Tag Archives: Europe

Cybersecurity

.EU business continuity exercise successful

EU EURid logo [news release] EURid, the registry for the .eu top-level domain, successfully tested its disaster recovery plan yesterday during a business continuity exercise. During the exercise, the .eu registration systems were transferred from the registry’s data centre in Brussels, Belgium, to an alternative data centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

“As the custodian of the .eu top-level domain, we take our duty of maintaining the .eu registration systems very seriously. This year’s business continuity exercise showed that our back-up systems are robust,” said Marc Van Wesemael, General Manager of EURid. “We took this exercise beyond roll-playing and by doing so, actually tested EURid’s real-time capacity for disaster recovery.”

It is good business practice to anticipate worst-case scenarios. Yesterday’s exercise prepared registry staff for what to do in the event of a real disaster and so reduced operational risk, allowing EURid to maintain a high level of service to its .eu accredited registrars. Registrars are crucial to the .eu registry’s core business – the registration of .eu domain names.

The exercise ran from 10.02 until 12.22 CEST. Following the completion of the exercise, all .eu systems came back online and registrars were able to register .eu domain names once again, proving that should disaster strike, EURid can continue its operations in a sustainable manner.

EURid’s 2011 business continuity exercise was externally audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

This EURid news release was sourced from:
www.eurid.eu/en/content/eu-passes-disaster-tests

Europe Registry logoTo register your .EU domain name, check out Europe Registry here.

Cybersecurity

ICANN Names Technology Public Policy Expert as its First Vice President of Europe

ICANN logo[news release] ICANN has named Thomas Spiller to the newly created position of Vice President, Europe. The appointment was announced today at the organization’s 41st public meeting in Singapore.

In his new position, Spiller who is a French national will be responsible for driving ICANN’s strategic objectives in Europe. He will also manage the Brussels office and will be the focal point for regional issues.

Spiller brings a wealth of broad experience gained through a career that includes corporate, legal, and political appointments. He worked for the French Prime Minister’s Office and most recently headed up global policy strategy at SAS, one of the world’s largest independent software vendors. Spiller has worked on topics ranging from education, sustainability and innovation to data privacy and cloud computing.

“This new position is vital for the global expansion and deepening of ICANN,” said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer. “And we were lucky to find Thomas Spiller, who has a solid track record of performance and a good understanding of the complex issues affecting our community.”

Spiller has worked with a variety of international policy forums, trade associations and multilateral organizations that are active in Information Technology and Internet issues around the world.

“I look forward to reinforcing ICANN’s outreach to all stakeholders and strengthening the ongoing inclusive dialogue with Europe’s Internet users, national governments, EU institutions and business,” said Spiller. “I’m excited about contributing to the organization’s crucial role in keeping the global Internet open to all and in providing an extraordinary platform for social and economic progress.”

Before joining SAS, Spiller, a lawyer by training, spent 10 years working on global public policy and legal issues involving energy, defense and aerospace.

Thomas Spiller will begin his new role on August 29.

This news release was provided by ICANN.

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

.EU Grows 6% in 2010: EURid Quarterly Report

EU EURid logoEURid, the .eu top-level domain (TLD) registry, issued today its quarterly progress report for Q4 2010, revealing 6% annual growth in .EU web address registrations for 2010 compared with 5% annual growth in 2009.

“.EU continued its upward trend during 2010, allowing us to meet our objective of sustained growth. This shows .EU’s increasing popularity with the businesses, organisations and people of the European Union,” said Marc Van Wesemael, General Manager of EURid.

.EU remains one of top-ten largest TLDs in the world, completing 2010 with more than 3.3 million registered .EU domain names. The increase in .EU registrations was driven by dramatic growth in Bulgaria (43%) and Estonia (39%), and by strong growth in some larger markets, including Poland (14%) and Italy (14%).

Year over year, registrations in Germany grew by 6% in 2010. With more than one million .EU domain names registered, Germany retains its first position in the top-ten list of countries. Together, the top ten countries account for 86% of all .EU registrations in 2010. Also in the list, the Czech Republic grew by 23%, Italy 14%, Poland 14% and Spain 11%. The UK experienced negative annual growth (-0.4%) but grew by 2% in Q4.

