Application number: 1-1789-97294 for Dot Store Group LLC

Dot Store Group LLC

5936 Limestone Road Suite 101
Hockessin DE 19707
US

3027664100

8663791926

http:⁄⁄www.thedotstore.com

Mr. Michael Louis Disler

Head of Operations

3027664100

8663791926

dotstoregroup@gmail.com

Mr. David Disler

Secretary

6107338854

8663791926

dislerdotstore@gmail.com

Limited Liability Corporation

State of Delaware, USA

Not Available

Avonne Johnson
Director of Finance
David Disler
Secretary
Jeffrey Erni
Director of Marketing
Michael Disler
Head of Operations
Todd Goodstein
Director of Operations⁄Technology

DPCC Holdings LLC
Not Applicable

store

Not Available

Dot Store Group LLC foresees no known rendering issues in connection with the proposed .store string which it is seeking to apply for as a gTLD. This answer is based upon consultation with Dot Store Group LLC’s backend provider, Neustar, which has successfully launched a number of new gTLDs over the last decade. In reaching this determination, the following data points were analyzed:
- ICANN’s Security Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) entitled Alternative TLD Name Systems and Roots: Conflict, Control and Consequences (SAC009);
- IAB - RFC3696 “Application Techniques for Checking and Transformation of Names”
- Known software issues which Neustar has encountered during the last decade launching new gTLDs;
- Character type and length;
- ICANN supplemental notes to Question 16; and
- ICANN’s presentation during its Costa Rica regional meeting on TLD Universal Acceptance.

The .store mission is to provide a dedicated, safe, trusted, organized and recognizable Internet community on the World Wide Web for all retail (brick & mortar) and Internet-based stores. Our goal is to provide a well-known address for the existing e-commerce merchant community and leverage their interest and strength in numbers to spur increased business growth and innovation in the e-commerce world.

Dot Store Group LLC’s mission is to make the .store TLD a namespace for store owners to thrive and prosper by ensuring a safe, easily identifiable and secure e-commerce arena. The Dot Store Group LLC is keenly aware, as a registry for the .store TLD, that quickly establishing and maintaining the reputation of the TLD as a safe and secure domain space for online stores as well as their customers is key to rapid adoption and long-term financial health. To achieve this, it is important that Dot Store Group LLC:

1) Consistently maintain and exceed the ICANN’s compliance requirements as set forth in the New gTLD Registry Agreement (specification 9 and 10). This would require accurate and timely monthly reporting to ICANN.

2) Monitoring and enforcing the service level agreements with the registry back-end provider of choice: Neustar. Please see answer to Questions 30 to 43

3) Timely monitoring and enforcement of the Mitigation. See Answer to Question 28 (“Abuse Prevention and Mitigation”)

The .store TLD will provide a well defined home to all existing and future online stores and merchants. It will also provide these companies a choice as to how they wish to brand their e-commerce sites through a domain name, as well as provide their customers with a clear, recognizable address to distinguish online stores and merchants from the over 225 million domain names registered across over 300 TLDs (footnote 1). The .store TLD intends to introduce competition to the overburdened and un-demarcated .com world. 

.Com, along with .org, .net, .gov, .mil and .edu, was established in 1985; each was intended for users to distinguish a particular type of site from another. Hence, .com was shorthand for a commercial site, whereas .org was intended to designate an organization. Adoption was slow to start. In 1995, fully 10 years after its introduction, registrations in .com amounted to only 18,000 names (footnote 2). The initial view that the limited set of gTLDs would be enough to meet the demand was borne out by this adoption rate. However, this was not to last. 

Although the .com gTLD domains were originally intended to designate commercial entities (footnote 3), there has been no restriction on who can register .com domains since the mid-1990s. With the advent of the « dotcom era » in 1997, registrations in .com took off. More and more businesses, organizations, individuals as well as domainers and cyber-squatters took up residence in .com, thus erasing any last vestige of .com identifying as a site with commercial intent, let alone signaling an online store.

Currently, storeowners do not have a viable gTLD alternative that identifies them specifically as an online store. The lack of availability of suitable names in the .com gTLD has not only encumbered the ability of merchants and stores to build and protect their brands online, but it has also prevented them from enjoying the benefits of organizing themselves into a community, much like they do in the brick and mortar equivalent of malls and shopping centers. 

Domain names are often referred to as “online real estate”. But the adage “location, location, location” applies in virtual world as well. A prime location for a brick and mortar store increases traffic. This explains the popularity of malls and clearly designated shopping or retail areas for stores and consumers alike. Stores benefit from the close proximity to one another in order to capture traffic they would not otherwise have. Consumers, on the other hand, prefer the convenience of a central mall, market, or shopping center to fulfill their needs. 

Similarly, an easily located domain name would increase valuable traffic to a virtual store. Referral links and affiliate marketing deals are simple ways to compensate for the lack of a comparable concept of a clearly designated commercial zone or shopping area on the Internet real estate. But SEO schemes, affiliate programs, Internet advertising, traffic aggregation services and portals have had mixed results. On the one hand, merchants and stores benefit from the increased traffic but they are incurring increased costs of acquisition. Consumers, on the other hand, increasingly rely on search engines since they cannot rely on the TLD designation to quickly find the store or merchant they are looking for. Ultimately, this bears the burden of higher costs, not only in terms of higher prices, but also in increased confusion and higher security threats such as phishing, malware and identity theft when shopping online.

Merchants and storeowners would benefit by having their own specifically designated gTLD (.store) versus having to choose from amongst the multiple generic but unrelated gTLDs such as .com, .net, .info, .co, etc. 

The .store TLD intends to motivate existing online stores as well as traditional retail (i.e. brick & mortar) outlets to co-locate in a new specifically designated and e-commerce oriented gTLD, .store. Much like malls and shopping centers have resulted in consumer friendly conveniences such as loyalty reward cards, greater on-premise security and cross-promotions, a .store gTLD will result in innovations in e-commerce solutions such user friendly and secure shopping cart systems, lower SEO costs and a more consistent user experience. 

The .store TLD’s intent is to make searching for and finding reputable online stores easier. Dot Store Group LLC intends to setup a search store directory page that will list and promote all .store registrants worldwide.

In addition, Dot Store Group LLC intends to also work on e-commerce solutions by finding and promoting more secure e-commerce solutions innovations internally and externally. Dot Store Group LLC will pass them along to all domain registrants.

One last benefit to registrants in the .store TLD is our plan to develop and launch a .store mobile application. The application will provide consumers with store information such as GPS, store hours, directions and hours of operations. 

In addition, users will be linked directly to the stores website and⁄or e-commerce site. All registrants will be given free listings on the mobile application. Dot Store Group LLC believes this application will be a boon for .store domain holders. 

Internet users will be able to find online stores and merchants easily, securely and more effectively, especially as Dot Store Group LLC intends to setup a search store directory page that will list and promote all .store registrants worldwide.

In .store, we will reserve the following classes of domain names, which will not be available to register via the Sunrise or subsequent periods:

-The reserved names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement.

-The geographic names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement, and as described in Question 21 and Question 22 (“Protection of Geographic Names”).
 
-The registry operator will reserve its own name and variations thereof, and registry operations names (such as nic.store, registry.store, and www.store). This is considered best practice and has been followed by previous gTLDs in their launch.
 
-We will indefinitely reserve names related to ICANN and Internet standards bodies (ex: iana.store, and ietf.store, etc.). Dot Store Group LLC sees no practical reason to assign these domains to the relevant entities given the specific purpose of the .store namespace. Should any of these organizations express a valid consideration, or should ICANN require it, Dot Store Group LLC will provision the domain as required.

-We will also reserve a number of city names such as Paris.store, Dallas.store or NYC.store. We may at our option and at a later date offer these names to cities and municipalities as a means to create a digital equivalent of a city’s shopping mall or marketplace. If and when, we chose to release these names, we will offer the appropriate governing body for each city the opportunity to participate in the release of these names. Should they decide not to participate, we would reserve the right to offer the name on an auction basis. Please note that since we are simply reserving the names and have not made concrete plans on if and when these names would be released. Therefore, we have not included them in out financial assumptions.



Phase 1 (30 Day Sunrise Period): This phase is reserved for legitimate trademark and brand holders. Given that many previous TLD launches starting with .info have implemented a Sunrise Period, with slight modifications in rules, duration and policies from one to the other. There is a wealth of “lessons learned” that Dot Store Group LLC intends to benefit from. The goal of the .store Sunrise Period is to strike the appropriate balance between cost effective and simple policies designed to be inclusive of all potential legitimately recognized International trademark and brand holders, and restrictions and rules to increase the cost, difficulty and risk for illegitimate or ineligible registrants to participate. Dot Store Group LLC will implement a cut-off date for eligible registrations of trademarks to prevent misuse of the trademark registration policies to circumvent the well-intentioned rules of the Sunrise Period (such as what happened with .EU and the Benelux registrations). 

During the 30 Day Sunrise Registration phase, Dot Store Group LLC will accept applications by all holders of internationally recognized and filing-date eligible trademark holders. This will be followed by a two week Quiet Period, during which a statistically relevant sample of the applications will be validated by a reputable and qualified 3rd party service provider for adherence to the policies. Any applications found to be in conflict with the Sunrise registration policies will be immediately invalidated and the application fee will be forfeited and thus non-refundable to the applicant. 

Dot Store Group LLC will also use the Trademark Clearinghouse (TC) to periodically look-up every Sunrise application against trademarks registered in the aforementioned database. Should there be a match, Dot Store Group LLC will contact the trademark holder registered in the TC to inform them of an existing Sunrise application submitted for that name to .store. This allows the trademark holders registered in the TC to be properly and duly informed of an application for their name and only participate in the .store Sunrise to defend their marks should they choose to do so. 

Should there be more than one valid application for the same name during Sunrise; the outcome will be determined by an auction process, run by a reputable, qualified and independent 3rd party auction provider. 


Phase 2 (30 Day Landrush Period): This phase begins after the Quiet Period following the Sunrise Phase. Landrush is intended to limit speculative activity by non-trademark holders especially on high value generic names. These names would otherwise be registered by savvy speculators who then resell the domain names on the secondary market at a great profit to themselves, albeit at a cost to the average registrant, thus violating the spirit of first-come, first serve principle. As with the Sunrise Period, multiple applications for the same name will be subject to the outcome of an auction process.

Phase 3: General Availability Period: This period commences with the ending of the Landrush Period and signals the time when registrations in the .store TLD will be opened up to the public. The General Availability Period allows for live registrations on a first-come, first-serve basis and will define the ongoing state of the .store registry operations. 

Dot Store Group LLC will implement several measures for protecting the privacy and confidential information of .store registrants or users. As the registry operator for the .store TLD, Dot Store Group LLC will only accept domain name registrations from ICANN-accredited and .store accredited domain name registrars. 

* Please see our response to Question 30 (“Security Policy”) for details on operational standards for .store accredited registrars. These include provisions such as acceptable standards for access to the registry systems and protocols for safe password management. 

* Upon registration of a .store domain name via an accredited .store registrar, the domain name, its associated name servers and other data will be given to Dot Store Group LLC to enable the resolution of the domain name on the Internet. Dot Store Group LLC discloses this data to TLD server administrators for the purpose of ensuring that the domain name operates as a functional address on the Internet. Dot Store Group LLC is bound by the .store Registry Agreement with ICANN.

* As per Article 2.17 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement (Article 2.17), Dot Store Group LLC will notify registrars of the purposes for which personal data (defined as data about any identified or identifiable natural person) is collected and used. They will also be notified as to the intended recipient(s) of such data. .Store registrars will be required to obtain the consent of each .store registrant for any collection and use of personal data. Furthermore, Dot Store Group LLC will take reasonable steps to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration, destruction and unauthorized use of personal data in a way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.

* As required by the .store Registry Agreement, Dot Store Group LLC will make information about domain name registrants available to the general public via domain name registration database look-up (WHOIS) services. Please note that consistent with the current rules and policies for the Domain Name System set by ICANN, this information about registrants must remain available in the publicly accessible registration database. These services give users access to such data on a query-by-query basis. 

* Consistent with the .store Registry Agreement and the current rules and policies of ICANN, Dot Store Group LLC may also disclose TLD zone files to other interested recipients, provided those recipients agree not to further process the TLD zone files for purposes incompatible for which they were originally collected, including the transmission of unsolicited commercial e-mails. However, Dot Store Group LLC will adopt policies and procedures to limit the mining of WHOIS data. Please see our answer to Question 26 regarding “searchable WHOIS” and rate-limiting. Limiting the mining of WHOIS data will mitigate spammers and other malicious parties who abuse access to WHOIS services by mining the data for their own illegitimate purposes.

* Please reference our answer to Question 28 regarding the use of proxy and privacy services. We will allow the use of such services, in so far as they comply with ICANN policies and requirements, which can protect the privacy and personal data of registrants. In Question 28, we also describe our proposed policies to limit the use of privacy and proxy services by malicious parties.

* Please reference our answer to Question 23. (“Registry Services”). Dot Store Group LLC will offer a “Registry Lock” service. This service protects registrant data from unauthorized modifications and transactions such as domain transfer and deletion.

* Information Dot Store Group LLC would collect on its Corporate site(s)

Visitors who wish to subscribe to any of Dot Store Group LLC’s electronic communications will be able to do so on an « opt-in » basis. They will provide at a minimum their name, company and email address.
 
* Dot Store Group LLC may, from time to time, request personal data for purposes such as the provision of customer service, service offerings, network management, surveys and other exchanges of information as long as the personal data is adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they were collected. The personal data will not be further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes.

