NSI sells registrant info. Again.

Well, it appears that a number of you noticied NSI's latest escapade. Yes, this time our friends have decided to create company profiles of all registrants - including addresses, ownership, number of employees, years in business, annual sales, and phone and facsimile numbers. Mmm...I thought spam was bad enough. Who the heck is the . in .com? Um-a bunch of you needed to be told this was a joke (the last sentence). Sarcasm, folks.

Comments

Sample Report: NSOL

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps this is what you should expect a sample report to look like. All the information below is available at no charge, from public sources, over the Internet.

NETWORK SOLUTIONS INC.

Registered URL: http://www.netsol.com

Stock Ticker: NSOL

Address:
505 Huntmar Park Drive
Herndon, VA 20170

EXECUTIVES AND DIRECTORS:

Michael A. Daniels

Position: Chairman of the Board, Acting Chief Executive Officer

Age: 53

Class A Shares as of 3/12/1999: 29,560

Bio: Has served as Chairman of the Board of Network Solutions since 1995 and as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Network Solutions since November 1998. Since 1986, Mr. Daniels has served in various positions with SAIC and has served as a Sector Vice President and Sector Manager for the Technology Applications Sector of SAIC since 1993. Prior thereto, Mr. Daniels served as a Group Senior Vice President of SAIC from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Daniels received a B.S. and an M.A. from Northwestern University and received a J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law.

Robert J. Korzeniewski

Position: Chief Financial Officer, Acting Chief Operating Officer

Age: 42

Class A Shares as of 3/12/1999: 25,842

1998 Sal: $165,462, Bon: $90,000, plus other compensation including options

Bio: Has served as Chief Financial Officer of Network Solutions since March 1996 and as Acting Chief Operating Officer of Network Solutions since November 1998. From 1987 until October 1997, Mr. Korzeniewski held a variety of senior financial positions with SAIC and served as a Corporate Vice President for Administration of SAIC from 1989 until 1997. Mr. Korzeniewski is a Certified Public Accountant and received a B.S. in Business Administration from Salem State College.

Bruce L. Chovnick

Position: Senior Vice President and General Manager, Internet Technology Services

Age: 39

Class A Shares as of 3/12/1999: 4,294

1998 Sal: $181,730, Bon: $65,000, plus other compensation including options

Resides: 19209 Autumn Maple Ln, Gaithersburg, MD 20879, MONTGOMERY CO
Residential Phone: 301-977-3776

Bio: Has served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Internet Technology Services of Network Solutions since September 1997. From October 1993 until September 1997, Mr. Chovnick served in various executive leadership roles with General Electric Information Services, Inc., an electronic commerce company, and, most recently, he served as Vice President of its Global Internet Solutions business. Prior to that he was a Senior Manager of IBM Corporation, a computer systems, software, networking systems and storage devices manufacturer, from January 1984 to September 1993. Mr. Chovnick received a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Florida.

Jonathan W. Emery

Position: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Age: 47

Bio: has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Network Solutions since December 1997. From 1986 until 1997, Mr. Emery held a variety of positions with Tambrands Inc., a consumer products company, most recently as Vice President, Senior Counsel and Assistant Secretary. Prior thereto, from 1977 until 1986, Mr. Emery was an Associate with the law firm of Brown & Wood. Mr. Emery received a B.A. from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

David H. Holtzman

Position: Senior Vice President, Engineering

Age: 42

Class A Shares: 13,704

1998 Sal: $157,615, Bon: $70,000, plus other compensation including options

Resides: 904 Monroe St, Herndon, VA 20170, FAIRFAX CO
1/1/1999 Assessed Value: $270,660
Most Recent Sale Date: 6/11/1998 @ $313,500
Residential Phone: 703-481-9050

Bio: Has served as Senior Vice President, Engineering of Network Solutions since February 1997. From September 1995 until January 1997, he served as Business Development Manager, Development Manager and Chief Scientist, Internet Information Technology (InfoMarket) group of IBM Corporation, a computer systems, software, networking systems and storage devices manufacturer. Prior thereto, from May 1992 to 1994, he served as a Senior Associate at Booz-Allen & Hamilton, a management consulting firm. Mr. Holtzman received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland.

Donald N. Telage

Position: Senior Vice President, Internet Relations and Special Projects

Age: 54

Class A Shares: 39,488

1998 Sal: $188,999, Bon: $85,000, plus other compensation including options

Resides: 2110 Highcourt Ln UNIT 203, Herndon, VA 20170, FAIRFAX CO
Co-owned with TELAGE SUSAN M
1/1/1999 Assessed Value: $103,600
Most Recent Sale Date: 3/28/1995 @ $116,400
Residential Phone: 703-787-9438

Bio: Has served as a director of Network Solutions since May 1995 and as Senior Vice President, Internet Relations and Special Programs of Network Solutions since February 1997. Dr. Telage also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Network Solutions from May 1995 to February 1997. Since 1986, Dr. Telage has served in various positions with SAIC and has served as a Group Senior Vice President of SAIC since 1993. Prior thereto, Dr. Telage served as a Corporate Vice President of SAIC from 1992 to 1993. Dr. Telage received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut and received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Clark University.