.EU registrations increased in 26 of the 27 EU Member States during Q4 2010 with significant growth in Bulgaria (25%), Romania (14%) and Estonia (10%). Domain name renewal rates remained above industry average at a healthy 77% in Q4.

2010 highlights noted in the quarterly report include:

  • .EU zone signed for Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), June
  • .EU DNSSEC chain of trust completed, September
  • Germany passed one million registered .EU domain names landmark, September
  • DNSSEC uptake findings published as a .EU Insights report, November
  • First anniversary of .EU Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs), December.

EURid’s full report for Q4 2010 is available for download.

This EURid announcement was sourced from:
www.eurid.eu/en/content/eu-q4-2010-progress-report-available

Europe Registry logoTo register your .EU domain name check out Europe Registry here.

Domain Name Disputes

A .Com Domain Name Increases A Company’s Exposure To Foreign Lawsuits, Rules European Court

“Companies using a .com or .eu domain name, or displaying international codes for phone numbers, are more likely to be ‘directing’ their activities at foreign consumers, affecting where they can sue or be sued, the Court of Justice of the EU has ruled,” a report in OUT-LAW.COM says.The report notes that consumers can elect to have contract disputes heard in “their own country if a company in another EU Member State has directed its business at consumers in that state or all EU Member States.””The ECJ said, though, that merely operating a website which foreigners can access is not enough to qualify as a company directing its activities to other countries.”The decision comes about following two cases ruled on by the European Court of Justice, one where an Austrian resident sought a refund from a German shipping company “for a voyage that he booked but did not take.”The other involved a German resident who booked hotel rooms in Austria who left without paying his bill due to complaints about the accommodation.To read the OUT-LAW.com report in full, see out-law.com/page-11658.

Domain Name Disputes

A .Com Domain Name Increases A Company's Exposure To Foreign Lawsuits, Rules European Court

“Companies using a .com or .eu domain name, or displaying international codes for phone numbers, are more likely to be ‘directing’ their activities at foreign consumers, affecting where they can sue or be sued, the Court of Justice of the EU has ruled,” a report in OUT-LAW.COM says. Continue reading A .Com Domain Name Increases A Company's Exposure To Foreign Lawsuits, Rules European Court →

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

Win with your .EU domain name this Christmas

EU EURid logoRegister a .eu domain name between 25 November and 25 December 2010 and stand the chance to win one of 100 iPod Touches.

To enter the competition, go to www.winwith.eu, enter your recently registered .eu domain name, contact details and the competition code XMAS2010.

The Win With .eu Christmas competition runs from 25 November to 25 December 2010. During this time EURid will regularly select competition winners, on 2, 10, 18 and 26 December. During each selection 25 winners will be announced. Each winner will receive one 8GB iPod Touch personalised with the .eu logo.

Eligible participants are those who register a .eu domain name in the 8 days prior to each selection.

Any iPods left over from the Win With .eu Christmas competition (because their winners could not be contacted) will be given away during a final selection on 26 January 2011.

Find out how to participate and read the competition terms and conditions.
This EURid news release was sourced from:
www.eurid.eu/en/content/win-your-eu-domain-name-christmas
Europe Registry logoTo register your .EU domain name, check out Europe Registry here.
Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

.EU Q3 2010 report marks growth milestones

EU EURid logo[news release] EURid, the registry for the .eu top-level domain (TLD), issued today its quarterly progress report for Q3 2010, presenting important .eu registration milestones during the quarter.During Q3 2010, Germany passed the one million .eu domain names mark and Belgium registered its one hundred thousandth .eu domain name. Significant progress was made in the Baltic countries with registrations increasing in Estonia by 47.0% and Lithuania by 43.9% compared to Q3 2009.

.eu maintained its position in the top-ten of the world’s largest TLDs with 3 246 347 registered .eu domain names reported at the end of Q3 2010, representing a 8.5% year-over-year increase in registrations when compared to Q3 2009.