* Log files
 
Dot Store Group LLC gathers information about all users collectively, such as what areas of its sites users visit most frequently and what services users access most often. Dot Store Group LLC automatically logs session sources and other data that tracks usersʹ access to this site, other channels and Dot Store Group LLC sites. Dot Store Group LLC may analyze these logs to understand aggregate user behavior as well as for system-performance monitoring. These logs are analyzed for the overall, aggregate trends they would reveal about the site’s visitors, not for the behaviors of individual users. Dot Store Group LLC may disclose aggregated user statistics to describe the service to prospective partners, advertisers, other third parties and for other lawful purposes.

* Children

Please note that Dot Store Group LLC would not knowingly solicit information from children, nor would we knowingly market our products or services to children.

* Information Sharing

The information visitors may supply to Dot Store Group LLC through its site or sites would never be provided, sold, rented, loaned or otherwise disclosed to any third parties outside of Dot Store Group LLC, unless the user’s express permission is obtained beforehand, or under special circumstances, such as when it is necessary to comply with legal process or protect the rights, property or personal safety of Dot Store Group LLC, its customers or the public. Dot Store Group LLC may share aggregated demographic information with business partners and⁄or the press. This would not be linked to any personal data that can identify any individual person.

* Security

Dot Store Group LLC will take strong precautions to protect information. Should any personal data be submitted via the Dot Store Group LLC site or sites, or when registrars submit specifics about the domain name registration, as required by the ICANN contracts, the personal data would be protected both online and offline. Furthermore, all personal data will be access restricted and the servers on which they are stored will be kept a secure environment.

Dot Store Group LLC has taken pains to set aside adequate dollars to support its own outreach and marketing campaign which is targeted at specific audiences during the various phases. The campaign will start with the Registry contract award, lead up to delegation, and various stages of launch (Sunrise to General Availability). 
 
Dot Store Group LLC intends to enlist and ramp-up ICANN accredited registrars as .store registrars prior to the Sunrise phase. Dot Store Group LLC will use coop marketing, as well as promotional incentives to ensure there will be a ready and reliable distribution channel. 
 
Upon ICANN’s confirmation of a successful .store application, Dot Store Group LLC will launch a campaign aimed at key trademark and brand holders in the e-commerce space. The campaign will use a mix of online advertising, strategically placed billboards in key geographic areas, as well as targeted TV and print media. The campaign will be focused on communicating the value proposition of a .store domain name to existing online and “brick and mortar” merchants and stores. For the Sunrise period, the campaign will focus on educating the registrar channel, and in turn brands, on the Sunrise period’s key dates and duration, as well as the registration rules. After the General Availability phase and pending financial viability, Dot Store Group LLC intends to hold an annual .store conference, open to all .store registrants, to share and highlight ideas, innovations and increase the profile of the .store TLD and its registrants.

During Sunrise and Landrush periods, multiple applications, by qualified applicants, for a particular domain name will be resolved by an auction process. Once .store TLD enters general availability, multiple applications for a particular domain name will be on a first-come⁄first-serve basis.

To encourage adoption, Dot Store Group LLC (DSG) anticipates a two-step process:

* First, DSG will ensure the availability of an ICANN and .Store accredited registrar channel. The registrar channel will be set-up to properly market, sell and support .store domains. This will require co-op marketing and promotional funds, as well as support and collateral to defray the cost of ramp-up, marketing, and registrant acquisition and support.

* Second, to entice registrants to purchase and adopt .store domains, DSG will provide promotional incentives for the registrars to pass on to the targeted registrants. The incentives will include a mix of bulk registration discounts and promotional pricing. The incentives will encourage upselling of their existing base of registrants by offering promotional pricing for the bundled sale of a .store domain along with customary e-commerce type of services.

.Storeʹs registration policy offers all registrants the option of one to ten year registrations. 

DSG intends to have a first year introductory price as well as a 5-year and 10-year subscription discount. DSG intends to implement bulk registration discounts for targeted registrants (e.g. promotional incentives for multiple registrations by the same registrant, and⁄or promotional incentives for multiple year registrations for a specific .store domain name). 

DSG will abide by the Registry Agreement. If there is a need for a price increase, DSG will notify ICANN, and then the registrar channel in writing. Dot Store Group LLC plans to price .store as a themed-based gTLD and therefore, the price will be higher than the average com⁄net gTLD. At this time, based on initial pricing, a price escalation is not in our plans. Further, we see no future event that would cause us to raise the price of .store registrations above the initial pricing. As in any business venture, we can not predict the future with complete certainty. Therefore, DSG reserves the right to escalate prices if the need arises. During the pre-launch period, Dot Store Group LLC will seek advice from our industry consultants to prepare the Registrant contract to all registrants. The contractual commitment regarding the magnitude of price escalation will be part of that contract. We would like to stress strongly that we have no intention of raising prices above the initial price point.




1 http:⁄⁄verisigninc.com⁄en_US⁄why-verisign⁄research-trends⁄domain-name-industry-brief⁄index.xhtml
2 http:⁄⁄news.blogs.cnn.com⁄2010⁄03⁄15⁄dot-com-marks-25th-anniversary⁄
3 http:⁄⁄web.archive.org⁄web⁄20081202081617⁄http:⁄⁄tools.ietf.org⁄html⁄rfc1591

No

Not Available

No

PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

Specification 5 of the New gTLD Registry Agreement requires the registry operator reserve all geographic names at the second level as well as any subordinate levels for which the operator controls and issues registrations. As per the draft registry agreement “the country and territory names contained in the following internationally recognized lists shall be initially reserved at the second level and at all other levels within the TLD at which the Registry Operator provides for registrations”:

 
5.1)

the short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union, which is

exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 list, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union 〈http:⁄⁄www.iso.org⁄iso⁄support⁄country_codes⁄iso_3166_code_lists⁄iso-3166--1_decoding_table.htm#EU〉;


5.2)

the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference

Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of

the World; and


5.3)

the list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared

by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the

Standardization of Geographical Names;

Release of Geographic Names at the second or subordinate level (where managed and issued by the Registry Operator):

.Store has no current or immediate plans to release any of the aforementioned reserved geographic domains. .Store commits to, in the event this intention changes in the future, first develop agreements with the applicable governments affected by any proposed release, then bring said agreements and a full plan for the release of said geographic names to the Governmental Advisory Committee and ICANN for their approval. 


Future Plans for City Names:

Whereas .store recognizes that ICANN (as per Specification 5 of the new gTLD agreement) has no specific geographic name restrictions in regards to city names, .store believes its important to engage affected governments in regards to our city name plans. .Store will be including a select list of city names in its premium domain program (as mentioned in Q. 18). Our intention is to eventually develop a release plan of these city names that offers the opportunity for appropriate city governments or related bodies (such as Boards of Trades or Chambers of Commerce) to participate. Upon developing this plan, Dot Store Group LLC intends to, if permitted, present the plan to the Governmental Advisory Committee and ask for formal comments⁄feedback on the proposal. Following this we will assess comments provided and consider informed adjustments that improve the plan accordingly before implementation.

23.1 Introduction 

Dot Store Group LLC has elected to partner with Neustar, Inc (Neustar) to provide back-end services for the .store registry. In making this decision, Dot Store Group LLC recognized that Neustar already possesses a production-proven registry system that can be quickly deployed and smoothly operated over its robust, flexible, and scalable world-class infrastructure. The existing registry services will be leveraged for the .store registry. The following section describes the registry services to be provided.

23.2 Standard Technical and Business Components

Neustar will provide the highest level of service while delivering a secure, stable and comprehensive registry platform. Dot Store Group LLC will use Neustarʹs Registry Services platform to deploy the .store registry, by providing the following Registry Services (none of these services are offered in a manner that is unique to .store): 

-Registry-Registrar Shared Registration Service (SRS)
-Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)
-Domain Name System (DNS)
-WHOIS
-DNSSEC
-Data Escrow
-Dissemination of Zone Files using Dynamic Updates
-Access to Bulk Zone Files
-Dynamic WHOIS Updates
-IPv6 Support
-Rights Protection Mechanisms
-Internationalized Domain Names (IDN).

The following is a description of each of the services:

23.2.1 SRS 

Neustarʹs secure and stable SRS is a production-proven, standards-based, highly reliable, and high-performance domain name registration and management system. The SRS includes an EPP interface for receiving data from registrars for the purpose of provisioning and managing domain names and name servers. The response to Question 24 provides specific SRS information. 

23.2.2 EPP

The .store registry will use the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) for the provisioning of domain names. The EPP implementation will be fully compliant with all RFCs. Registrars are provided with access via an EPP API and an EPP based Web GUI. With more than 10 gTLD, ccTLD, and private TLDs implementations, Neustar has extensive experience building EPP-based registries. Additional discussion on the EPP approach is presented in the response to Question 25.

23.2.3 DNS

Dot Store Group LLC will leverage Neustarʹs world-class DNS network of geographically distributed nameserver sites to provide the highest level of DNS service. The service utilizes Anycast routing technology, and supports both IPv4 and IPv6. The DNS network is highly proven, and currently provides service to over 20 TLDs and thousands of enterprise companies. Additional information on the DNS solution is presented in the response to Questions 35.

23.2.4 WHOIS

Neustarʹs existing standard WHOIS solution will be used for the .store. The service provides supports for near real-time dynamic updates. The design and construction is agnostic with regard to data display policy is flexible enough to accommodate any data model. In addition, a searchable WHOIS service that complies with all ICANN requirements will be provided. The following WHOIS options will be provided:

Standard WHOIS (Port 43)
Standard WHOIS (Web)
Searchable WHOIS (Web)

23.2.5 DNSSEC

An RFC compliant DNSSEC implementation will be provided using existing DNSSEC capabilities. Neustar is an experienced provider of DNSSEC services, and currently manages signed zones for three large top level domains: .biz, .us, and .co. Registrars are provided with the ability to submit and manage DS records using EPP, or through a web GUI. Additional information on DNSSEC, including the management of security extensions is found in the response to Question 43.

23.2.6 Data Escrow

Data escrow will be performed in compliance with all ICANN requirements in conjunction with an approved data escrow provider. The data escrow service will:

-Protect against data loss
-Follow industry best practices
-Ensure easy, accurate, and timely retrieval and restore capability in the event of a hardware failure
-Minimizes the impact of software or business failure

Additional information on the Data Escrow service is provided in the response to Question 38.

23.2.7 Dissemination of Zone Files using Dynamic Updates

Dissemination of zone files will be provided through a dynamic, near real-time process. Updates will be performed within the specified performance levels. The proven technology ensures that updates pushed to all nodes within a few minutes of the changes being received by the SRS. Additional information on the DNS updates may be found in the response to Question 35.

23.2.8 Access to Bulk Zone Files

Dot Store Group LLC will provide third party access to the bulk zone file in accordance with specification 4, Section 2 of the Registry Agreement. Credentialing and dissemination of the zone files will be facilitated through the Central Zone Data Access Provider.

23.2.9 Dynamic WHOIS Updates

Updates to records in the WHOIS database will be provided via dynamic, near real-time updates. Guaranteed delivery message oriented middleware is used to ensure each individual WHOIS server is refreshed with dynamic updates. This component ensures that all WHOIS servers are kept current as changes occur in the SRS, while also decoupling WHOIS from the SRS. Additional information on WHOIS updates is presented in response to Question 26.

23.2.10 IPv6 Support

The .store registry will provide IPv6 support in the following registry services: SRS, WHOIS, and DNS⁄DNSSEC. In addition, the registry supports the provisioning of IPv6 AAAA records. A detailed description on IPv6 is presented in the response to Question 36.

23.2.11 Required Rights Protection Mechanisms

Dot Store Group LLC, will provide all ICANN required Rights Mechanisms, including: 

-Trademark Claims Service
-Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP)
-Registration Restriction Dispute Resolution Procedure (RRDRP)
-UDRP
-URS
-Sunrise service

More information is presented in the response to Question 29.

23.2.12 Internationalized Domain Names (IDN)

IDN registrations are provided in full compliance with the IDNA protocol. Neustar possesses extensive experience offering IDN registrations in numerous TLDs, and its IDN implementation uses advanced technology to accommodate the unique bundling needs of certain languages. Character mappings are easily constructed to block out characters that may be deemed as confusing to users. A detailed description of the IDN implementation is presented in response to Question 44.

23.3 Unique Services 

Dot Store Group LLC will not be offering services that are unique to .store.

23.4 Security or Stability Concerns 

All services offered are standard registry services that have no known security or stability concerns. Neustar has demonstrated a strong track record of security and stability within the industry. 

24.1 Introduction

Dot Store Group LLC has partnered with Neustar, Inc (ʺNeustarʺ), an experienced TLD registry operator, for the operation of the .store Registry. The applicant is confident that the plan in place for the operation of a robust and reliable Shared Registration System (SRS) as currently provided by Neustar will satisfy the criterion established by ICANN.

Neustar built its SRS from the ground up as an EPP based platform and has been operating it reliably and at scale since 2001. The software currently provides registry services to five TLDs (.BIZ, .US, TEL, .CO and .TRAVEL) and is used to provide gateway services to the .CN and .TW registries. Neustarʹs state of the art registry has a proven track record of being secure, stable, and robust. It manages more than 6 million domains, and has over 300 registrars connected today. 
The following describes a detailed plan for a robust and reliable SRS that meets all ICANN requirements including compliance with Specifications 6 and 10.

24.2 The Plan for Operation of a Robust and Reliable SRS

24.2.1 High-level SRS System Description

The SRS to be used for .store will leverage a production-proven, standards-based, highly reliable and high-performance domain name registration and management system that fully meets or exceeds the requirements as identified in the new gTLD Application Guidebook. 

