Second Security, Stability, and Resiliency Review
The Second Security, Stability, and Resiliency Review (SSR2) was initiated in June 2016. The review team's final report was submitted to the ICANN Board in January 2021.[1] As of May 2021, the report is awaiting board action.[1]
Background
The Affirmation of Commitments, an agreement between ICANN and the United States Department of Commerce, establishes ICANN's obligations to perform its duties with specific commitments in mind. All of the commitments bear on public and consumer trust of the organization. ICANN is to perform its functions in a manner that:
- ensures accountability and transparency of decision-making;
- preserves the security, stability, and resiliency of the DNS;
- promotes competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice; and
- enables access to registration data.
ICANN is also charged to periodically review and assess its performance through the lens of each of the above commitments.[2]
ICANN's board enshrined these commitments (and the associated reviews) in its Bylaws in Article 1 (Mission, Commitments, and Core Values)[3] and in Article 4 (Accountability and Review).[4] Article 4.6 deals with "Specific Reviews," each of which are tied to one of the commitments in the Affirmation of Commitments.[5]
The Organizational Effectiveness Committee of the board oversees the conduct of specific reviews.[6] The SSR is one such review. The Bylaws mandate that the review team include independent experts in the field of networking security and stability.[5] The Bylaws also call for SSR reviews to begin no later than five years after the completion of the prior review.[5]
Initiation, Delays, and Restarts
The call for volunteer applications was posted in June of 2016.[1] The deadline for applications was extended, in part because the ICANN Board had adopted amendments to the organization's bylaws, some of which affected the selection process for specific reviews such as the SSR.[7] Team selection was delayed until February 2017[1]
The team submitted its Terms of Reference (ToR) on May 11, 2017.[8][9] In June, the Board responded to the review team, noting that the Terms of Reference "in general must provide a clear articulation of work to be done and a basis for how the success of the project will be measured," and expressing some concerns regarding the clarity of the ToR and work objectives.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 ICANN.org - SSR Dashboard
- ↑ ICANN.org - Affirmation of Commitments, September 30, 2009
- ↑ ICANN Bylaws, Article 1
- ↑ ICANN Bylaws, Article 4
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 ICANN Bylaws, Article 4.6
- ↑ ICANN.org - Organizational Effectiveness Committee
- ↑ ICANN.org - Application Deadline Extended for SSR2, August 12, 2016
- ↑ SSR2 Workspace - Correspondence
- ↑ Terms of Reference, SSR2, May 11, 2017 (Word document)
- ↑ Board Response to SSR2 Terms of Reference, June 23, 2017