Authentication Via Domain Names: Introducing*
Alex Tajirian
April 5, 2006
There is an urgent need for website authentication
to protect the intellectual property of a business, reduce phishing,
and provide “quality” assurance to searchers. Below I outline the
potential of using a new domain name character, such as*, to signal
the authenticity of the website’s organization.
The address box in an Internet browser displays
the URL. The URL indicates the domain name, which identifies the
organization owning the site. The URL also indicates the protocol
used; in particular, when the site is SSL protected, the protocol
is https. However, the existing domain name system does not provide
a mechanism to authenticate the identified organization in the URL.
The first type of authentication can be achieved
by granting trademark holders and brand name owners the option to
register their domain names with an * at the end. Two-word marks
would be separated by an *. The proposed character, combined with
the newly introduced international domain names (IDNs), would create
less friction in situations with multiple trademarks in various
countries. Moreover, the proposed domain name can be auctioned to
legitimate trademark holders. Furthermore, disallowing typos related
to marks in a domain name would reduce phishing.
As for content quality authentication, pre-selected
keyword domain names with the * can be auctioned off. The winning
bid signals the allocation of the domain name to its best use.
Alternatives to Domain Name Solutions:
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An alternative to authentication through
domain names is the use of an authentication seal displayed
on a website. However, it is not obvious that a technology can
be implemented to ensure authenticity. Moreover, this venue
does not eliminate issues related to standardized seal positioning
and esthetic requirements among website owners.
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Search engines filtering cannot resolve type-ins,
email imbedded links, website referrals, and blogs.
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For a discussion of alternatives see
Concluding Remarks
Thus, the viability of such an authentication
mechanism depends on whether the potential revenues out weigh the
costs of technical implementation and pre-authenticating IP ownership.
Nevertheless, one way to increase the likelihood of the success
of such an initiative is to pre-auction options-to-buy the new domain
names. The success of such an auction is a good indicator of the
demand for such domain names. |
