focus for the FTC. "Whois databases often are one of the first tools FTC investigators use to identify wrongdoers," he said. "Indeed, it is difficult to overstate the importance of quickly accessible Whois data to FTC investigations."
Senders of sexually explicit spam messages also found their operations halted by the FTC. Again, Leibowitz cited the availability of accurate Whois data as important in identifying the operators of the websites behind that spam.
Even inaccurate Whois data, a long-time complaint of the FTC, can be of use. When one group of spyware scammers registered a number of websites, they used the same non-existent company name at a fake address to do so. The FTC was able to tie the group together with that Whois information.
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Tags: FTC, ICANN, Whois
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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