KnujOn - The Fight Against Internet Corruption (ICANN in particular)

[djMot]

If you are not aware of KnujOn, you need to be.  Through KnujOn, you can submit spam reports and thereby help in the fight against Internet corruption in general.  Once you get hooked up with them (it's a free-to-join organization, but there are paid options if you feel you can contribute in that way) you will learn far more about the insidious levels of Internet corruption that exist today, and why you are spammed mercilessly over the internet.

 

As evidence of the kind of information I receive through KnujOn on an occasional basis regarding the war on Internet corruption, here is an email I received from Garth at KnujOn this morning.

 

I hope you will take the time to read it and consider how much better the Internet could be if the people responsible for enforcing even the most basic code of ethics would actually do their job.

 

 

Hello,

An extensive investigation of ICANN handling of complaints has been
published in the WALL STREET JOURNAL. We encourage you to review the article
for yourself and draw your own conclusions:

 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/icann-regulators-clash-over-illegal-internet-drug-sales-1414463403

 

 

There is also an additional WSJ blog on a related
issue uncovered by KnujOn:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/28/icanns-contradictory-answers-to-a-simple-but-important-question/

 

There were in fact so many problems uncovered
during our research it was impossible to publish them all at once. KnujOn
worked closely with multiple partners on this and continue to do so. This is
not over. This is just the beginning of new effort intended to bring about
consumer-centered change to the way abuse is handled on the Internet. What
follows are seven important facts from the article, as they relate to KnujOn
work of the last three years. Even if you are new to KnujOn and were not
involved in these complaints, you are still being impacted by them:

1. "In July, the FDA teamed with Interpol and dozens of countries to try to
shut down more than 1,300 websites [including] approvedonlinepharmacy".

Concern over this domain began with Knujon in 2011 and has since been the
subject of multiple complaints, case studies, and memos including a letter
send directly to ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade. The mishandling of this issue has
been the focus of much of KnujOn work over the last three years as ICANN
continually tried to sweep it under the rug

 

(see: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/bruen-to-chehade-22apr13-en.pdf).

2. "Internal documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that
thousands of complaints about suspicious online pharmacies and other
websites in 2012 weren't reviewed for months because Icann stopped
maintaining one of its computer systems after an information-technology
employee left."

This begins to explain a massive failure which occurred in 2012 affecting
most of the complaints filed on behalf of KnujOn members. Not only did the
system fail because an employee stopped monitoring it, but the situation
highlights another problem with ICANN Compliance, namely their obfuscation
of staffing levels, something which is so strange an complex it was the
subject of a separate WSJ article

 

(see: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/28/icanns-contradictory-answers-to-a-simple-but-important-question)

 

This also concerns the issue of employees who
were terminated while investigating the cited complaints as the terminated
employees were apparently included in "current" staffing counts reported to
the public.

3." One member of an independent review team said the problem meant that
complaints about illegally registered websites were disappearing into a
black hole, according to a transcript of a 2012 conference call. A spokesman
for Icann says employees eventually eliminated the backlog."

Of course ICANN does not explain how it resolved the backlog, but it
probably included deleting thousands of complaints like the ones documented
in our report: http://www.knujon.com/icann_compliance_2012.pdf

4. "A special agent in the FDA cybercrime investigations unit, complains
that Icann closes complaints, and they don't say why, and the websites are
still operating. It's really quite frustrating."

This demonstrates the extreme issues of transparency at ICANN, they do not
explain to anyone why they do anything. The reason they cite is that they
have a special relationship with domain registrars that provides
confidentiality to all of their interactions, excluding not only government
but the consumer.

5." Icann vice president of compliance, Maguy Serad, says
approvedonlinepharmacy was offline or suspended each time there was a
pending complaint about the drug seller since 2011."

This is a false statement. KnujOn demonstrated each time that the website
was NOT suspended. ICANN has never provided any evidence that it was and has
refused to discuss the issue.

6. "May 2012, lcann compliance chief, Ms. Serad, responded that the
complaint had been closed because BizCN verified the registration
information, according to a document sent to Mr. Bruen."

Again, a false claim as it would have been impossible to verify the
information (See: http://knujon.com/PRAGUE_icann_378_fail_BIZCN_061612.pdf).

7. [Following a death] "law-enforcement officials told ICANN that a website
posed an immediate health risk. Less than 15 minutes later, ICANN responded
in an email that the organization had reviewed and closed the complaint. In
response to questions from the Journal, Ms. Serad said ICANN has launched an
investigation that could last weeks and months. However, [the registrar]
says ICANN never contacted them about the complaint or told them about the
death."

Here, we see a regular occurrence within the ICANN world: different parties
being told different things, none of which turn out to be true. Serad has
been effectively demoted at ICANN since this revelation, but remains
employed there for the moment (We will explain this situation in more detail
later!). This has gone way beyond spam and harassment as ICANN chooses money
over safety and lives.

ICANN has three fundamental problems which prevent it from serving the
public: 1) The leadership is fundamentally corrupt, 2) its compliance
functions and ombudsman are not independent, and 3) the automatic transition
of the IANA functions create a monopoly. We will be explaining all of this
in more detail in the near future. In order to understand how this all
relates to your spam, read this:
http://knujon.com/illicit_domains_icann_graphic.pdf

If you have sent us specific questions we will answer them in time. Thank
you for understanding.

-Garth

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Submission options: http://www.knujon.com/sendusspam.html
The technical requiements of KnujOn are expected to be $5,717.40 for 2014.
So far we have received donations of: $1,226.50 leaving a shortfall of
$4,490.90. You can sponsor us: knujon.com/index.html#supportus

To request FTP access, email [email protected]
Knujon Discussion Group at LinkedIn:
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KnujOn Blog: http://www.circleid.com/members/3296/
Twitter: @ KnujOn
Knujon at DCAA:
http://www.digitalcitizensalliance.org/cac/alliance/blog.aspx?ident=Garth
What is ICANN At-Large? http://www.atlarge.icann.org/
Buy The Death of the Internet:
http://astore.amazon.com/knujocom-20/detail/1118062418
KnujOn is an all volunteer, unfunded initiative. We are committed to this
solution and appreciate your patience while we work our way through the maze
of Internet bureaucracy to reduce illicit traffic and spam.
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Thank you for your continued support!

Edited November 18, 2014 by djMot