Securing the future of Nominet – why you should care

[Acorn Newsbot]

Some of you may be aware of the proposed EGM that some members are calling for. I would start by saying that an EGM and change of board at this time would be highly destabilising to Nominet and disrupt a range of fantastic programmes that are currently underway or planned.

I understand that there are frustrations and disagreements about how we run the business, and we are open to looking at those and making any adjustments that are in the interests of the company and the wider stakeholder community we serve. More on that to come.

But in fairness to my team, I want to make sure that we don’t lose sight of the significant and important work done by Nominet.

Nominet as a Registry

Nominet has run the .UK registry with care and pride for 25 years. That means providing critical DNS infrastructure for over 10 million domains and resolving over 240 billion DNS queries per month for .UK. This infrastructure has never stopped, not even for a fraction of a second, over our 25 years of operation. We put time and effort into fantastic support that regularly achieves customer satisfaction ratings of over 90%.

We protect UK citizens and businesses by operating a wide range of controls which have made .UK one of the safest places to do business. We protect against organised crime, sexual abuse, child exploitation, extortion, modern slavery, terrorism and far more – by eliminating domains created for criminal purposes, in conjunction with our charity partners and law enforcement. We also protect businesses and their brands from counterfeiting and theft. These activities are vital, now more than ever.

In response to the pandemic, we’ve done four key things:

1. Blocking domains: In the past year Nominet has received 6,133 registration requests for domains related to Covid 19. After extensive due diligence we approved only 1,897 – the rest assumed to be criminal ventures.
2. Taking domains down: Domain suspensions due to criminality (in response to law enforcement requests) were around 22,000 last year, including some trying to use the pandemic as a front for criminal activity. This keeps the .UK namespace, which millions of people and businesses rely on, as secure as possible.
3. Campaigns: We have also successfully campaigned for zero-rated access to NHS websites, and set up a Reboot programme to get devices into the hands of people who would otherwise be cut off from schooling or their community.
4. Financial assistance for registrants: The Nominet Support Fund enabled registrars to help registrants in financial distress renew their domains.

Registry of the Future

At our board meeting last week we signed off a multi-million pound, multi-year investment into our registry platform to ensure the systems, processes and security you rely on are constantly evolving and best in class. Our aim is to be the best ccTLD in the world, which relies on great technology and people. As part of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure, we take that role very seriously.

We believe it is possible to operate a business of this robustness, scale and complexity without the cost falling to the taxpayer – and while keeping wholesale costs well below those of our biggest competitor – .com.

We recognise that value for money is important to you as registrars and to that end these significant investments won’t impact your prices. Part of the remit of the newly announced Registry Advisory Committee (RAC) is to guide the board on prices, but our assumption is that in the current economic climate, we would not seek to change the price any time soon.

The Role of Cyber Security

Nominet has evolved considerably in the past five years in response to a fast-changing threat environment. A major registry is, by its nature, a key component of the Critical National Infrastructure. It is impossible to manage a major registry responsibly without the means to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks. Nominet’s cyber security capability is not an adjunct to our business, nor is it a random diversification initiative. Security is, and will remain, central to everything Nominet does.

Nominet now operates some of the most advanced defence technology in the world. Nominet was selected by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to protect the UK government networks for precisely that reason.

We deliver the NCSC’s PDNS programme, which last year protected an estimated 2.8 million public sector internet users and blocked about 18,000 unique domains at a rate of 7.2 million times per month.

Recently the NCSC has extended Nominet’s cyber protection, already in operation across 700 government bodies, to cover not only the National Health Service itself, but its vaccine supply chain – a vital service at this time of national crisis. Right now a lot of highly complex and time-sensitive work is underway to rid the NHS networks of malware and protect them from ransomware and virus attacks. In response to the pandemic, Nominet also developed a Digital Roaming application, which provides cyber protection to protect public sector workers working from home.

Overall, around 5 million public sector workers are now covered by our work.

Some of our most critical work to mitigate cyber security threats on the Internet is hidden from public view. Whilst we are unable, due to security reasons, to share much of the detail, our ‘Protective DNS’ (PDNS) solution for Government is being deployed around the world.

Taken together – the industry we enable, the critical infrastructure we run, and the protective work we conduct – this adds up to a significant programme of public benefit, and contributes to the UK’s security and prosperity. Beyond this we also invest in a range of specific public benefit initiatives.

Public Benefit Today

We are fully committed to public benefit – as demonstrated by the campaign to improve the lives of a million young people. We are extremely proud of this work, which has put in place some fantastic partnerships and initiatives. Nominet has given enormous help to, among others; the Samaritans, the Scouts, The Prince’s Trust, micro:bit foundation and to five mental health charities. As a result, the programme to support our first million young people has been achieved. Now we want to do that each and every year.

The challenges facing young people growing up in a digital age are huge, now more than ever. We want to play a significant role in being part of the solution.

I can assure members who have concerns about our current levels of funding that our future plans include exciting ideas to take our programme forward, and will leave no one in doubt about the importance of the programme to the organisation.

