Registrar EstDomains Get Shut Off Notice From ICANN

ICANN has sent a letter to the EstDomains notifying them that their registrar accreditation would be revoked effective November 12.

“This termination is based on your status as President of EstDomains and your credit card fraud, money laundering and document forgery conviction,” Stacy Burnette, ICANN’s director of contractual compliance, wrote. ICANN rules permit the group to terminate registrars who have officers or directors convicted of a crime related to financial activities, she said.

An EstDomains representative said the group was working to block the move.

EstDomains, has been sharply criticized by many security experts for registering domain names used in phishing, spam, malware, and the sale of drugs that are illegal in some countries.

Principals with EstDomains have maintained they do not knowingly allow customers to run illegal websites.

EstDomains are appealing ICANN’s move because their former president, Tsastsin hasn’t been a director or officer of EstDomains since June.

ICANN annouced that it is currently accepting statements of interest from registrars who might be willing to take on EstDomains’ former clients.

“I don’t think anyone in their right mind is going to want to take on these domain names,” said Chris Barton a research scientist for McAfee.

“A registrar would have to be either very reckless or very brazen to consider it.”