14 DAY TRIAL // The Coordination Center for TLD RU (CCTLD.RU) plans to introduce an SMS verification system for .ru domain registrations to replace the passport-based abuse prevention method.
The proposal was made during roundtable discussions on the subject of "the Internet and the Law" organized by CCTLD.RU, the Russian Association of Online Publishers and the ChasKor news agency.
Representatives of Internet industry companies, domain registrars, law enforcement and attorneys specializing in Internet law, participated at the meeting earlier this week.
According to HostExploit, the main topic covered was Internet user identification, with an emphasis on identity verification for domain registrations.
Faced with a high rate of abuse for RU domains, back in April the Coordination Center introduced stricter registration requirements.
These involved all applicants having to submit scanned copies of their passports or state certificates (for legal entities), but the measure had little to no effect.
Security vendors have placed .ru at the top of the most-abused TLDs list, after .com, for the third quarter of 2010.
The inefficiency of the passport method was even recognized by Mikhail Yakushev, chairman of the Coordination Center, during this week's discussions.
Apparently, the restriction was no match for cyber criminals who found it easy to submit fake copies of identification documents to registrars.
Several new proposals were made, including verifying the identity of applicants through the payment system or implementing a system based on electronic digital signatures.
However, the proposed method that stood out most was SMS verification, because it is the easiest to implement and is the most convenient one for users.
SMS verification would also be like an extension of the current method, because buying a SIM card in Russia already requires presenting a passport.
This measure won't completely solve the problems, but hopefully it will make it harder for potential abusers. "Those who knowingly violate the rules and laws, rather ingeniously find and use loopholes in these methods of identification in order to maintain full anonymity," said Ivan Zasursky, president of the Association of Online Publishers.