The SRS is the central component of any registry implementation and its quality, reliability and capabilities are essential to the overall stability of the TLD. Neustar has a documented history of deploying SRS implementations with proven and verifiable performance, reliability and availability. The SRS adheres to all industry standards and protocols. By leveraging an existing SRS platform, Dot Store Group LLC is mitigating the significant risks and costs associated with the development of a new system. Highlights of the SRS include:

-State-of-the-art, production proven multi-layer design
-Ability to rapidly and easily scale from low to high volume as a TLD grows
-Fully redundant architecture at two sites
-Support for IDN registrations in compliance with all standards 
-Use by over 300 Registrars
-EPP connectivity over IPv6
-Performance being measured using 100% of all production transactions (not sampling)

24.2.2 SRS Systems, Software, Hardware, and Interoperability 

The systems and software that the registry operates on are a critical element to providing a high quality of service. If the systems are of poor quality, if they are difficult to maintain and operate, or if the registry personnel are unfamiliar with them, the registry will be prone to outages. Neustar has a decade of experience operating registry infrastructure to extremely high service level requirements. The infrastructure is designed using best of breed systems and software. Much of the application software that performs registry-specific operations was developed by the current engineering team and a result the team is intimately familiar with its operations.

The architecture is highly scalable and provides the same high level of availability and performance as volumes increase. It combines load balancing technology with scalable server technology to provide a cost effective and efficient method for scaling.

The Registry is able to limit the ability of any one registrar from adversely impacting other registrars by consuming too many resources due to excessive EPP transactions. The system uses network layer 2 level packet shaping to limit the number of simultaneous connections registrars can open to the protocol layer.

All interaction with the Registry is recorded in log files. Log files are generated at each layer of the system. These log files record at a minimum:

-The IP address of the client
-Timestamp
-Transaction Details
-Processing Time

In addition to logging of each and every transaction with the SRS Neustar maintains audit records, in the database, of all transformational transactions. These audit records allow the Registry, in support of the applicant, to produce a complete history of changes for any domain name.

24.2.3 SRS Design

The SRS incorporates a multi-layer architecture that is designed to mitigate risks and easily scale as volumes increase. The three layers of the SRS are:

-Protocol Layer
-Business Policy Layer
-Database

Each of the layers is described below. 

24.2.4 Protocol Layer

The first layer is the protocol layer, which includes the EPP interface to registrars. It consists of a high availability farm of load-balanced EPP servers. The servers are designed to be fast processors of transactions. The servers perform basic validations and then feed information to the business policy engines as described below. The protocol layer is horizontally scalable as dictated by volume.

The EPP servers authenticate against a series of security controls before granting service, as follows:

-The registrarʹs host exchanges keys to initiates a TLS handshake session with the EPP server.
-The registrarʹs host must provide credentials to determine proper access levels.
-The registrarʹs IP address must be preregistered in the network firewalls and traffic-shapers.

24.2.5 Business Policy Layer 

The Business Policy Layer is the brain of the registry system. Within this layer, the policy engine servers perform rules-based processing as defined through configurable attributes. This process takes individual transactions, applies various validation and policy rules, persists data and dispatches notification through the central database in order to publish to various external systems. External systems fed by the Business Policy Layer include backend processes such as dynamic update of DNS, WHOIS and Billing. 

Similar to the EPP protocol farm, the SRS consists of a farm of application servers within this layer. This design ensures that there is sufficient capacity to process every transaction in a manner that meets or exceeds all service level requirements. Some registries couple the business logic layer directly in the protocol layer or within the database. This architecture limits the ability to scale the registry. Using a decoupled architecture enables the load to be distributed among farms of inexpensive servers that can be scaled up or down as demand changes.

The SRS today processes over 30 million EPP transactions daily. 

24.2.6 Database

The database is the third core components of the SRS. The primary function of the SRS database is to provide highly reliable, persistent storage for all registry information required for domain registration services. The database is highly secure, with access limited to transactions from authenticated registrars, trusted application-server processes, and highly restricted access by the registry database administrators. A full description of the database can be found in response to Question 33.

Figure 24-1 attached depicts the overall SRS architecture including network components.

24.2.7 Number of Servers

As depicted in the SRS architecture diagram above Neustar operates a high availability architecture where at each level of the stack there are no single points of failures. Each of the network level devices run with dual pairs as do the databases. For the .store registry, the SRS will operate with 8 protocol servers and 6 policy engine servers. These expand horizontally as volume increases due to additional TLDs, increased load, and through organic growth. In addition to the SRS servers described above, there are multiple backend servers for services such as DNS and WHOIS. These are discussed in detail within those respective response sections. 

24.2.8 Description of Interconnectivity with Other Registry Systems

The core SRS service interfaces with other external systems via Neustarʹs external systems layer. The services that the SRS interfaces with include:

-WHOIS 
-DNS 
-Billing
-Data Warehouse (Reporting and Data Escrow)
 
Other external interfaces may be deployed to meet the unique needs of a TLD. At this time there are no additional interfaces planned for .store.

The SRS includes an external notifier concept in its business policy engine as a message dispatcher. This design allows time-consuming backend processing to be decoupled from critical online registrar transactions. Using an external notifier solution, the registry can utilize control levers that allow it to tune or to disable processes to ensure optimal performance at all times. For example, during the early minutes of a TLD launch, when unusually high volumes of transactions are expected, the registry can elect to suspend processing of one or more back end systems in order to ensure that greater processing power is available to handle the increased load requirements. This proven architecture has been used with numerous TLD launches, some of which have involved the processing of over tens of millions of transactions in the opening hours. The following are the standard three external notifiers used the SRS: 

24.2.9 WHOIS External Notifier

The WHOIS external notifier dispatches a work item for any EPP transaction that may potentially have an impact on WHOIS. It is important to note that, while the WHOIS external notifier feeds the WHOIS system, it intentionally does not have visibility into the actual contents of the WHOIS system. The WHOIS external notifier serves just as a tool to send a signal to the WHOIS system that a change is ready to occur. The WHOIS system possesses the intelligence and data visibility to know exactly what needs to change in WHOIS. See response to Question 26 for greater detail.

24.2.10 DNS External Notifier

The DNS external notifier dispatches a work item for any EPP transaction that may potentially have an impact on DNS. Like the WHOIS external notifier, the DNS external notifier does not have visibility into the actual contents of the DNS zones. The work items that are generated by the notifier indicate to the dynamic DNS update sub-system that a change occurred that may impact DNS. That DNS system has the ability to decide what actual changes must be propagated out to the DNS constellation. See response to Question 35 for greater detail.

24.2.11 Billing External Notifier

The billing external notifier is responsible for sending all billable transactions to the downstream financial systems for billing and collection. This external notifier contains the necessary logic to determine what types of transactions are billable. The financial systems use this information to apply appropriate debits and credits based on registrar.

24.2.12 Data Warehouse

The data warehouse is responsible for managing reporting services, including registrar reports, business intelligence dashboards, and the processing of data escrow files. The Reporting Database is used to create both internal and external reports, primarily to support registrar billing and contractual reporting requirement. The data warehouse databases are updated on a daily basis with full copies of the production SRS data. 

24.2.13 Frequency of Synchronization between Servers

The external notifiers discussed above perform updates in near real-time, well within the prescribed service level requirements. As transactions from registrars update the core SRS, update notifications are pushed to the external systems such as DNS and WHOIS. These updates are typically live in the external system within 2-3 minutes.

24.2.14 Synchronization Scheme (e.g., hot standby, cold standby) 

Neustar operates two hot databases within the data center that is operating in primary mode. These two databases are kept in sync via synchronous replication. Additionally, there are two databases in the secondary data center. These databases are updated real time through asynchronous replication. This model allows for high performance while also ensuring protection of data. See response to Question 33 for greater detail. 

24.2.15 Compliance with Specification 6 Section 1.2

The SRS implementation for .store is fully compliant with Specification 6, including section 1.2. EPP Standards are described and embodied in a number of IETF RFCs, ICANN contracts and practices, and registry-registrar agreements. Extensible Provisioning Protocol or EPP is defined by a core set of RFCs that standardize the interface that make up the registry-registrar model. The SRS interface supports EPP 1.0 as defined in the following RFCs shown in Table 24-1 attached. 

Additional information on the EPP implementation and compliance with RFCs can be found in the response to Question 25.

24.2.16 Compliance with Specification 10

Specification 10 of the New TLD Agreement defines the performance specifications of the TLD, including service level requirements related to DNS, RDDS (WHOIS), and EPP. The requirements include both availability and transaction response time measurements. As an experienced registry operator, Neustar has a long and verifiable track record of providing registry services that consistently exceed the performance specifications stipulated in ICANN agreements. This same high level of service will be provided for the .store Registry. The following section describes Neustarʹs experience and its capabilities to meet the requirements in the new agreement.

To properly measure the technical performance and progress of TLDs, Neustar collects data on key essential operating metrics. These measurements are key indicators of the performance and health of the registry. Neustarʹs current .biz SLA commitments are among the most stringent in the industry today, and exceed the requirements for new TLDs. Table 24-2 compares the current SRS performance levels compared to the requirements for new TLDs, and clearly demonstrates the ability of the SRS to exceed those requirements.

Their ability to commit and meet such high performance standards is a direct result of their philosophy towards operational excellence. See response to Question 31 for a full description of their philosophy for building and managing for performance.

24.3 Resourcing Plans 

The development, customization, and on-going support of the SRS are the responsibility of a combination of technical and operational teams, including:

-Development⁄Engineering
-Database Administration
-Systems Administration
-Network Engineering

Additionally, if customization or modifications are required, the Product Management and Quality Assurance teams will be involved in the design and testing. Finally, the Network Operations and Information Security play an important role in ensuring the systems involved are operating securely and reliably.

The necessary resources will be pulled from the pool of operational resources described in detail in the response to Question 31. Neustarʹs SRS implementation is very mature, and has been in production for over 10 years. As such, very little new development related to the SRS will be required for the implementation of the .store registry. The following resources are available from those teams:

-Development⁄Engineering - 19 employees
-Database Administration - 10 employees
-Systems Administration - 24 employees
-Network Engineering - 5 employees

The resources are more than adequate to support the SRS needs of all the TLDs operated by Neustar, including the .store registry. 

25.1 Introduction

Dot Store Group LLCʹs back-end registry operator, Neustar, has over 10 years of experience operating EPP based registries. They deployed one of the first EPP registries in 2001 with the launch of .biz. In 2004, they were the first gTLD to implement EPP 1.0. Over the last ten years Neustar has implemented numerous extensions to meet various unique TLD requirements. Neustar will leverage its extensive experience to ensure Dot Store Group LLC is provided with an unparalleled EPP based registry. The following discussion explains the EPP interface which will be used for the .store registry. This interface exists within the protocol farm layer as described in Question 24 and is depicted in Figure 25-1 attached.

25.2 EPP Interface

Registrars are provided with two different interfaces for interacting with the registry. Both are EPP based, and both contain all the functionality necessary to provision and manage domain names. The primary mechanism is an EPP interface to connect directly with the registry. This is the interface registrars will use for most of their interactions with the registry. 

However, an alternative web GUI (Registry Administration Tool) that can also be used to perform EPP transactions will be provided. The primary use of the Registry Administration Tool is for performing administrative or customer support tasks. 

The main features of the EPP implementation are: 

-Standards Compliance: The EPP XML interface is compliant to the EPP RFCs. As future EPP RFCs are published or existing RFCs are updated, Neustar makes changes to the implementation keeping in mind of any backward compatibility issues.

-Scalability: The system is deployed keeping in mind that it may be required to grow and shrink the footprint of the Registry system for a particular TLD. 

-Fault-tolerance: The EPP servers are deployed in two geographically separate data centers to provide for quick failover capability in case of a major outage in a particular data center. The EPP servers adhere to strict availability requirements defined in the SLAs.

-Configurability: The EPP extensions are built in a way that they can be easily configured to turn on or off for a particular TLD.

-Extensibility: The software is built ground up using object oriented design. This allows for easy extensibility of the software without risking the possibility of the change rippling through the whole application. 

-Auditable: The system stores detailed information about EPP transactions from provisioning to DNS and WHOIS publishing. In case of a dispute regarding a name registration, the Registry can provide comprehensive audit information on EPP transactions.

-Security: The system provides IP address based access control, client credential-based authorization test, digital certificate exchange, and connection limiting to the protocol layer. 

25.3 Compliance with RFCs and Specifications

The registry-registrar model is described and embodied in a number of IETF RFCs, ICANN contracts and practices, and registry-registrar agreements. As shown in Table 25-1 attached, EPP is defined by the core set of RFCs that standardize the interface that registrars use to provision domains with the SRS. As a core component of the SRS architecture, the implementation is fully compliant with all EPP RFCs. 

Neustar ensures compliance with all RFCs through a variety of processes and procedures. Members from the engineering and standards teams actively monitor and participate in the development of RFCs that impact the registry services, including those related to EPP. When new RFCs are introduced or existing ones are updated, the team performs a full compliance review of each system impacted by the change. Furthermore, all code releases include a full regression test that includes specific test cases to verify RFC compliance.

Neustar has a long history of providing exceptional service that exceeds all performance specifications. The SRS and EPP interface have been designed to exceed the EPP specifications defined in Specification 10 of the Registry Agreement and profiled in Table 25-2 attached. Evidence of Neustarʹs ability to perform at these levels can be found in the .biz monthly progress reports found on the ICANN website.