Douglas L. Wolford

Position: Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales

Age: 37

Bio: Has served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales of Network Solutions since December 1997. From December 1994 to November 1997, Mr. Wolford was employed by General Electric Information Services, Inc., an electronic commerce company, during which tenure he progressed to the position of General Manager Marketing (Americas). Prior thereto, he was employed from March 1989 to December 1994 by the National Academy of Engineering, most recently as Director, Development and Public Affairs. Mr. Wolford received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University, a Certificat de Langue Francaise from Sorbonne University and an M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Maryland.

Charles A. Gomes

Position: Vice President, Customer Programs

Age: 52

Resides: 17307 Bighorn Ct, Round Hill, VA 20141, LOUDOUN CO
Residential Phone: 540-338-9292

Bio: Has served as Vice President, Customer Programs of Network Solutions since March 1998. Mr. Gomes has been part of Network Solutions' management team since 1984. From October 1995 to March 1998, Mr. Gomes served as Director of Customer Programs. Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, Mr. Gomes managed various programs and projects at Network Solutions involving delivery of technical services to various federal and state government agencies. Mr. Gomes received a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of California, Davis, and a Master's of Education from Boston University.

Michael G. Voslow

Position: Vice President, Finance and Treasurer

Age: 39

Resides: 1310 Alps Dr, Mc Lean, VA 22102, FAIRFAX CO
Co-owned with VOSLOW REBECCA A R
1/1/1999 Assessed Value: $398,765
Most Recent Sale Date: 12/3/1991 @ $431,000
Residential Phone: 703-442-7891

Bio: Has served as Vice President, Finance and Treasurer since March 1998 and as Treasurer of Network Solutions since January 1997. From January 1995 to January 1997, Mr. Voslow was Vice President and Corporate Controller for MAXM Systems Corporation, a worldwide provider of computer software and professional services. Prior to joining MAXM, Mr. Voslow was a Senior Manager at Price Waterhouse where he served from August 1983 to January 1995. Mr. Voslow is a Certified Public Accountant and received a B.S. in Business Administration from Miami University (Ohio) and an M.B.A. in Finance from Duke University.

Karla Leavelle

Position: Director, Human Resources

Resides: 4610 Gramlee Cir, Fairfax, VA 22032, FAIRFAX CO
Co-owned with GRIENDLING ROBERT J
1/1/1999 Assessed Value: $256,250
Most Recent Sale Date: 6/30/1995 @ $245,000
Residential Phone: 703-978-4468

two separate issues, privacy and ownership

[Eric Smith]

There seem to be two different issues involved here, privacy and information ownership. They are not the same issue, although they are related.

With regard to privacy, it has never been the case that domain registration information was private. It makes some sense for this data to be a matter of public record; the purpose of collecting the data is to provide a means of contacting the people responsible for a domain. Since DNS is a public resource, and no one is forced to register a domain, there is some justification for the data being publicly available in order to facilitate the proper management of the public resource. I realize that there are also strong arguments to be made in favor of privacy. However, this is not my major concern. It is easy enough to register a domain with a mail drop and a voice mailbox as the contact information. Or some people provide entirely false information. I don't think that is a good idea, but it can be done. Personally I am not in favor of supporting anonymous domain registration, any more than I would be in favor of anonymous automobile registration.

What I am concerned about is the concept that NSI claims to own the data. It might perhaps seem counterintuitive, but I am claiming that I don't mind NSI giving away my data, yet I object to their selling it. And it's not really even the selling per se that is the problem. It's that since they claim to own it, they aren't really selling it. They are licensing it, and claim that no one else has the right to distribute it.

Effectively they have stolen my data, by licensing it to third parties under different terms than I've previously granted them permission. If they want to actually own my data, to the extent that they can license it as they please, then they had damn well better buy it from me first.

In addition, they appear to be combining the data with other data they obtain from third parties. Yet I am given no opportunity to review this additional data and correct any errors. Others have pointed out that much of the information NSI is selling can be obtained from D&B or other sources. However, when you obtain that information from D&B, it doesn't come pre-packaged with domain name registration information, and that is the crucial difference. NSI may have the right to resell information they have legitimately purchased from another source such as D&B, but they do not have the right to comingle it with my domain registration information, since they don't own the latter.

I feel doubly screwed by this, since I've paid them for this great privilege. What a great business to be in: one group of people pays them $70 each to collect the data, and another group buys the resulting database!

ownership of domain and whois databases

[Eric Smith]

When I signed up for my domain in December of 1995, I don't recall that the domain agreement gave the Internic (or NSI) ownership of my data. The information I provided was for the sole purpose of allowing the Internic to effectively maintain the domain name system under contract to the NSF.

