Execution date set for EstDomains

Icann will revoke EstDomians' accreditation as a registrar from 24 November

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has decided to go ahead with its plan to shut down domain registrar EstDomains.

Icann said that EstDomians' accreditation as a registrar will be revoked from 24 November, and its 281,000 customer sites would be made available to other accredited companies.

Icann had originally intended to revoke the accreditation on 12 November. The organisation sent a notice to EstDomains on 28 October, but then suspended the procedure after an appeal was filed.

News of Icann's latest decision elicited praise from many in the security community who had been ecstatic when the initial termination notice was served, and equally disappointed when the appeal was delivered.

The controversial Estonian registrar has been linked to numerous spam and malware operations, and is thought to be one of the major enablers of phishing and computer fraud worldwide.

However, it was not the company's business practices which brought about its demise. Icann decided to revoke company's status as an accredited registrar only after learning that EstDomains president Vladimir Tsastsin had been convicted of credit card fraud, forgery and money laundering.

Shortly after receiving the notice, EstDomains filed an appeal, claiming that Tsastsin had stepped down from his position earlier in the year, and that the convictions were under appeal in an Estonian court.