25.3.1 EPP Toolkits

Toolkits, under open source licensing, are freely provided to registrars for interfacing with the SRS. Both Java and C++ toolkits will be provided, along with the accompanying documentation. The Registrar Tool Kit (RTK) is a software development kit (SDK) that supports the development of a registrar software system for registering domain names in the registry using EPP. The SDK consists of software and documentation as described below.

The software consists of working Java and C++ EPP common APIs and samples that implement the EPP core functions and EPP extensions used to communicate between the registry and registrar. The RTK illustrates how XML requests (registration events) can be assembled and forwarded to the registry for processing. The software provides the registrar with the basis for a reference implementation that conforms to the EPP registry-registrar protocol. The software component of the SDK also includes XML schema definition files for all Registry EPP objects and EPP object extensions. The RTK also includes a dummy server to aid in the testing of EPP clients.

The accompanying documentation describes the EPP software package hierarchy, the object data model, and the defined objects and methods (including calling parameter lists and expected response behavior). New versions of the RTK are made available from time to time to provide support for additional features as they become available and support for other platforms and languages.

25.4 Proprietary EPP Extensions

The .store registry will not include proprietary EPP extensions. Neustar has implemented various EPP extensions for both internal and external use in other TLD registries. These extensions use the standard EPP extension framework described in RFC 5730. Table 25-3 attached provides a list of extensions developed for other TLDs. Should the .store registry require an EPP extension at some point in the future, the extension will be implemented in compliance with all RFC specifications including RFC 3735.

The full EPP schema to be used in the .store registry is attached in the document titled EPP Schema Files.

25.5 Resourcing Plans

The development and support of EPP is largely the responsibility of the Development⁄Engineering and Quality Assurance teams. As an experience registry operator with a fully developed EPP solution, on-going support is largely limited to periodic updates to the standard and the implementation of TLD specific extensions.

The necessary resources will be pulled from the pool of available resources described in detail in the response to Question 31. The following resources are available from those teams:

-Development⁄Engineering - 19 employees
-Quality Assurance - 7 employees.

These resources are more than adequate to support any EPP modification needs of the .store registry.

26.1 Introduction

.Store recognizes the importance of an accurate, reliable, and up-to-date WHOIS database to governments, law enforcement, intellectual property holders and the public as a whole and is firmly committed to complying with all of the applicable WHOIS specifications for data objects, bulk access, and lookups as defined in Specifications 4 and 10 to the Registry Agreement. .Storeʹs back-end registry services provider, Neustar, has extensive experience providing ICANN and RFC-compliant WHOIS services for each of the TLDs that it operates both as a Registry Operator for gTLDs, ccTLDs and back-end registry services provider. As one of the first thick registry operators in the gTLD space, Neustarʹs WHOIS service has been designed from the ground up to display as much information as required by a TLD and respond to a very stringent availability and performance requirement.

Some of the key features of .storeʹs solution include: 

-Fully compliant with all relevant RFCs including 3912

-Production proven, highly flexible, and scalable with a track record of 100% availability over the past 10 years

-Exceeds current and proposed performance specifications 

-Supports dynamic updates with the capability of doing bulk updates 

-Geographically distributed sites to provide greater stability and performance

-In addition, .storeʹs thick-WHOIS solution also provides for additional search capabilities and mechanisms to mitigate potential forms of abuse as discussed below. (e.g., IDN, registrant data)

26.2 Software Components

The WHOIS architecture comprises the following components:

-An in-memory database local to each WHOIS node: To provide for the performance needs, the WHOIS data is served from an in-memory database indexed by searchable keys. 

-Redundant servers: To provide for redundancy, the WHOIS updates are propagated to a cluster of WHOIS servers that maintain an independent copy of the database. 

-Attack resistant: To ensure that the WHOIS system cannot be abused using malicious queries or DOS attacks, the WHOIS server is only allowed to query the local database and rate limits on queries based on IPs and IP ranges can be readily applied.

-Accuracy auditor: To ensure the accuracy of the information served by the WHOIS servers, a daily audit is done between the SRS information and the WHOIS responses for the domain names which are updated during the last 24-hour period. Any discrepancies are resolved proactively.

-Modular design: The WHOIS system allows for filtering and translation of data elements between the SRS and the WHOIS database to allow for customizations.

-Scalable architecture: The WHOIS system is scalable and has a very small footprint. Depending on the query volume, the deployment size can grow and shrink quickly.

-Flexible: It is flexible enough to accommodate thin, thick, or modified thick models and can accommodate any future ICANN policy, such as different information display levels based on user categorization.

-SRS master database: The SRS database is the main persistent store of the Registry information. The Update Agent computes what WHOIS updates need to be pushed out. A publish-subscribe mechanism then takes these incremental updates and pushes to all the WHOIS slaves that answer queries.

26.3 Compliance with RFC and Specifications 4 and 10

Neustar has been running thick-WHOIS Services for over 10+ years in full compliance with RFC 3912 and with Specifications 4 and 10 of the Registry Agreement. RFC 3912 is a simple text based protocol over TCP that describes the interaction between the server and client on port 43. Neustar built a home-grown solution for this service. It processes millions of WHOIS queries per day.

Table 26-1 attached describes Neustarʹs compliance with Specifications 4 and 10.

Neustar ensures compliance with all RFCs through a variety of processes and procedures. Members from the engineering and standards teams actively monitor and participate in the development of RFCs that impact the registry services, including those related to WHOIS. When new RFCs are introduced or existing ones are updated, the team performs a full compliance review of each system impacted by the change. Furthermore, all code releases include a full regression test that includes specific test cases to verify RFC compliance.

26.4 High-level WHOIS System Description

26.4.1 WHOIS Service (port 43)

The WHOIS service is responsible for handling port 43 queries. Our WHOIS is optimized for speed using an in-memory database and master-slave architecture between the SRS and WHOIS slaves.

The WHOIS service also has built-in support for IDN. If the domain name being queried is an IDN, the returned results include the language of the domain name, the domain nameʹs UTF-8 encoded representation along with the Unicode code page.

26.4.2 Web Page for WHOIS queries

In addition to the WHOIS Service on port 43, Neustar provides a web based WHOIS application (www.whois.store). It is an intuitive and easy to use application for the general public to use. WHOIS web application provides all of the features available in the port 43 WHOIS. This includes full and partial search on:

-Domain names
-Nameservers
-Registrant, Technical and Administrative Contacts
-Registrars

It also provides features not available on the port 43 service. These include:

1. Redemption Grace Period calculation: Based on the registryʹs policy, domains in pendingDelete can be restorable or scheduled for release depending on the date⁄time the domain went into pendingDelete. For these domains, the web based WHOIS displays Restorable or Scheduled for Release to clearly show this additional status to the user.

2. Extensive support for international domain names (IDN)

3. Ability to perform WHOIS lookups on the actual Unicode IDN

4. Display of the actual Unicode IDN in addition to the ACE-encoded name

5. A Unicode to Punycode and Punycode to Unicode translator

6. An extensive FAQ

7. A list of upcoming domain deletions

26.5 IT and Infrastructure Resources

As described above the WHOIS architecture uses a workflow that decouples the update process from the SRS. This ensures SRS performance is not adversely affected by the load requirements of dynamic updates. It is also decoupled from the WHOIS lookup agent to ensure the WHOIS service is always available and performing well for users. Each of Neustarʹs geographically diverse WHOIS sites use:

-Firewalls, to protect this sensitive data 
-Dedicated servers for MQ Series, to ensure guaranteed delivery of WHOIS updates 
-Packetshaper for source IP address-based bandwidth limiting 
-Load balancers to distribute query load 
-Multiple WHOIS servers for maximizing the performance of WHOIS service

The WHOIS service uses HP BL 460C servers, each with 2 X Quad Core CPU and a 64GB of RAM. The existing infrastructure has 6 servers, but is designed to be easily scaled with additional servers should it be needed.

Figure 26-1 attached depicts the different components of the WHOIS architecture.

26.6 Interconnectivity with Other Registry System

As described in Question 24 about the SRS and further in response to Question 31, Technical Overview, when an update is made by a registrar that impacts WHOIS data, a trigger is sent to the WHOIS system by the external notifier layer. The update agent processes these updates, transforms the data if necessary and then uses messaging oriented middleware to publish all updates to each WHOIS slave. The local update agent accepts the update and applies it to the local in-memory database. A separate auditor compares the data in WHOIS and the SRS daily and monthly to ensure accuracy of the published data.

26.7 Frequency of Synchronization between Servers

Updates from the SRS, through the external notifiers, to the constellation of independent WHOIS slaves happens in real-time via an asynchronous publish⁄subscribe messaging architecture. The updates are guaranteed to be updated in each slave within the required SLA of 95%, less than or equal to 60 minutes. Please note that Neustarʹs current architecture is built towards the stricter SLAs (95%, less than or equal to 15 minutes) of .BIZ. The vast majority of updates tend to happen within 2-3 minutes.

26.8 Provision for Searchable WHOIS Capabilities

Neustar will create a new web-based service to address the new search features based on requirements specified in Specification 4 Section 1.8. The application will enable users to search the WHOIS directory using any one or more of the following fields: 

-Domain name

-Registrar ID

-Contacts and registrantʹs name

-Contact and registrantʹs postal address, including all the sub-fields described in EPP (e.g., street, city, state or province, etc.)

-Name server name and name server IP address

-The system will also allow search using non-Latin character sets which are compliant with IDNA specification

The user will choose one or more search criteria, combine them by Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and provide partial or exact match regular expressions for each of the criterion name-value pairs. The domain names matching the search criteria will be returned to the user.

Figure 26-2 attached shows an architectural depiction of the new service. 

To mitigate the risk of this powerful search service being abused by unscrupulous data miners, a layer of security will be built around the query engine which will allow the registry to identify rogue activities and then take appropriate measures. Potential abuses include, but are not limited to:

-Data Mining
-Unauthorized Access
-Excessive Querying
-Denial of Service Attacks

To mitigate the abuses noted above, Neustar will implement any or all of these mechanisms as appropriate:

-Username-password based authentication 
-Certificate based authentication
-Data encryption
-CAPTCHA mechanism to prevent robo invocation of Web query
-Fee-based advanced query capabilities for premium customers

The searchable WHOIS application will adhere to all privacy laws and policies of the .store registry.

26.9 Resourcing Plans
 
As with the SRS, the development, customization, and on-going support of the WHOIS service is the responsibility of a combination of technical and operational teams. The primary groups responsible for managing the service include:

-Development⁄Engineering - 19 employees
-Database Administration - 10 employees
-Systems Administration - 24 employees
-Network Engineering - 5 employees 

Additionally, if customization or modifications are required, the Product Management and Quality Assurance teams will also be involved. Finally, the Network Operations and Information Security play an important role in ensuring the systems involved are operating securely and reliably. The necessary resources will be pulled from the pool of available resources described in detail in the response to Question 31. Neustarʹs WHOIS implementation is very mature, and has been in production for over 10 years. As such, very little new development will be required to support the implementation of the .store registry. The resources are more than adequate to support the WHOIS needs of all the TLDs operated by Neustar, including the .store registry. 

27.1 Registration Life Cycle

27.1.1 Introduction

.Store will follow the lifecycle and business rules found in the majority of gTLDs today. Our back-end operator, Neustar, has over ten years of experience managing numerous TLDs that utilize standard and unique business rules and lifecycles. This section describes the business rules, registration states, and the overall domain lifecycle that will be use for .store.

27.1.2 Domain Lifecycle - Description

The registry will use the EPP 1.0 standard for provisioning domain names, contacts and hosts. Each domain record is comprised of three registry object types: domain, contacts, and hosts.

Domains, contacts and hosts may be assigned various EPP defined statuses indicating either a particular state or restriction placed on the object. Some statuses may be applied by the Registrar; other statuses may only be applied by the Registry. Statuses are an integral part of the domain lifecycle and serve the dual purpose of indicating the particular state of the domain and indicating any restrictions placed on the domain. The EPP standard defines 17 statuses, however only 14 of these statuses will be used in the .store registry per the defined .store business rules.

The following is a brief description of each of the statuses. Server statuses may only be applied by the Registry, and client statuses may be applied by the Registrar.

-OK Default status applied by the Registry.
-Inactive Default status applied by the Registry if the domain has less than 2 nameservers.
-PendingCreate Status applied by the Registry upon processing a successful Create command, and indicates further action is pending. This status will not be used in the .store registry.
-PendingTransfer Status applied by the Registry upon processing a successful Transfer request command, and indicates further action is pending.
-PendingDelete Status applied by the Registry upon processing a successful Delete command that does not result in the immediate deletion of the domain, and indicates further action is pending.
-PendingRenew Status applied by the Registry upon processing a successful Renew command that does not result in the immediate renewal of the domain, and indicates further action is pending. This status will not be used in the .store registry.
-PendingUpdate Status applied by the Registry if an additional action is expected to complete the update, and indicates further action is pending. This status will not be used in the .store registry.
-Hold Removes the domain from the DNS zone.
-UpdateProhibited Prevents the object from being modified by an Update command.
-TransferProhibited Prevents the object from being transferred to another Registrar by the Transfer command.
-RenewProhibited Prevents a domain from being renewed by a Renew command.
-DeleteProhibited Prevents the object from being deleted by a Delete command. 