At the end of Q3 2010, Germany saw a 8.9% year-over-year growth in .eu registrations and with its 1 004 535 .eu domain names, kept its first position in the top-ten list of countries. The countries in the top ten account for 86.2% of all .eu registrations. Notably in Q3 2010, the Czech Republic saw year-over-year growth of 36.9%, Poland 20.3%, Spain 13.7% and the UK 2.3%.

During Q3 2010, Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) accounted for 2.07% of the .eu domain name portfolio, in line with other registries. EU residents can register a .eu domain name that uses characters from the whole Latin, Cyrillic or Greek alphabets; for example, the Bulgarian л, the German ü, the Greek θ, the Polish ł and the Spanish ñ.

Other quarterly report highlights include:

  • .eu Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) chain of trust completed
  • EURid and Netnod signed anycasting agreement
  • Marketing initiative promoting .eu to ERASMUS students launched
  • .eu testimonial videos added to EURid YouTube channel.

EURid’s full report for Q3 2010 is available for download.

This EURid news release was sourced from:
www.eurid.eu/en/content/eu-q3-2010-progress-report-available-0

Europe Registry logoTo register your .EU domain name, check out Europe Registry here.

ICANN and Governance

Location Recommendations Now Being Accepted for ICANN’s 2012 Meeting in Europe

ICANN logoICANN is actively seeking a location for its 44th meeting to be held 24-29 June 2012 in Europe. Those in the geographic region are invited to submit recommendations for specific locations to hold the event. These recommended venues, along with others in the region that meet the selection criteria, will be considered. The final location for the ICANN Meeting will then be selected through the evaluation of both community-recommended and ICANN-identified locations.

Interested parties are encouraged to review the Meeting Selection Criteria, which will be used to guide the evaluation of both community-recommended and ICANN-identified meeting locations. Elements such as cost of the meeting for ICANN and the community, convenience to international airports, availability of sufficient hotel guest rooms in or near the venue, meeting facilities, network infrastructure, personal safety of meeting participants, and total level of financial support will be considered by ICANN in making its final selection of a meeting site.

Those interested in submitting a recommendation for a location to host the Meeting, or a proposal for host-level financial support in Europe, are encouraged to submit the online Meeting Location Recommendation Form.

Submission Deadline: 15 October 2010

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-16sep10-en.htm

ICANN and Governance

Location Recommendations Now Being Accepted for ICANN's 2012 Meeting in Europe

ICANN logoICANN is actively seeking a location for its 44th meeting to be held 24-29 June 2012 in Europe. Those in the geographic region are invited to submit recommendations for specific locations to hold the event. These recommended venues, along with others in the region that meet the selection criteria, will be considered. The final location for the ICANN Meeting will then be selected through the evaluation of both community-recommended and ICANN-identified locations. Continue reading Location Recommendations Now Being Accepted for ICANN's 2012 Meeting in Europe →

Domain Name Registrants, Domain Name Registrars, Domain Name Registry

Two-thirds .EU registrants choose registrar in their own country

EU EURid logoEURid has taken a closer look at the distribution of .EU registrations among its registrars and has found that 65 per cent of domain name registrants chose a registrar from their own country, 18 per cent chose a registrar from a different country in the European Union, and 17 per cent chose a registrar located outside the EU according to a news release released this week.

Registrants in Germany, Poland and Lithuania were the ones most likely to use a national registrar.

In the European Union, registrars in Cyprus, Denmark and Luxembourg were the ones with the largest share of their business originating from outside the country. Reciprocal cross-border registrant-registrar pairings (meaning that many registrants from “country x” chose a registrar in “country y” and vice-versa) were noted in the cases of Belgium/France, Germany/Austria, Germany/Denmark, The Netherlands/Belgium, Germany/United Kingdom, Germany/France and Denmark/Sweden.

As for registrars based outside of the European Union, Indian registrars held 60% of the Bulgarian .EU registration market, while registrars in the US held 34% of the Portuguese market.

Europe Registry logoTo register your .EU domain name, check out Europe Registry here.