The main registrar of .gdn domain names is under investigation by ICANN, and more than 10,000 domain names may be affected

Recently, Intracom Middle East, the main registrar of the .gdn top-level domain, was suspended for violating ICANN compliance requirements, raising concerns about the future stability of the domain name.

ICANN pointed out that Intracom failed to pay fees, failed to implement RDAP services, failed to host registrant data, and did not respond to ICANN's multiple communication attempts in the past eight months. As a result, from July 6 to October 4, 2022, Intracom is prohibited from registering new domain names or accepting domain name transfers. If the violations are not corrected during this period, it may face the risk of termination of certification.

Intracom is the main registrar of the .gdn domain name, managing more than 10,000 domain names, accounting for more than 90% of the total registrations of this top-level domain name. .gdn was originally designed to serve the field of satellite navigation, but since it was opened to the public for registration in 2016, it has gradually evolved into a generic top-level domain name. However, due to its low registration fee and lack of regulation, .gdn domains were once listed by SpamHaus as one of the top-level domains with high spam incidence.

In addition, .gdn's registry, Navigation-Information Systems (NIS), also faces compliance issues. ICANN has issued violation notices to NIS several times, accusing its WHOIS service of frequent downtime exceeding the downtime allowed by the contract. Although NIS promptly fixed the problem in previous violations and avoided more severe sanctions, the violations of its main partner Intracom may pose a threat to the stability of the entire .gdn domain name space.

For registrants using .gdn domain names, the current situation is worrying. Registrants are advised to pay close attention to ICANN's announcements, back up important data in a timely manner, and consider transferring domain names to reputable registrars to ensure business continuity and security.

Information source: domainincite