The lifecycle of a domain begins with the registration of the domain. All registrations must follow the EPP standard, as well as the specific business rules described in the response to Question 18 above. Upon registration a domain will either be in an active or inactive state. Domains in an active state are delegated and have their delegation information published to the zone. Inactive domains either have no delegation information or their delegation information in not published in the zone. Following the initial registration of a domain, one of five actions may occur during its lifecycle:

-Domain may be updated
-Domain may be deleted, either within or after the add-grace period
-Domain may be renewed at anytime during the term
-Domain may be auto-renewed by the Registry
-Domain may be transferred to another registrar
 
Each of these actions may result in a change in domain state. This is described in more detail in the following section. Every domain must eventually be renewed, auto-renewed, transferred, or deleted. A registrar may apply EPP statuses described above to prevent specific actions such as updates, renewals, transfers, or deletions.

27.2 Registration States

27.2.1 Domain Lifecycle Registration States

As described above the .store registry will implement a standard domain lifecycle found in most gTLD registries today. There are five possible domain states:

-Active 
-Inactive
-Locked
-Pending Transfer
-Pending Delete

All domains are always in either an Active or Inactive State, and throughout the course of the lifecycle may also be in a Locked, Pending Transfer, and Pending Delete State. Specific conditions such as applied EPP policies and registry business rules will determine whether a domain can be transitioned between states. Additionally, within each state, domains may be subject to various timed events such as grace periods, and notification periods. 

27.2.2 Active State

The Active State is the normal state of a domain and indicates that delegation data has been provided and the delegation information is published in the zone. A domain in an Active State may also be in the Locked or Pending Transfer States.

27.2.3 Inactive State

The Inactive State indicates that a domain has not been delegated or that the delegation data has not been published to the zone. A domain in an Inactive State may also be in the Locked or Pending Transfer States. By default all domain in the Pending Delete State are also in the Inactive State.

27.2.4 Locked State

The Locked State indicates that certain specified EPP transactions may not be performed to the domain. A domain is considered to be in a Locked State if at least one restriction has been placed on the domain; however up to eight restrictions may be applied simultaneously. Domains in the Locked State will also be in the Active or Inactive, and under certain conditions may also be in the Pending Transfer or Pending Delete states.

27.2.5 Pending Transfer State

The Pending Transfer State indicates a condition in which there has been a request to transfer the domain from one registrar to another. The domain is placed in the Pending Transfer State for a period of time to allow the current (losing) registrar to approve (ack) or reject (nack) the transfer request. Registrars may only nack requests for reasons specified in the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy.

27.2.6 Pending Delete State

The Pending Delete State occurs when a Delete command has been sent to the Registry after the first 5 days (120 hours) of registration. The Pending Delete Period is 35-days during which the first 30-days the name enters the Redemption Grace Period (RGP) and the last 5-days guarantee that the domain will be purged from the Registry Database and available to public pool for registration on a first come, first serve basis.

27.3 Typical Registration Lifecycle Activities

27.3.1 Domain Creation Process

The creation (registration) of domain names is the fundamental registry operation. All other operations are designed to support or compliment a domain creation. The following steps occur when a domain is created. 

1. Contact objects are created in the SRS database. The same contact object may be used for each contact type, or they may all be different. If the contacts already exist in the database this step may be skipped.

2. Nameservers are created in the SRS database. Nameservers are not required to complete the registration process; however any domain with less than 2 name servers will not be resolvable.

3. The domain is created using the each of the objects created in the previous steps. In addition, the term and any client statuses may be assigned at the time of creation.

The actual number of EPP transactions needed to complete the registration of a domain name can be as few as one and as many as 40. The latter assumes seven distinct contacts and 13 nameservers, with Check and Create commands submitted for each object. 

27.3.2 Update Process

Registry objects may be updated (modified) using the EPP Modify operation. The Update transaction updates the attributes of the object. 

For example, the Update operation on a domain name will only allow the following attributes to be updated:

-Domain statuses
-Registrant ID
-Administrative Contact ID
-Billing Contact ID
-Technical Contact ID
-Nameservers
-AuthInfo
-Additional Registrar provided fields

The Update operation will not modify the details of the contacts. Rather it may be used to associate a different contact object (using the Contact ID) to the domain name. To update the details of the contact object the Update transaction must be applied to the contact itself. For example, if an existing registrant wished to update the postal address, the Registrar would use the Update command to modify the contact object, and not the domain object. 

27.3.4 Renew Process 

The term of a domain may be extended using the EPP Renew operation. ICANN policy general establishes the maximum term of a domain name to be 10 years, and Neustar recommends not deviating from this policy. A domain may be renewed⁄extended at any point time, even immediately following the initial registration. The only stipulation is that the overall term of the domain name may not exceed 10 years. If a Renew operation is performed with a term value will extend the domain beyond the 10 year limit, the Registry will reject the transaction entirely.

27.3.5 Transfer Process

The EPP Transfer command is used for several domain transfer related operations: 

-Initiate a domain transfer
-Cancel a domain transfer
-Approve a domain transfer
-Reject a domain transfer

To transfer a domain from one Registrar to another the following process is followed:

1. The gaining (new) Registrar submits a Transfer command, which includes the AuthInfo code of the domain name.

2. If the AuthInfo code is valid and the domain is not in a status that does not allow transfers the domain is placed into PendingTransfer status

3. A poll message notifying the losing Registrar of the pending transfer is sent to the Registrarʹs message queue

4. The domain remains in pendingTransfer status for up to 120 hours, or until the losing (current) Registrar Acks (approves) or Nack (rejects) the transfer request

5. If the losing Registrar has not Acked or Nacked the transfer request within the 120 hour timeframe, the Registry auto-approves the transfer

6. The requesting Registrar may cancel the original request up until the transfer has been completed

A transfer adds an additional year to the term of the domain. In the event that a transfer will cause the domain to exceed the 10 year maximum term, the Registry will add a partial term up to the 10 year limit. Unlike with the Renew operation, the Registry will not reject a transfer operation.

27.3.6 Deletion Process

A domain may be deleted from the SRS using the EPP Delete operation. The Delete operation will result in either the domain being immediately removed from the database or the domain being placed in pendingDelete status. The outcome is dependent on when the domain is deleted. If the domain is deleted within the first five days (120 hours) of registration, the domain is immediately removed from the database. A deletion at any other time will result in the domain being placed in pendingDelete status and entering the Redemption Grace Period (RGP). Additionally, domains that are deleted within five days (120) hours of any billable (add, renew, transfer) transaction may be deleted for credit.

27.4 Applicable Time Elements

The following section explains the time elements that are involved. 

27.4.1 Grace Periods

There are six grace periods:

-Add-Delete Grace Period (AGP)
-Renew-Delete Grace Period
-Transfer-Delete Grace Period
-Auto-Renew-Delete Grace Period
-Auto-Renew Grace Period
-Redemption Grace Period (RGP)

The first four grace periods listed above are designed to provide the Registrar with the ability to cancel a revenue transaction (add, renew, or transfer) within a certain period of time and receive a credit for the original transaction.

The following describes each of these grace periods in detail.

27.4.2 Add-Delete Grace Period 

The AGP is associated with the date the Domain was registered. Domains may be deleted for credit during the initial 120 hours of a registration, and the Registrar will receive a billing credit for the original registration. If the domain is deleted during the Add Grace Period, the domain is dropped from the database immediately and a credit is applied to the Registrarʹs billing account. 

27.4.3 Renew-Delete Grace Period 

The Renew-Delete Grace Period is associated with the date the Domain was renewed. Domains may be deleted for credit during the 120 hours after a renewal. The grace period is intended to allow Registrars to correct domains that were mistakenly renewed. It should be noted that domains that are deleted during the renew grace period will be placed into pendingDelete and will enter the RGP (see below). 

27.4.4 Transfer-Delete Grace Period 

The Transfer-Delete Grace Period is associated with the date the Domain was transferred to another Registrar. Domains may be deleted for credit during the 120 hours after a transfer. It should be noted that domains that are deleted during the renew grace period will be placed into pendingDelete and will enter the RGP. A deletion of domain after a transfer is not the method used to correct a transfer mistake. Domains that have been erroneously transferred or hijacked by another party can be transferred back to the original registrar through various means including contacting the Registry.

27.4.5 Auto-Renew-Delete Grace Period 

The Auto-Renew-Delete Grace Period is associated with the date the Domain was auto-renewed. Domains may be deleted for credit during the 120 hours after an auto-renewal. The grace period is intended to allow Registrars to correct domains that were mistakenly auto-renewed. It should be noted that domains that are deleted during the auto-renew delete grace period will be placed into pendingDelete and will enter the RGP. 

27.4.6 Auto-Renew Grace Period 

The Auto-Renew Grace Period is a special grace period intended to provide registrants with an extra amount of time, beyond the expiration date, to renew their domain name. The grace period lasts for 45 days from the expiration date of the domain name. Registrars are not required to provide registrants with the full 45 days of the period.

27.4.7 Redemption Grace Period 

The RGP is a special grace period that enables Registrars to restore domains that have been inadvertently deleted but are still in pendingDelete status within the Redemption Grace Period. All domains enter the RGP except those deleted during the AGP. 

The RGP period is 30 days, during which time the domain may be restored using the EPP RenewDomain command as described below. Following the 30day RGP period the domain will remain in pendingDelete status for an additional five days, during which time the domain may NOT be restored. The domain is released from the SRS, at the end of the 5 day non-restore period. A restore fee applies and is detailed in the Billing Section. A renewal fee will be automatically applied for any domain past expiration.

Neustar has created a unique restoration process that uses the EPP Renew transaction to restore the domain and fulfill all the reporting obligations required under ICANN policy. The following describes the restoration process.

27.5 State Diagram

Figure 27-1 attached provides a description of the registration lifecycle. 

The different states of the lifecycle are active, inactive, locked, pending transfer, and pending delete.Please refer to section 27.2 for detailed descriptions of each of these states. The lines between the states represent triggers that transition a domain from one state to another. 

The details of each trigger are described below:

-Create:Registry receives a create domain EPP command.
-WithNS:The domain has met the minimum number of nameservers required by registry policy in order to be published in the DNS zone.
-WithOutNS:The domain has not met the minimum number of nameservers required by registry policy. The domain will not be in the DNS zone.
-Remove Nameservers: Domainʹs nameserver(s) is removed as part of an update domain EPP command. The total nameserver is below the minimum number of nameservers required by registry policy in order to be published in the DNS zone.
-Add Nameservers: Nameserver(s) has been added to domain as part of an update domain EPP command.The total number of nameservers has met the minimum number of nameservers required by registry policy in order to be published in the DNS zone.
-Delete: Registry receives a delete domain EPP command.
-DeleteAfterGrace: Domain deletion does not fall within the add grace period.
-DeleteWithinAddGrace: Domain deletion falls within add grace period.
-Restore: Domain is restored.Domain goes back to its original state prior to the delete command.
-Transfer: Transfer request EPP command is received.
-Transfer Approve⁄Cancel⁄Reject:Transfer requested is approved or cancel or rejected.
-TransferProhibited: The domain is in clientTransferProhibited and⁄or serverTranferProhibited status. This will cause the transfer request to fail.The domain goes back to its original state.
-DeleteProhibited: The domain is in clientDeleteProhibited and⁄or serverDeleteProhibited status. This will cause the delete command to fail. The domain goes back to its original state.

Note: the locked state is not represented as a distinct state on the diagram as a domain may be in a locked state in combination with any of the other states: inactive, active, pending transfer, or pending delete.

27.5.1 EPP RFC Consistency

As described above, the domain lifecycle is determined by ICANN policy and the EPP RFCs. Neustar has been operating ICANN TLDs for the past 10 years consistent and compliant with all the ICANN policies and related EPP RFCs. 

27.6 Resources

The registration lifecycle and associated business rules are largely determined by policy and business requirements; as such the Product Management and Policy teams will play a critical role in working Applicant to determine the precise rules that meet the requirements of the TLD. Implementation of the lifecycle rules will be the responsibility of Development⁄Engineering team, with testing performed by the Quality Assurance team.Neustarʹs SRS implementation is very flexible and configurable, and in many case development is not required to support business rule changes. 

The .store registry will be using standard lifecycle rules, and as such no customization is anticipated. However should modifications be required in the future, the necessary resources will be pulled from the pool of available resources described in detail in the response to Question 31. The following resources are available from those teams:

-Development⁄Engineering - 19 employees
-Registry Product Management - 4 employees

These resources are more than adequate to support the development needs of all the TLDs operated by Neustar, including the .store registry.

28.1 Abuse Prevention and Mitigation

Strong abuse prevention of a new gTLD is an important benefit to the internet community. .Store and its registry operator and back-end registry services provider, Neustar agree that a registry must not only aim for the highest standards of technical and operational competence, but also needs to act as a steward of the space on behalf of the Internet community and ICANN in promoting the public interest. Neustar brings extensive experience establishing and implementing registration policies. This experience will be leveraged to help .store combat abusive and malicious domain activity within the new gTLD space.

One of those public interest functions for a responsible domain name registry includes working towards the eradication of abusive domain name registrations, including but not limited to those resulting from:

-Illegal or fraudulent actions 
-Spam
-Phishing
-Pharming 
-Distribution of malware 
-Fast flux hosting 
-Botnets 
-Distribution of child pornography 
-Online sale or distribution of illegal pharmaceuticals

More specifically, although traditionally botnets have used Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers to control registry and the compromised PCs, or bots, for DDoS attacks and the theft of personal information, an increasingly popular technique, known as fast-flux DNS, allows botnets to use a multitude of servers to hide a key host or to create a highly-available control network. This ability to shift the attackerʹs infrastructure over a multitude of servers in various countries creates an obstacle for law enforcement and security researchers to mitigate the effects of these botnets. But a point of weakness in this scheme is its dependence on DNS for its translation services. By taking an active role in researching and monitoring these sorts of botnets, Dot Store Group LLCʹs partner, Neustar has developed the ability to efficiently work with various law enforcement and security communities to begin a new phase of mitigation of these types of threats.

