Re: [ga] OECD vs ICANN, re: WHOIS accuracy

[Karl Auerbach <karl@cavebear.com>]

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On Sun, 7 Jul 2002, George Kirikos wrote:

> > The interests of a few trademark owners is hardly a reason to use a
> > system
> > - DNS whois - that is highly susceptable to false or erroneous data
> > and,
> > when accurate, is a major violation of privacy.
> 
> It's not only the IP community who is in favour of an accurate WHOIS.
> Law enforcement would like it to be accurate.

Yes, and many in law enforcement would like us to wear ID badges and have 
day and night unfettered access to our homes and personel effects.  Wants 
aren't sufficient justification.

But you miss the point - DNS names are so easy to forge that even were 
whois precisely accurate, one could be tricked into doing a lookup using 
the wrong name.

If you want something that provides and authenticates identity they you 
need to depend on something rather better than DNS and whois - you really 
need to go to a digital signature scheme with a full PKI.  And since you 
seem to be advocating that people *must* be identifiable, you will have to 
mandate that that scheme be used by everyone.


> As would businesses and individuals who want to know who they're dealing
> with when conducting electronic transactions...

They should learn PGP or, better yet, GPG.  Or use the certificates 
available from places like Verisign.

I will sign this message with my gpg key so you can know that it comes
from me.  My fingerprints (and public keys) are online on my website and
in various key repositories - http://www.cavebear.com/public_keys.htm

> Would you support the "compromise" I've mentioned in the past, namely
> the creation of a "Legal Contact" role (which could be the ISP,
> Technical Contact, the Registrant, or someone else the Registrant
> chooses to use) who is held legally responsible for problems
> originating from a domain

No.  I would however support the concept that one to whom a block of IP
addresses is delegated is responsible for stuff actually coming from that
block (but not stuff that bears that block as a forged source address.)

		--karl--

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