Member engagement

Our members play a vital role in our governance and it’s important that we have the right dialogue and mechanisms in place to ensure we harness the ideas, innovations, and insights which keep the .UK domain strong.

While we have tried many different ways to engage with members, we are always looking for new ideas and I am pleased to announce that in 2021 we are launching even more channels to strengthen this close engagement. We have a whole team dedicated to engagement with members. Even in these days of lockdowns they are here for you. They are informed, helpful, and ready to answer any questions you have about our work.

Last week the Nominet Board agreed to create a Registry Advisory Council – a body composed of elected members – designed to ensure we have a regular and frequent dialogue on the issues around .UK, including .UK policy matters, involvement in the annual pricing review, challenges facing the .UK registry and those facing registrars. The Registry Advisory Council will also be briefed on Group strategy, and the focus of our public benefit projects. As the business continues to grow, we want to ensure that our focus is on ensuring .UK is relevant, trusted, and that we are working with our registrar community as effectively as possible. We have draft terms of reference, and will be seeking feedback on the proposal from tomorrow to ensure a productive outcome for all.

Financials

Nominet is a solid business in a strong financial position, with reserves that underpin our obligations as a provider of critical national infrastructure. We are investing in the technologies and opportunities that will bring benefits to members, the .UK namespace, and ultimately fund the charitable initiatives of the future. Our investment in our Protective DNS services may take time to pay off, but is already protecting key workers and delivering significant revenues, which are expected to grow as governments across the world see the value of a protective DNS approach.

Your support is critical

Nominet is a growing UK business which plays a vital role in the UK’s internet infrastructure and national security. We are a team united by a commitment to making the world more connected, inclusive and secure.

The proposed EGM will be highly disruptive to our work and our team.

But as I said up front, that does not mean we are unwilling to listen, respond or adapt to legitimate concerns. Should members wish to contact me to discuss our work or the call for the EGM, please do so.

I hope we can work together and earn your support to continue the important work that means so much to us, and plays such an important role supporting a thriving and safe digital economy.

The post Securing the future of Nominet – why you should care appeared first on Nominet.

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[Siusaidh]

The message from the Nominet CEO, announcing a Registrars Advisory Council, is a classic trap.

I was very much involved in the 'At Large' movement, trying to get one-person-one-vote representation for general internet users in the affairs of ICANN. Of course, for ICANN this was a potential nightmare, because of incursions into its autonomy and their symbiotic relationships with large industry insiders.

However, what ICANN did was create its own 'At Large' council INSIDE ICANN, under its own control, on its own terms, and with all kinds of constraints to ensure it would remain largely compliant. That became 'ALAC' and it was used to make it 'appear' ICANN was welcoming user views, while actually in effect subverting the wider voice of internet users outside its control and agenda.

What Nominet are proposing is a tightly controlled 'veneer', with no real powers, and structured to lock out the most critical voices. In any event it is merely 'advisory' and will be doing the work of Nominet by giving them an appearance of member engagement, which can be used against any critiques made of them in the future.

Meanwhile they have closed down the forum.

What I'd much prefer to see is a Registrars and Members Council set up OUTSIDE Nominet's control, on the basis of one-member-one-vote, and building an opposition of the true opinions of Nominet's members, to call the company to account. I think from this week we are starting to see that happen. I believe an opposition (or 'UK domain government in exile') needs a platform for mature articles, reasoned ideas for a better alternative to Nominet's status quo, and gathering point for members and the media to go to. The bottom line is that Nominet will always be happy to suck in people who 'purport' to represent the mass of members, and 'cosy' them with rewards, but actually unless member representation is (a) democratic, and (b) independent of Nominet's controls, terms, and conditions... what you really have is a sham of member engagement.

Nominet should not be deciding how members should organise. Members should decide that. And Nominet should then respect the way members want to be represented.

 

[Siusaidh]

Thanks. Just anxious no-one mistakenly thinks this Registry Advisory Council is anything other than a sham. And also to voice support for the EGM.

 

[TheWizard]

I think most members are seeing it for what it is, a sham. I replied to him on twitter, but he's since been on a tweet deleting spree.

 

[Siusaidh]

Leanne has written to all members today to read the terms of reference and submit views (link in her email) on the structure Nominet has pre-emptively decided is best for member engagement.

My views, as expressed to Nominet:

You may feel that segmentation is the right way to structure a Membership Council, but should Members themselves not have been asked - in advance- (a) whether they wanted this initiative (b) whether they wanted their representation structured and segmented this way (c) what form they themselves would like their representation and engagement to take?

For example: do they want member input filtered through this Council like this? Should all members not have been asked what vision of member engagement they had, including arguably a forum, a website accessible to members to participate in, and how any advisory body reflects democratically the largest group of members, instead of equal weighting being given to a small number of the largest registrars? All this should be for the members themselves to decide - but you are pre-empting all that by setting the fundamental structure you want. You often say you want member engagement, but actually you seem to want engagement on your terms.