28.1.1 Policies and Procedures to Minimize Abusive Registrations

A Registry must have the policies, resources, personnel, and expertise in place to combat such abusive DNS practices. As .storeʹs registry provider, Neustar is at the forefront of the prevention of such abusive practices and is one of the few registry operators to have actually developed and implemented an active domain takedown policy. We also believe that a strong program is essential given that registrants have a reasonable expectation that they are in control of the data associated with their domains, especially its presence in the DNS zone. Because domain names are sometimes used as a mechanism to enable various illegitimate activities on the Internet often the best preventative measure to thwart these attacks is to remove the names completely from the DNS before they can impart harm, not only to the domain name registrant, but also to millions of unsuspecting Internet users.

Removing the domain name from the zone has the effect of shutting down all activity associated with the domain name, including the use of all websites and e-mail. The use of this technique should not be entered into lightly. .store has an extensive, defined, and documented process for taking the necessary action of removing a domain from the zone when its presence in the zone poses a threat to the security and stability of the infrastructure of the Internet or the registry. 

28.1.2 Abuse Point of Contact 

As required by the Registry Agreement, .store will establish and publish on its website a single abuse point of contact responsible for addressing inquiries from law enforcement and the public related to malicious and abusive conduct. .Store will also provide such information to ICANN prior to the delegation of any domain names in the TLD. This information shall consist of, at a minimum, a valid e-mail address dedicated solely to the handling of malicious conduct complaints, and a telephone number and mailing address for the primary contact. We will ensure that this information will be kept accurate and up to date and will be provided to ICANN if and when changes are made. In addition, with respect to inquiries from ICANN-Accredited registrars, our registry services provider, Neustar shall have an additional point of contact, as it does today, handling requests by registrars related to abusive domain name practices. 

28.2 Policies Regarding Abuse Complaints

One of the key policies each new gTLD registry will need to have is an Acceptable Use Policy that clearly delineates the types of activities that constitute abuse and the repercussions associated with an abusive domain name registration. In addition, the policy will be incorporated into the applicable Registry-Registrar Agreement and reserve the right for the registry to take the appropriate actions based on the type of abuse. This will include locking down the domain name preventing any changes to the contact and nameserver information associated with the domain name, placing the domain name on hold rendering the domain name non-resolvable, transferring to the domain name to another registrar, and⁄or in cases in which the domain name is associated with an existing law enforcement investigation, substituting name servers to collect information about the DNS queries to assist the investigation. 

.Store will adopt an Acceptable Use Policy that clearly defines the types of activities that will not be permitted in the TLD and reserves the right of the Applicant to lock, cancel, transfer or otherwise suspend or take down domain names violating the Acceptable Use Policy and allow the Registry where and when appropriate to share information with law enforcement. Each ICANN-Accredited Registrar must agree to pass through the Acceptable Use Policy to its Resellers (if applicable) and ultimately to the TLD registrants. Below is the Registryʹs initial Acceptable Use Policy that we will use in connection with the .store.

28.2.1 .Store Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy gives the Registry the ability to quickly lock, cancel, transfer or take ownership of any .store domain name, either temporarily or permanently, if the domain name is being used in a manner that appears to threaten the stability, integrity or security of the Registry, or any of its registrar partners and⁄or that may put the safety and security of any registrant or user at risk. The process also allows the Registry to take preventive measures to avoid any such criminal or security threats.

The Acceptable Use Policy may be triggered through a variety of channels, including, among other things, private complaint, public alert, government or enforcement agency outreach, and the on-going monitoring by the Registry or its partners. In all cases, the Registry or its designees will alert Registryʹs registrar partners about any identified threats, and will work closely with them to bring offending sites into compliance.

The following are some (but not all) activities that may be subject to rapid domain compliance:

-Phishing: the attempt to acquire personally identifiable information by masquerading as a website other than .store own.
-Pharming: the redirection of Internet users to websites other than those the user intends to visit, usually through unauthorized changes to the Hosts file on a victimʹs computer or DNS records in DNS servers.
-Dissemination of Malware: the intentional creation and distribution of ʺmaliciousʺ software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the ownerʹs consent, including, without limitation, computer viruses, worms, key loggers, and Trojans.
-Fast Flux Hosting: a technique used to shelter Phishing, Pharming and Malware sites and networks from detection and to frustrate methods employed to defend against such practices, whereby the IP address associated with fraudulent websites are changed rapidly so as to make the true location of the sites difficult to find.
-Botnetting: the development and use of a command, agent, motor, service, or software which is implemented: (1) to remotely control the computer or computer system of an Internet user without their knowledge or consent, (2) to generate direct denial of service (DDOS) attacks.
-Malicious Hacking: the attempt to gain unauthorized access (or exceed the level of authorized access) to a computer, information system, user account or profile, database, or security system.
-Child Pornography: the storage, publication, display and⁄or dissemination of pornographic materials depicting individuals under the age of majority in the relevant jurisdiction.

The Registry reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take any administrative and operational actions necessary, including the use of computer forensics and information security technological services, among other things, in order to implement the Acceptable Use Policy. In addition, the Registry reserves the right to deny, cancel or transfer any registration or transaction, or place any domain name(s) on registry lock, hold or similar status, that it deems necessary, in its discretion; (1) to protect the integrity and stability of the registry; (2) to comply with any applicable laws, government rules or requirements, requests of law enforcement, or any dispute resolution process; (3) to avoid any liability, civil or criminal, on the part of Registry as well as its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees; (4) per the terms of the registration agreement or (5) to correct mistakes made by the Registry or any Registrar in connection with a domain name registration. Registry also reserves the right to place upon registry lock, hold or similar status a domain name during resolution of a dispute. 
 

28.2.2 Taking Action Against Abusive and⁄or Malicious Activity

The Registry is committed to ensuring that those domain names associated with abuse or malicious conduct in violation of the Acceptable Use Policy are dealt with in a timely and decisive manner. These include taking action against those domain names that are being used to threaten the stability and security of the TLD, or is part of a real-time investigation by law enforcement. 

Once a complaint is received from a trusted source, third-party, or detected by the Registry, the Registry will use commercially reasonable efforts to verify the information in the complaint. If that information can be verified to the best of the ability of the Registry, the sponsoring registrar will be notified and be given 12 hours to investigate the activity and either take down the domain name by placing the domain name on hold or by deleting the domain name in its entirety or providing a compelling argument to the Registry to keep the name in the zone. If the registrar has not taken the requested action after the 12-hour period (i.e., is unresponsive to the request or refuses to take action), the Registry will place the domain on ServerHold. Although this action removes the domain name from the TLD zone, the domain name record still appears in the TLD WHOIS database so that the name and entities can be investigated by law enforcement should they desire to get involved.

28.2.2.1 Coordination with Law Enforcement

With the assistance of Neustar as its back-end registry services provider, .store can meet its obligations under Section 2.8 of the Registry Agreement where required to take reasonable steps to investigate and respond to reports from law enforcement and governmental and quasi-governmental agencies of illegal conduct in connection with the use of its TLD. The Registry will respond to legitimate law enforcement inquiries within one business day from receiving the request. Such response shall include, at a minimum, an acknowledgement of receipt of the request, Questions or comments concerning the request, and an outline of the next steps to be taken by .store for rapid resolution of the request. 

In the event such request involves any of the activities which can be validated by the Registry and involves the type of activity set forth in the Acceptable Use Policy, the sponsoring registrar is then given 12 hours to investigate the activity further and either take down the domain name by placing the domain name on hold or by deleting the domain name in its entirety or providing a compelling argument to the registry to keep the name in the zone. If the registrar has not taken the requested action after the 12-hour period (i.e., is unresponsive to the request or refuses to take action), the Registry will place the domain on serverHold. 

28.2.3 Monitoring for Malicious Activity

.Storeʹs partner, Neustar, is at the forefront of the prevention of abusive DNS practices. Neustar is one of only a few registry operators to have actually developed and implemented an active domain takedown policy in which the registry itself takes down abusive domain names. 

Neustarʹs approach is quite different from a number of other gTLD Registries and the results have been unmatched. Neustar targets verified abusive domain names and removes them within 12 hours regardless of whether or not there is cooperation from the domain name registrar. This is because Neustar has determined that the interest in removing such threats from the consumer outweighs any potential damage to the registrar⁄registrant relationship. 

Neustarʹs active prevention policies stem from the notion that registrants in the TLD have a reasonable expectation that they are in control of the data associated with their domains, especially its presence in the DNS zone. Because domain names are sometimes used as a mechanism to enable various illegitimate activities on the Internet, including malware, bot command and control, pharming, and phishing, the best preventative measure to thwart these attacks is often to remove the names completely from the DNS before they can impart harm, not only to the domain name registrant, but also to millions of unsuspecting Internet users.

28.2.3.1 Rapid Takedown Process

Since implementing the program, Neustar has developed two basic variations of the process. The more common process variation is a light-weight process that is triggered by typical notices. The less-common variation is the full process that is triggered by unusual notices. These notices tend to involve the need for accelerated action by the registry in the event that a complaint is received by Neustar which alleges that a domain name is being used to threaten the stability and security of the TLD, or is part of a real-time investigation by law enforcement or security researchers. These processes are described below:

28.2.3.2 Lightweight Process 

In addition to having an active Information Security group that, on its own initiatives, seeks out abusive practices in the TLD, Neustar is an active member in a number of security organizations that have the expertise and experience in receiving and investigating reports of abusive DNS practices, including but not limited to, the Anti-Phishing Working Group, Castle Cops, NSP-SEC, the Registration Infrastructure Safety Group and others. Each of these sources are well-known security organizations that have developed a reputation for the prevention of harmful agents affecting the Internet. Aside from these organizations, Neustar also actively participates in privately run security associations whose basis of trust and anonymity makes it much easier to obtain information regarding abusive DNS activity.

Once a complaint is received from a trusted source, third-party, or detected by Neustarʹs internal security group, information about the abusive practice is forwarded to an internal mail distribution list that includes members of the operations, legal, support, engineering, and security teams for immediate response (CERT Team). Although the impacted URL is included in the notification e-mail, the CERT Team is trained not to investigate the URLs themselves since often times the URLs in Question have scripts, bugs, etc. that can compromise the individualʹs own computer and the network safety. Rather, the investigation is done by a few members of the CERT team that are able to access the URLs in a laboratory environment so as to not compromise the Neustar network. The lab environment is designed specifically for these types of tests and is scrubbed on a regular basis to ensure that none of Neustarʹs internal or external network elements are harmed in any fashion.

Once the complaint has been reviewed and the alleged abusive domain name activity is verified to the best of the ability of the CERT Team, the sponsoring registrar is given 12 hours to investigate the activity and either take down the domain name by placing the domain name on hold or by deleting the domain name in its entirety or providing a compelling argument to the registry to keep the name in the zone. 

If the registrar has not taken the requested action after the 12-h Neustarʹs period (i.e., is unresponsive to the request or refuses to take action), Neustar places the domain on ServerHold. Although this action removes the domain name from the TLD zone, the domain name record still appears in the TLD WHOIS database so that the name and entities can be investigated by law enforcement should they desire to get involved.

28.2.3.3 Full Process

In the event that Neustar receives a complaint which claims that a domain name is being used to threaten the stability and security of the TLD or is a part of a real-time investigation by law enforcement or security researchers, Neustar follows a slightly different course of action.

Upon initiation of this process, members of the CERT Team are paged and a teleconference bridge is immediately opened up for the CERT Team to assess whether the activity warrants immediate action. If the CERT Team determines the incident is not an immediate threat to the security and the stability of critical internet infrastructure, they provide documentation to the Neustar Network Operations Center to clearly capture the rationale for the decision and either refers the incident to the Lightweight process set forth above. If no abusive practice is discovered, the incident is closed. 

However, if the CERT TEAM determines there is a reasonable likelihood that the incident warrants immediate action as described above, a determination is made to immediately remove the domain from the zone. As such, Customer Support contacts the responsible registrar immediately to communicate that there is a domain involved in a security and stability issue. The registrar is provided only the domain name in Question and the broadly stated type of incident. Given the sensitivity of the associated security concerns, it may be important that the registrar not be given explicit or descriptive information in regards to data that has been collected (evidence) or the source of the complaint. The need for security is to fully protect the chain of custody for evidence and the source of the data that originated the complaint. 

28.2.3.3.1 Coordination with Law Enforcement & Industry Groups

One of the reasons for which Neustar was selected to serve as the back-end registry services provider by .store is Neustarʹs extensive experience with its industry-leading abusive domain name and malicious monitoring program and its close working relationship with a number of law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and internationally. For example, in the United States, Neustar is in constant communication with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US CERT, Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Neustar is also a participant in a number of industry groups aimed at sharing information amongst key industry players about the abusive registration and use of domain names. These groups include the Anti-Phishing Working Group and the Registration Infrastructure Safety Group (where Neustar served for several years as on the Board of Directors). Through these organizations and others, Neustar shares information with other registries, registrars, ccTLDs, law enforcement, security professionals, etc. not only on abusive domain name registrations within its own TLDs, but also provides information uncovered with respect to domain names in other registriesʹ TLDs. Neustar has often found that rarely are abuses found only in the TLDs for which it manages, but also within other TLDs, such as .com and .info. Neustar routinely provides this information to the other registries so that it can take the appropriate action.

