Slashdot Mirror
Exposing Personal Information in the Whois Database
rocketjam writes "In a letter to U.S. Representatives Lamar S. Smith and Howard L. Berman, the Center for Democracy and Technology has raised the issue of privacy problems with the Whois Database. Acknowledging the database is uncontroversial for commercial registrations, the letter points that private individuals who register a domain name expose their names, home addresses, home phone numbers, and home e-mail addresses to the world. The letter warns, 'The current Whois regime is on a collision course with public sensitivities and international law. In an era of concern about identity theft and online security, it is unwise to require millions of individual registrants to place their home phone numbers, home addresses, and personal email accounts into a publicly available database that places no restrictions on the use of that data.' Additionally, the letter points out the current policy violates the privacy laws of some nations."
Ever had to try and track down some company you bought something from on ebay, or the internet in general? It is pretty damn nice to be able to find the contact info in whois, since general practice is NOT to include addresses or phone numbers for contact, for many of the internet based businesses.
"Sheep just follow the easiest path and run from scary noises and intimidating creatures." - Me
...if only SCO took the same option of the Linux community.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.