WHOIS Services Review.pdf

SSAC asserts that WHOIS protocol limitations and variability contribute to poor domain name registration data quality, suggesting ICANN adopt an Internet standard directory service to deprecate WHOIS. WHOIS services are used for various purposes, including contacting network administrators, diagnosing registration difficulties, and obtaining real-world identity and contact information. However, the list of uses and abuses is not exhaustive, and accountability and access control should be improved. Studies have shown that domain name registration information often contains incomplete and inaccurate data, with some miscreants intentionally populating records with invalid data. SSAC's study found that 10-87% of registration records were missing required contact information, and other studies demonstrated large-scale intentional submission of invalid WHOIS data, with over 8 million registration records potentially containing false or incomplete information.