With the assistance of Neustar as its back-end registry services provider, .store can meet its obligations under Section 2.8 of the Registry Agreement where required to take reasonable steps to investigate and respond to reports from law enforcement and governmental and quasi-governmental agencies of illegal conduct in connection with the use of its TLD. .Store and⁄or Neustar will respond to legitimate law enforcement inquiries within one business day from receiving the request. Such response shall include, at a minimum, an acknowledgement of receipt of the request, Questions or comments concerning the request, and an outline of the next steps to be taken by .store and⁄or Neustar for rapid resolution of the request. 

In the event such request involves any of the activities which can be validated by.store and⁄or Neustar and involves the type of activity set forth in the Acceptable Use Policy, the sponsoring registrar is then given 12 hours to investigate the activity further and either take down the domain name by placing the domain name on hold or by deleting the domain name in its entirety or providing a compelling argument to the registry to keep the name in the zone. If the registrar has not taken the requested action after the 12-hour period (i.e., is unresponsive to the request or refuses to take action), Neustar places the domain on serverHold. 

28.3 Measures for Removal of Orphan Glue Records

As the Security and Stability Advisory Committee of ICANN (SSAC) rightly acknowledges, although orphaned glue records may be used for abusive or malicious purposes, the dominant use of orphaned glue supports the correct and ordinary operation of the DNS. See http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄en⁄committees⁄security⁄sac048.pdf. 

While orphan glue often support correct and ordinary operation of the DNS, we understand that such glue records can be used maliciously to point to name servers that host domains used in illegal phishing, bot-nets, malware, and other abusive behaviors. Problems occur when the parent domain of the glue record is deleted but its children glue records still remain in DNS. Therefore, when the Registry has written evidence of actual abuse of orphaned glue, the Registry will take action to remove those records from the zone to mitigate such malicious conduct. 

Neustar run a daily audit of entries in its DNS systems and compares those with its provisioning system. This serves as an umbrella protection to make sure that items in the DNS zone are valid. Any DNS record that shows up in the DNS zone but not in the provisioning system will be flagged for investigation and removed if necessary. This daily DNS audit serves to not only prevent orphaned hosts but also other records that should not be in the zone. 

In addition, if either .store or Neustar become aware of actual abuse on orphaned glue after receiving written notification by a third party through its Abuse Contact or through its customer support, such glue records will be removed from the zone. 

28.4 Measures to Promote WHOIS Accuracy 

.Store acknowledges that ICANN has developed a number of mechanisms over the past decade that are intended to address the issue of inaccurate WHOIS information. Such measures alone have not proven to be sufficient and .store will offer a mechanism whereby third parties can submit complaints directly to the Applicant (as opposed to ICANN or the sponsoring Registrar) about inaccurate or incomplete WHOIS data. Such information shall be forwarded to the sponsoring Registrar, who shall be required to address those complaints with their registrants. Thirty days after forwarding the complaint to the registrar, .store will examine the current WHOIS data for names that were alleged to be inaccurate to determine if the information was corrected, the domain name was deleted, or there was some other disposition. If the Registrar has failed to take any action, or it is clear that the Registrant was either unwilling or unable to correct the inaccuracies, Applicant reserves the right to suspend the applicable domain name(s) until such time as the Registrant is able to cure the deficiencies.

In addition, .store shall on its own initiative, no less than twice per year, perform a manual review of a random sampling of [.TLD] domain names to test the accuracy of the WHOIS information. Although this will not include verifying the actual information in the WHOIS record, .store will be examining the WHOIS data for prima facie evidence of inaccuracies. In the event that such evidence exists, it shall be forwarded to the sponsoring Registrar, who shall be required to address those complaints with their registrants. Thirty days after forwarding the complaint to the registrar, the Applicant will examine the current WHOIS data for names that were alleged to be inaccurate to determine if the information was corrected, the domain name was deleted, or there was some other disposition. If the Registrar has failed to take any action, or it is clear that the Registrant was either unwilling or unable to correct the inaccuracies, .store reserves the right to suspend the applicable domain name(s) until such time as the Registrant is able to cure the deficiencies.


28.5 Resourcing Plans 

Responsibility for abuse mitigation rests with a variety of functional groups. The Abuse Monitoring team is primarily responsible for providing analysis and conducting investigations of reports of abuse. The customer service team also plays an important role in assisting with the investigations, responded to customers, and notifying registrars of abusive domains. Finally, the Policy⁄Legal team is responsible for developing the relevant policies and procedures. 

The necessary resources will be pulled from the pool of available resources described in detail in the response to Question 31.The following resources are available from those teams:

-Customer Support - 12 employees
-Policy⁄Legal - 2 employees

The resources are more than adequate to support the abuse mitigation procedures of the .store registry. 

29.1 Rights Protection Mechanisms

Dot Store Group LLC is firmly committed to the protection of Intellectual Property rights and to implementing the mandatory rights protection mechanisms contained in the Applicant Guidebook and detailed in Specification 7 of the Registry Agreement. .Store recognizes that although the New gTLD program includes significant protections beyond those that were mandatory for a number of the current TLDs, a key motivator for .storeʹs selection of Neustar as its registry services provider is Neustarʹs experience in successfully launching a number of TLDs with diverse rights protection mechanisms, including many the ones required in the Applicant Guidebook. More specifically, .store will implement the following rights protection mechanisms in accordance with the Applicant Guidebook as further described below:

-Trademark Clearinghouse: a one-stop shop so that trademark holders can protect their trademarks with a single registration.
-Sunrise and Trademark Claims processes for the TLD.-Implementation of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy to address domain names that have been registered and used in bad faith in the TLD.
-Uniform Rapid Suspension: A quicker, more efficient and cheaper alternative to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy to deal with clear cut cases of cybersquatting.
-Implementation of a Thick WHOIS making it easier for rights holders to identify and locate infringing parties.

29.1.1 Trademark Clearinghouse Including Sunrise and Trademark Claims

The first mandatory rights protection mechanism (RPM) required to be implemented by each new gTLD Registry is support for, and interaction with, the trademark clearinghouse. The trademark clearinghouse is intended to serve as a central repository for information to be authenticated, stored and disseminated pertaining to the rights of trademark holders. The data maintained in the clearinghouse will support and facilitate other RPMs, including the mandatory Sunrise Period and Trademark Claims service. Although many of the details of how the trademark clearinghouse will interact with each registry operator and registrars, .store is actively monitoring the developments of the Implementation Assistance Group (IAG) designed to assist ICANN staff in firming up the rules and procedures associated with the policies and technical requirements for the trademark clearinghouse. In addition, .storeʹs back-end registry services provider is actively participating in the IAG to ensure that the protections afforded by the clearinghouse and associated RPMs are feasible and implementable.

Utilizing the trademark clearinghouse, all operators of new gTLDs must offer: (i) a sunrise registration service for at least 30 days during the pre-launch phase giving eligible trademark owners an early opportunity to register second-level domains in new gTLDs; and (ii) a trademark claims service for at least the first 60 days that second-level registrations are open. The trademark claim service is intended to provide clear noticeʺ to a potential registrant of the rights of a trademark owner whose trademark is registered in the clearinghouse.

.Storeʹs registry service provider, Neustar, has already implemented Sunrise and⁄or Trademark Claims programs for numerous TLDs including .biz, .us, .travel, .tel and .co and will implement the both of these services on behalf of .store. 

29.1.1.1 Neustarʹs Experience in Implementing Sunrise and Trademark Claims Processes

In early 2002, Neustar became the first registry operator to launch a successful authenticated Sunrise process. This process permitted qualified trademark owners to pre-register their trademarks as domain names in the .us TLD space prior to the opening of the space to the general public. Unlike any other Sunrise plans implemented (or proposed before that time), Neustar validated the authenticity of Trademark applications and registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 

Subsequently, as the back-end registry operator for the .tel gTLD and the .co ccTLD, Neustar launched validated Sunrise programs employing processes. These programs are very similar to those that are to be employed by the Trademark Clearinghouse for new gTLDs. 

Below is a high level overview of the implementation of the .co Sunrise period that demonstrates Neustarʹs experience and ability to provide a Sunrise service and an overview of Neustarʹs experience in implementing a Trademark Claims program to trademark owners for the launch of .BIZ. Neustarʹs experience in each of these rights protection mechanisms will enable it to seamlessly provide these services on behalf of .store as required by ICANN. 

a) Sunrise and .co

The Sunrise process for .co was divided into two sub-phases: 

-Local Sunrise giving holders of eligible trademarks that have obtained registered status from the Colombian trademark office the opportunity apply for the .CO domain names corresponding with their marks 
-Global Sunrise program giving holders of eligible registered trademarks of national effect, that have obtained a registered status in any country of the world the opportunity apply for the .CO domain names corresponding with their marks for a period of time before registration is open to the public at large

Like the new gTLD process set forth in the Applicant Guidebook, trademark owners had to have their rights validated by a Clearinghouse provider prior to the registration being accepted by the Registry. The Clearinghouse used a defined process for checking the eligibility of the legal rights claimed as the basis of each Sunrise application using official national trademark databases and submitted documentary evidence. 

Applicants and⁄or their designated agents had the option of interacting directly with the Clearinghouse to ensure their applications were accurate and complete prior to submitting them to the Registry pursuant to an optional Pre-validation Process. Whether or not an applicant was pre-validated, the applicant had to submit its corresponding domain name application through an accredited registrar. When the Applicant was pre-validated through the Clearinghouse, each was given an associated approval number that it had to supply the registry. If they were not pre-validated, applicants were required to submit the required trademark information through their registrar to the Registry.

As the registry level, Neustar, subsequently either delivered the: 

-Approval number and domain name registration information to the Clearinghouse
-When there was no approval number, trademark information and the domain name registration information was provided to the Clearinghouse through EPP (as is currently required under the Applicant Guidebook)

Information was then used by the Clearinghouse as either further validation of those pre-validated applications, or initial validation of those that did not go through pre-validation. If the applicant was validated and their trademark matched the domain name applied-for, the Clearinghouse communicated that fact to the Registry via EPP.
 
When there was only one validated sunrise application, the application proceeded to registration when the .co launched. If there were multiple validated applications (recognizing that there could be multiple trademark owners sharing the same trademark), those were included in the .co Sunrise auction process. Neustar tracked all of the information it received and the status of each application and posted that status on a secure Website to enable trademark owners to view the status of its Sunrise application. 

Although the exact process for the Sunrise program and its interaction between the trademark owner, Registry, Registrar, and IP Clearinghouse is not completely defined in the Applicant Guidebook and is dependent on the current RFI issued by ICANN in its selection of a Trademark Clearinghouse provider, Neustarʹs expertise in launching multiple Sunrise processes and its established software will implement a smooth and compliant Sunrise process for the new gTLDs.

b) Trademark Claims Service Experience

With Neustarʹs biz TLD launched in 2001, Neustar became the first TLD with a Trademark Claims service. Neustar developed the Trademark Claim Service by enabling companies to stake claims to domain names prior to the commencement of live .biz domain registrations. 

During the Trademark Claim process, Neustar received over 80,000 Trademark Claims from entities around the world. Recognizing that multiple intellectual property owners could have trademark rights in a particular mark, multiple Trademark Claims for the same string were accepted. All applications were logged into a Trademark Claims database managed by Neustar. 
The Trademark Claimant was required to provide various information about their trademark rights, including the:

-Particular trademark or service mark relied on for the trademark Claim
-Date a trademark application on the mark was filed, if any, on the string of the domain name
-Country where the mark was filed, if applicable
-Registration date, if applicable
-Class or classes of goods and services for which the trademark or service mark was registered
-Name of a contact person with whom to discuss the claimed trademark rights 

Once all Trademark Claims and domain name applications were collected, Neustar then compared the claims contained within the Trademark Claims database with its database of collected domain name applications (DNAs). In the event of a match between a Trademark Claim and a domain name application, an e-mail message was sent to the domain name applicant notifying the applicant of the existing Trademark Claim. The e-mail also stressed that if the applicant chose to continue the application process and was ultimately selected as the registrant, the applicant would be subject to Neustarʹs dispute proceedings if challenged by the Trademark Claimant for that particular domain name. 

The domain name applicant had the option to proceed with the application or cancel the application. Proceeding on an application meant that the applicant wanted to go forward and have the application proceed to registration despite having been notified of an existing Trademark Claim. By choosing to cancel, the applicant made a decision in light of an existing Trademark Claim notification to not proceed. 

If the applicant did not respond to the e-mail notification from Neustar, or elected to cancel the application, the application was not processed. This resulted in making the applicant ineligible to register the actual domain name. If the applicant affirmatively elected to continue the application process after being notified of the claimantʹs (or claimantsʹ) alleged trademark rights to the desired domain name, Neustar processed the application. 

This process is very similar to the one ultimately adopted by ICANN and incorporated in the latest version of the Applicant Guidebook. Although the collection of Trademark Claims for new gTLDs will be by the Trademark Clearinghouse, many of the aspects of Neustarʹs Trademark Claims process in 2001 are similar to those in the Applicant Guidebook. This makes Neustar uniquely qualified to implement the new gTLD Trademark Claims process.

29.1.2 Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS)

29.1.2.1 UDRP

Prior to joining Neustar, Mr. Neuman was a key contributor to the development of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in 1998. This became the first Consensus Policy of ICANN and has been required to be implemented by all domain name registries since that time. The UDRP is intended as an alternative dispute resolution process to transfer domain names from those that have registered and used domain names in bad faith. Although there is not much of an active role that the domain name registry plays in the implementation of the UDRP, Neustar has closely monitored UDRP decisions that have involved the TLDs for which it supports and ensures that the decisions are implemented by the registrars supporting its TLDs. When alerted by trademark owners of failures to implement UDRP decisions by its registrars, Neustar either proactively implements the decisions itself or reminds the offending registrar of its obligations to implement the decision. 