It seems to me that by structuring the meetings to be based around 4 a year, with member views being represented by 4 people, most not in the majority group of members, you are formalising a chanelling of views through a very small number of people, when with a forum (if you were responsive, otherwise people just give up) you could year-round be hearing from far more members, and allow open discussion between members. The problem with the forum was not so much member engagement, as Nominet non-engagement, on far too many occasions just not replying to questions.

The reason I think your plans are counter-productive to real, open, democratic, dynamic engagement is that this is really a mechanism for Nominet to lock down formal discussion, to a small group 'inside' the company control system. You seem afraid of platforms where members can hammer out ideas and views, collectively. So I am not convinced you plan is the most 'effective' way of ensuring all members views are enabled and engaged with. With this Council you will be engaging 'via' four people. Its use will be limited. To me, this whole initiative looks like damage limitation, and above all control. It looks like a veneer of member engagement, whereas what has actually been demonstrated by you has been avoidance of critique (or helpful commentary) as epitomised by the closing down of the forum. That was just plain cowardly, and an absolute affront to members.

With regard to the detail of how long terms of office should be: This question is academic until the membership democratically decides this whole model of representation is what they want.

We are asked if there is anything else we should consider:

It's possible that the structural change the membership actually wants is not a 'captured' and 'filtered' membership council, but a radical structural change of the company's present staffing itself and the whole direction of policies. An 'advisory' body, paid nicely by Nominet, cannot achieve that. So possibly, at this point what many members want is more radical change, because they see the problems with Nominet are less to do with member engagement, and more to do the whole direction Nominet has taken under the present CEO and costly expansion beyond Nominet's central function as a Registry of domain names. In that context, this proposed 'Advisory Council' (timed coincidentally with the call this week for an EGM and the reports in media) seems more like re-ordering deckchairs. Why should members trust Nominet to engage, when it has shut down discourse on the forum, and created the perception that it really only wants members as a 'rubber stamp' for policies and directions they decide in advance?

Perhaps a Members' Community should be set up, autonomous from Nominet, and based outside Nominet, developing its own 'Advisory Service', and forum, and a website for informed industry views and ideas. If you really want Member influence on the company, as part of the company, you need to understand that it involves not just trying to control everything for the sake of PR. It means facilitating, and the company engaging more, being more responsive, and more open to changes in direction, instead of just top-down management typified so well by the disgraceful closing down of the members' forum in the middle of an AGM. Why should we trust that management? I sense that you really don't want to hear proposals that Nominet revert to its core Registry function, or cut its executive pay. There is every reason, under the present management, to suspect that this Members' Advisory Council, is just a mechanism of control, while everything else carries on as before, in a direction that frankly I doubt the members themselves want the Company to go.

Asked whether £500 payment for a half-day meeting is about right:

£500 per half day is excessive.

I work for the NHS in a similar kind of advisory capacity, and get paid £75 for a half day, and £150 for a full day.

It's more than enough.

But really, the executive pay structure of the whole company ought to be called into question.

These are just my views, but I hope as many people as possible will back the call for an Extraordinary General Meeting, so that more radical solutions than what I perceive as window-dressing can be sorted out. Nominet was set up as a Registry for the UKs domains. It needs to revert to that central function, and should disentangle itself from attempts to diversify and expand... or else it would be better if other people were brought in to change the direction of the Company.

 

[xdnet]

Perhaps a Members' Community should be set up, autonomous from Nominet, and based outside Nominet, developing its own 'Advisory Service', and forum, and a website for informed industry views and ideas.

This is my longer term pipe dream for https://hostmasters.uk (open for all Nominet members to join)

This was setup after the forum closed to try and keep members engaging with EACH OTHER and to discuss and debate policy and where appropriate, provide unified feedback to Nominet.

I agree that due to the mistrust, this likely would be best operating outside of the direct orbit of Nominet itself and be member-driven. Perhaps in a similar way to the RrSG in ICANN, or as a union might work with members to represent them better as a whole and avoid this persistent, and in my view inaccurate, characterisation that it's always a "small minority of members" so isn't worth listening to.

With the EGM now I'm certainly not pushing this concept until the results, as there is limited bandwidth. But I'd certainly love to see a separate org, slim non-profit, driven by members which provides the forum, policy support, and at times legal support, to members so they can best engage with Nominet and understand what their rights and responsibilities are as members and provide a voice.

 

[Siusaidh]

The analogy with a Union operating independently of the Company who uses its workforce is an interesting one.

It's easy to forget that it's actually the thousands of individual registrars and hosting companies who actually help build the fabric of the UK's namespace and internet platform. To the extent that the UK's namespace is supposed to be a public service, vital for communities, small and large business, health, education, etc, the registrar/hosting community of 'members' does not 'belong' to Nominet. Rather, Nominet is accountable to the UK public, and to all the members who use the namespace, and to ensure real openness of process I'd prefer to see a Nominet Member organisation outside Nominet's control, filters, and machinations.

That said, I think things need to wait until after this large part of the Board has been replaced. That's when the real questions will need to be asked about future 'modus operandi'.

 

[xdnet]

Another comment to add to this trail of thought too - if it's going to be group/org within the Nominet orbit, it definitely needs teeth - e.g. a veto on policy/terms changes like RrSG (iirc)