Now they claim that they own the data, and that the database is proprietary such that they can do with it as they will. I think this is a load of crap, and am tempted to have a lawyer draft a cease and desist order demanding that NSI refrain from claiming that the data I've provided to them regarding my domain is proprietary to them, selling that data to a third party, or using the data in any other way not explicity authorized by their contract with the NSF.

This isn't from the registration database...

[MikeM]

The information in the database mentioned in the article is not from the registration database. Read the first paragraph again, NSI isn't licensing the database _to_ infoUSA, its licensing the data _from_ infoUSA. infoUSA is an aggregator of data about companies. They get it from public sources like the yellow pages, SEC filings and by calling the company directly.

NSI is _not_ selling the data to infoUSA and its not getting the data from registrants. Its using already public information the same way that 411 and the other yellow pages services do.

The service is no different from the services that infoUSA already sells their info to: Yahoo, MSN, AOL, etc.

Sun vs NSI

[poink]

NSI is "the .com company"

BR?
Sun is "the . in .com"

Okay, enough reading...

[Androgynous Coward]

Here's my letter via their feedback form and it is being sent to my Representatives in New York State which I retrieved from Yahoo's Gov't Directory . Stop this BS now...it's unacceptable that they are delaying the ability to "Opt Out".

I'm writing in regards to an article I've just read on news.com concerning your intention of selling business info from the InterNic database (http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-35228,00.html ?st.ne.fd.mdh).

I do not recall ever seeing any mention of this ability of yours to do this with the information I have supplied to you over the past few years. As it stands now, I am offically requesting for you to "Opt Out" my information from this planned availability as soon as possible.

In instances when I have found this practice occuring with other companies I've dealt with they've assured me that they would remove me from the databases of solicitaion lists they were using. I supplied my infomation to you with payment to obtain a service that I had no option but to use; meaning, I wasn't *giving* you my info for a free t-shirt or for the ability to win a prize. If I choose to do that I am aware of what the information is used for.

I am cc'ing a copy of this letter to my Representatives in Congress (you don't have to look it up...it's NY State) and hope that you reconsider not offering the ability to get removed from this proposed "service".

Just another A.C.

Other Methods

[Yasha]

That's a really good question..

Alternic was/is a good idea. In fact, I use (have been using) the db.root method for bind for a very long time now. But Alternic suffered from a lack of acceptance from the greater community, unfortunately. And they are a bit profit minded.

There is NO law that says I have to use the 'accepted' root servers for my name service. I can set my root servers to anything I damn well please. So then, this whole thing with NSI and et al is ridiculous, and strictly a matter of 'who does the government say runs the public database?'.

If 28 new registries pop up for new top level domains, it would take me 10 seconds to support each one of them. Why does that not happen? Well, BigCompany(tm) and its subsidiaries want to see central control instituted everywhere possible on everything in our lives, so that they can exploit those control points to leverage their profits. BigGovernment(tm) wants this too, so that they can 'Make Life Safer' for us by having it within their means to force direction and stifle radical change.

So, I would LOVE to see alternate registries and root servers, not under the purvue of any government agency or commitee, instituted. But That would take money. Gobs of it. And vision. And nobody whom HAS that money wants to spend it on this sort of thing. And noone whom has that vision seems to have that money. Also, noone has come up with a better way of maintaining all of this information, so it seems that the bind methodology will be with us for awhile. And so thus built into the DNS protocol is a central point of control.

Of course, it would be easy to use the existing bind implementation to ease that central control out from under us. There just needs to be a different strategy used for root server querying. Personally, I think that all of the top level domains should get their own root servers, if not multiple servers for each. The main root servers should only function as pointers to other TLD servers, thus eliminating the massive resource requirement. I believe .com is up to 400+megs, but that's no big deal these days, if that's all you have on your box. Now, all you have to do is a zone transfer of '.' once a week or two, and you have all of the root servers. Then you do an NS query for each TLD listed in the root server file once a day or two. Even if there are a thousand of them, it would be a small record. You would then be going directly to the TLD servers for that information. And in the systems that don't switch over to the new system, they would get one more referral than usual.

Under this scheme, any medium sized ISP could run a root server and have no problem keeping up with the load. It would NEVER get queried for name service unless you were running under the old system.

The issue then becomes, how the heck do the folks whom run TLD servers get compensated? I mean, there is no way I would run a TLD server unless I had funds coming in from somewhere. This is where the folks at BigCompany have exerted their control, and why we are left with the system we have now.

The current system has it that only registries would get money to support servers like this. Maybe that's the best way.. I don't know for certain. Something to think about.

Wow.. I'm getting long-winded..well, to sum up, I think the KEY here is to sluff off the TLD load from root servers to TLD servers. That way, root servers become less resource intensive, and the load gets distributed to all of the TLD servers, of which there could be many. Change the way we use bind a tiny bit, and we are off.

Yes, I KNOW that this would create additional traffic on an already loaded up internet.. but which do we want more.. a new method that decentralizes control a bit, or a few Kbps more of bandwidth at peak?

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