29.1.2.2 URS

In response to complaints by trademark owners that the UDRP was too cost prohibitive and slow, and the fact that more than 70 percent of UDRP cases were clear cut cases of cybersquatting, ICANN adopted the IRTʹs recommendation that all new gTLD registries be required, pursuant to their contracts with ICANN, to take part in a Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS). The purpose of the URS is to provide a more cost effective and timely mechanism for brand owners than the UDRP to protect their trademarks and to promote consumer protection on the Internet. 

The URS is not meant to address Questionable cases of alleged infringement (e.g., use of terms in a generic sense) or for anti-competitive purposes or denial of free speech, but rather for those cases in which there is no genuine contestable issue as to the infringement and abuse that is taking place. 

Unlike the UDRP which requires little involvement of gTLD registries, the URS envisages much more of an active role at the registry-level. For example, rather than requiring the registrar to lock down a domain name subject to a UDRP dispute, it is the registry under the URS that must lock the domain within 24 hours of receipt of the complaint from the URS Provider to restrict all changes to the registration data, including transfer and deletion of the domain names. 

In addition, in the event of a determination in favor of the complainant, the registry is required to suspend the domain name. This suspension remains for the balance of the registration period and would not resolve the original website. Rather, the nameservers would be redirected to an informational web page provided by the URS Provider about the URS. 

Additionally, the WHOIS reflects that the domain name will not be able to be transferred, deleted, or modified for the life of the registration. Finally, there is an option for a successful complainant to extend the registration period for one additional year at commercial rates. 

.Store is fully aware of each of these requirements and will have the capability to implement these requirements for new gTLDs. In fact, during the IRTʹs development of f the URS, Neustar began examining the implications of the URS on its registry operations and provided the IRT with feedback on whether the recommendations from the IRT would be feasible for registries to implement. 

Although there have been a few changes to the URS since the IRT recommendations, Neustar continued to participate in the development of the URS by providing comments to ICANN, many of which were adopted. As a result, Neustar is committed to supporting the URS for all of the registries that it provides back-end registry services.

29.1.3 Implementation of Thick WHOIS

The .store registry will include a thick WHOIS database as required in Specification 4 of the Registry agreement. A thick WHOIS provides numerous advantages including a centralized location of registrant information, the ability to more easily manage and control the accuracy of data, and a consistent user experience. 

29.1.4 Policies Handling Complaints Regarding Abuse

In addition the Rights Protection mechanisms addressed above, Dot Store Group LLC will implement a number of measures to handle complaints regarding the abusive registration of domain names in its TLD as described in .storeʹs response to Question 28.

29.1.4.1 Registry Acceptable Use Policy

One of the key policies each new gTLD registry is the need to have is an Acceptable Use Policy that clearly delineates the types of activities that constitute abuse and the repercussions associated with an abusive domain name registration. The policy must be incorporated into the applicable Registry-Registrar Agreement and reserve the right for the registry to take the appropriate actions based on the type of abuse. This may include locking down the domain name preventing any changes to the contact and nameserver information associated with the domain name, placing the domain name on hold rendering the domain name non-resolvable, transferring to the domain name to another registrar, and⁄or in cases in which the domain name is associated with an existing law enforcement investigation, substituting name servers to collect information about the DNS queries to assist the investigation. .Storeʹs Acceptable Use Policy, set forth in our response to Question 28, will include prohibitions on phishing, pharming, dissemination of malware, fast flux hosting, hacking, and child pornography. In addition, the policy will include the right of the registry to take action necessary to deny, cancel, suspend, lock, or transfer any registration in violation of the policy.

29.1.4.2 Monitoring for Malicious Activity 

.Store is committed to ensuring that those domain names associated with abuse or malicious conduct in violation of the Acceptable Use Policy are dealt with in a timely and decisive manner. These include taking action against those domain names that are being used to threaten the stability and security of the TLD, or is part of a real-time investigation by law enforcement. 

Once a complaint is received from a trusted source, third-party, or detected by the Registry, the Registry will use commercially reasonable efforts to verify the information in the complaint. If that information can be verified to the best of the ability of the Registry, the sponsoring registrar will be notified and be given 12 hours to investigate the activity and either take down the domain name by placing the domain name on hold or by deleting the domain name in its entirety or providing a compelling argument to the Registry to keep the name in the zone. If the registrar has not taken the requested action after the 12-hour period (i.e., is unresponsive to the request or refuses to take action), the Registry will place the domain on ServerHold. Although this action removes the domain name from the TLD zone, the domain name record still appears in the TLD WHOIS database so that the name and entities can be investigated by law enforcement should they desire to get involved.

29.2 Safeguards against Unqualified Registrations

.Store intends to take steps to verify information supplied by registrants to ensure that a registrant is qualified to register a domain. Dot Store Group LLC is investigating ways to handle this process.

29.3 Resourcing Plans

The rights protection mechanisms described in the response above involve a wide range of tasks, procedures, and systems. The responsibility for each mechanism varies based on the specific requirements. In general the development of applications such as sunrise and IP claims is the responsibility of the Engineering team, with guidance from the Product Management team. Customer Support and Legal play a critical role in enforcing certain policies such as the rapid suspension process. These teams have years of experience implementing these or similar processes. 

The necessary resources will be pulled from the pool of available resources described in detail in the response to Question 31. The following resources are available from those teams:

-Development⁄Engineering - 19 employees
-Product Management - 4 employees
-Customer Support - 12 employees

The resources are more than adequate to support the rights protection mechanisms of the .store registry. 

30(a). 1 Security Policies

Dot Store Group LLC and our back-end operator, Neustar recognize the vital need to secure the systems and the integrity of the data in commercial solutions. The .store registry solution will leverage industry-best security practices including the consideration of physical, network, server, and application elements. 
Neustarʹs approach to information security starts with comprehensive information security policies. These are based on the industry best practices for security including SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Institute, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), and CIS (Center for Internet Security). Policies are reviewed annually by Neustarʹs information security team.

The following is a summary of the security policies that will be used in the .store registry, including:

1. Summary of the security policies used in the registry operations
2. Description of independent security assessments
3. Description of security features that are appropriate for .store
4. List of commitments made to registrants regarding security levels

All of the security policies and levels described in this section are appropriate for the .store registry.

30(a). 2 Summary of Security Policies 

Neustar has developed a comprehensive Information Security Program in order to create effective administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for the protection of its information assets, and to comply with Neustarʹs obligations under applicable law, regulations, and contracts. This Program establishes Neustarʹs policies for accessing, collecting, storing, using, transmitting, and protecting electronic, paper, and other records containing sensitive information.

-The policies for internal users and our clients to ensure the safe, organized and fair use of information resources.
-The rights that can be expected with that use. 
-The standards that must be met to effectively comply with policy.
-The responsibilities of the owners, maintainers, and users of Neustarʹs information resources.
-Rules and principles used at Neustar to approach information security issues.

The following policies are included in the Program:

1. Acceptable Use Policy

The Acceptable Use Policy provides the rules of behavior covering all Neustar Associates for using Neustar resources or accessing sensitive information.

2. Information Risk Management Policy

The Information Risk Management Policy describes the requirements for the on-going information security risk management program, including defining roles and responsibilities for conducting and evaluating risk assessments, assessments of technologies used to provide information security and monitoring procedures used to measure policy compliance.

3. Data Protection Policy 

The Data Protection Policy provides the requirements for creating, storing, transmitting, disclosing, and disposing of sensitive information, including data classification and labeling requirements, the requirements for data retention. Encryption and related technologies such as digital certificates are also covered under this policy.

4. Third Party Policy

The Third Party Policy provides the requirements for handling service provider contracts, including specifically the vetting process, required contract reviews, and on-going monitoring of service providers for policy compliance.

5. Security Awareness and Training Policy

The Security Awareness and Training Policy provide the requirements for managing the on-going awareness and training program at Neustar. This includes awareness and training activities provided to all Neustar Associates. 

6. Incident Response Policy

The Incident Response Policy provides the requirements for reacting to reports of potential security policy violations. This policy defines the necessary steps for identifying and reporting security incidents, remediation of problems, and conducting lessons learned post-mortem reviews in order to provide feedback on the effectiveness of this Program. Additionally, this policy contains the requirement for reporting data security breaches to the appropriate authorities and to the public, as required by law, contractual requirements, or regulatory bodies.

7. Physical and Environmental Controls Policy

The Physical and Environment Controls Policy provides the requirements for securely storing sensitive information and the supporting information technology equipment and infrastructure. This policy includes details on the storage of paper records as well as access to computer systems and equipment locations by authorized personnel and visitors.

8. Privacy Policy

Neustar supports the right to privacy, including the rights of individuals to control the dissemination and use of personal data that describes them, their personal choices, or life experiences. Neustar supports domestic and international laws and regulations that seek to protect the privacy rights of such individuals.

9. Identity and Access Management Policy

The Identity and Access Management Policy covers user accounts (login ID naming convention, assignment, authoritative source) as well as ID lifecycle (request, approval, creation, use, suspension, deletion, review), including provisions for system⁄application accounts, shared⁄group accounts, guest⁄public accounts, temporary⁄emergency accounts, administrative access, and remote access. This policy also includes the user password policy requirements. 

10. Network Security Policy

The Network Security Policy covers aspects of Neustar network infrastructure and the technical controls in place to prevent and detect security policy violations. 

11. Platform Security Policy

The Platform Security Policy covers the requirements for configuration management of servers, shared systems, applications, databases, middle-ware, and desktops and laptops owned or operated by Neustar Associates.

12. Mobile Device Security Policy

The Mobile Device Policy covers the requirements specific to mobile devices with information storage or processing capabilities. This policy includes laptop standards, as well as requirements for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras and music players, and any other removable device capable of transmitting, processing or storing information.

13. Vulnerability and Threat Management Policy

The Vulnerability and Threat Management Policy provides the requirements for patch management, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, threat management (modeling and monitoring) and the appropriate ties to the Risk Management Policy.

14. Monitoring and Audit Policy

The Monitoring and Audit Policy covers the details regarding which types of computer events to record, how to maintain the logs, and the roles and responsibilities for how to review, monitor, and respond to log information. This policy also includes the requirements for backup, archival, reporting, forensics use, and retention of audit logs.

15. Project and System Development and Maintenance Policy

The System Development and Maintenance Policy covers the minimum security requirements for all software, application, and system development performed by or on behalf of Neustar and the minimum security requirements for maintaining information systems.

30(a). 3 Independent Assessment Reports

Neustar IT Operations is subject to yearly Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Statement on Auditing Standards #70 (SAS70) and ISO audits. Testing of controls implemented by Neustar management in the areas of access to programs and data, change management and IT Operations are subject to testing by both internal and external SOX and SAS70 audit groups. Audit Findings are communicated to process owners, Quality Management Group and Executive Management. Actions are taken to make process adjustments where required and remediation of issues is monitored by internal audit and QM groups.

External Penetration Test is conducted by a third party on a yearly basis. As authorized by Neustar, the third party performs an external Penetration Test to review potential security weaknesses of network devices and hosts and demonstrate the impact to the environment. The assessment is conducted remotely from the Internet with testing divided into four phases:

-A network survey is performed in order to gain a better knowledge of the network that was being tested
-Vulnerability scanning is initiated with all the hosts that are discovered in the previous phase
-Identification of key systems for further exploitation is conducted
-Exploitation of the identified systems is attempted

Each phase of the audit is supported by detailed documentation of audit procedures and results. Identified vulnerabilities are classified as high, medium and low risk to facilitate managementʹs prioritization of remediation efforts. Tactical and strategic recommendations are provided to management supported by reference to industry best practices.

30(a). 4 Augmented Security Levels and Capabilities

There are no increased security levels specific for .store. However, Neustar will provide the same high level of security provided across all of the registries it manages. 
A key to Neustarʹs Operational success is Neustarʹs highly structured operations practices. The standards and governance of these processes:
 
-Include annual independent review of information security practices 
-Include annual external penetration tests by a third party 
-Conform to the ISO 9001 standard (Part of Neustarʹs ISO-based Quality Management System)
-Are aligned to Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and CoBIT best practices 
-Are aligned with all aspects of ISO IEC 17799
-Are in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements (audited annually)
-Are focused on continuous process improvement (metrics driven with product scorecards reviewed monthly)

A summary view to Neustarʹs security policy in alignment with ISO 17799 can be found in section 30.(a).5 below.

30(a). 5 Commitments and Security Levels 

The .store registry commits to high security levels that are consistent with the needs of the TLD. These commitments include:

Compliance with High Security Standards

-Security procedures and practices that are in alignment with ISO 17799
-Annual SOC 2 Audits on all critical registry systems
-Annual 3rd Party Penetration Tests 
-Annual Sarbanes Oxley Audits

Highly Developed and Document Security Policies

-Compliance with all provisions described in section 30.(b) and in the attached security policy document.
-Resources necessary for providing information security
-Fully documented security policies
-Annual security training for all operations personnel

High Levels of Registry Security

-Multiple redundant data centers
-High Availability Design
-Architecture that includes multiple layers of security
-Diversified firewall and networking hardware vendors
-Multi-factor authentication for accessing registry systems
-Physical security access controls
-A 24x7 manned Network Operations Center that monitors all systems and applications
-A 24x7 manned Security Operations Center that monitors and mitigates DDoS attacks
-DDoS mitigation using traffic scrubbing technologies