March 23, 2010 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) –
Iron Mountain Digital, the technology arm of information management services company Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), today announced the availability of the
ICANN Deposit Audit Service (IDAS) application for the systematic analysis of Internet registrar escrow deposits. This new service further reduces risks for consumers and businesses that have registered domain names with ICANN-accredited registrars. ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization that oversees the allocation and administration of generic top-level domain names (such as those ending in .com, .net, .org, etc.). ICANN also governs which organizations can become domain name registrars for generic top-level domains. Registrars are the entities that sell, register, and renew domain names for Internet users.
With the ICANN Deposit Audit Service application, Iron Mountain systematically audits registrar escrow deposits, measures the integrity of those deposits, and reports the results to ICANN. The new application supplements Iron Mountain’s Registrar Data Escrow service. With this service, domain name registrars periodically escrow their registration information records to safeguard these intellectual property assets. Because the registration data is placed in an escrow account with Iron Mountain and verified through the IDAS application, it can be effectively retrieved by ICANN in the event of a technical, operational, or business failure of a registrar.
“The goal of the data escrow program is to help ensure the security and stability of the Domain Name System by protecting the data associated with registered domain names in a secure escrow account,” said Mike Zupke, ICANN’s registrar liaison manager. “Iron Mountain’s Deposit Audit Service is the next step in a full range of programs and procedures that will work to safeguard registrants and maintain Internet stability.”
“By escrowing and verifying the integrity of domain name registration information records, Iron Mountain is helping to protect consumers and businesses that have registered domain names with ICANN-accredited registrars,” explained John Boruvka, vice president of intellectual property management at Iron Mountain Digital. “As a result, they can retrieve their registration information data, even if the registrar goes out of business.”
In 2007, Iron Mountain was selected by ICANN to provide escrow services through its Registrar Data Escrow service, which is available to the more than 900 ICANN-accredited domain name registrars and protects registration data for the more than 110 million domain names they support. In 2008, Iron Mountain implemented automated processing for Registrar Data Escrow deposits.
Now, in addition to escrowing registration information records, registrar deposits will be periodically audited by the escrow agent to verify that escrowed data matches publicly available registration information records. Iron Mountain’s ICANN Deposit Audit Service was developed to meet this need.
About ICANN
ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company.
About Iron Mountain Digital
Iron Mountain Digital is the world's leading provider of information management services for data protection and recovery, archiving, eDiscovery and intellectual property management. The technology arm of Iron Mountain Incorporated offers a comprehensive suite of solutions to thousands of companies around the world, directly and through a worldwide network of channel partners. Iron Mountain Digital is based in Southborough, Mass.
