Abuse Reporting Discussion List

The Secure Domain Foundation and Internet Infrastructure Coalition facilitate an online dialogue about domain name abuse reporting criteria.

Domain name abuse reporting is a critical part of fighting cybercrime and preserving the integrity of the Domain Name System.  However, the lack of uniform domain name abuse criteria is a frequently cited concern for Internet infrastructure providers seeking to adequately respond to abuse complaints.

There is an obvious need for appropriate service providers to receive relevant, actionable information to respond to abuse.  However, there is a potential DNS literacy gap amongst those lodging complaints.  Some complaints lack sufficient information for service providers to respond.  Whereas, for example, others might be valid content-related, intellectual property complaints that should first be addressed with a website owner or hosting company before involving a registrar.  Consequently, this means that there is an opportunity to improve means through which service providers, victims, attorneys, law enforcement, and others partake in the domain name abuse process, petition the parties best equipped to act on complaints, and prevent domain name abuse.

The goal of this listserv is to reach consensus about domain name abuse definitions and reporting requirements. First, we seek to achieve consensus on domain name abuse definitions by category. Next, we will determine the minimal evidence required for each form of reported abuse. Moreover, we will exchange ideas on appropriate remedies for various types of domain name abuse.  We ask that anybody who joins us in participating in this loosely moderated conversation stays on-topic regarding the listserv goals. Moderators from the Secure Domain Foundation and Internet Infrastructure Coalition reserve the right to remove any list participant who does not do so.

Ultimately, we are striving to create a model for anti-abuse to ensure that complainants submit sufficient relevant information when making allegations so that providers can appropriately route, investigate, and resolve with minimal back-and-forth communication.  We invite the abuse reporting community, including LEA, the IP and anti-abuse communities, to join with Internet infrastructure providers to accomplish the common goal of improving abuse reporting.

If you are interested in joining the discussion list, please contact i2Coalition Programs Manager, David Warner, using the form below.