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→TAS Delays and Closing of the Application Window
===TAS Delays and Closing of the Application Window===
===TAS Delays and Closing of the Application Window===
On April 12, 2002, ICANN's Chief Operating Officer, [[Akram Atallah]] issued a statement, just hours before TAS was scheduled to close as per the set application window, acknowledging that a a possible glitch in the TLD application system software caused a limited number of users to see the file names and user names of other users. He said that ICANN decided to shut down the system until April 17 to protect applicants' information. Mr. Atallah also said that ICANN is investigating how the problem happened and that necessary measures would be undertaken to resolve the situation. <ref>
[http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-3-12apr12-en.htm Statement on TLD Application System]</ref>
Following Atallah's statement, [[Kevin Murphy]] of [[DomainIncite]] reported that an applicant claimed that he noticed that a file from another applicant was attached to his application on April 6 and immediately reported the problem to ICANN. The applicant said, ''"I could infer the applicant/string… based on the name of the file."'' However the actual contents of the file were not visible. The TAS problem ignited different speculations and questions within the internet community, particularly the how long will TAS suffer from vulnerability, who among the applicants saw others applications and if some applicants took advantage of the situation and filed competing bids.<ref>
[http://domain.incite.com/icann-knew-about-tas-security-bug-last-week/ ICANN knew about TAS security bug last week]</ref><ref> [http://domainincite.com/its-worse-than-you-thought-tas-security-bug-leaked-new-gtld-applicant-data/ It’s worse than you thought: TAS security bug leaked new gTLD applicant data]</ref>
On April 14, 2012, ICANN issued another statement related to the TAS problem. The internet governing body identified that a report on March 19 was the only incident related to the technical glitch.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-14apr12-en.htm TAS Interruption - Update (14 April 2012 06:50 UTC)]</ref>
ICANN continue to delay the opening of TAS, with little explanation, and first noted that it would continue to be unavailable until April 20th.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-12apr12-en.htm TAS Temporarily Offline]</ref> <ref>
[http://domainincite.com/breaking-icann-extends-new-gtld-application-window-after-technical-glitch/ Breaking: ICANN extends new gTLD application window after technical glitch]</ref>
Apart from the extension of the application window, ICANN also informed journalists that the problem was not caused by a cyber attack, no application data was lost and the TAS system is expected to open soon.<ref>[http://a.sw.io/4lpYmPg Was ICANN's new gTLDs system hacked?]</ref><ref>
[http://domainincite.com/tas-glitch-not-an-attack-says-icann/ TAS glitch “not an attack” says ICANN]</ref>
On April 23, 2012, ICANN announced that it was able to identify all applicants affected by the TAS failure and the testing to fix the system is running smoothly. In addition, it also announced the postponement of the scheduled publication of all the applied new gTLD strings until April 30. <ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-23apr12-en.htm TAS Interruption Update, April 23]</ref> Two days after, ICANN released an update informing applicants that the TAS will re-open on April 27. <ref>[http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-25apr12-en TAS Interruption - Update (25 April 2012)]</ref> ICANN continuously provided update to the internet community regarding the progress of the testing to resolve the system. On April 27, the internet governing body reported that based on its analysis there are still limited number of affected applicants and tests to improve the system are being conducted continuously. ICANN again delayed the opening of the TAS system but promised to continue to provide updates.<ref>[http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-27apr12-en TAS Interruption - Update (27 April 2012)]</ref>
On April 30, 2012, [[ICANN CEO]] [[Rod Beckstrom]] stated that he is hoping that the technical failure will be fixed before his term expired and he passes the job to his successor during the [[ICANN 44]] meeting, which was to be held in Prague on June 29, 2012. He said, ''"I’d like to see us obviously get the technical issues resolved, notify applicants, reopen the window and publish the strings before I pass the baton in Prague. That’s not a commitment at this point in time, it’s an indication as CEO that it’s absolutely my intention to push for a timely resolution of this issue… If we can get things done sooner, then the sooner the better."'' <ref>
[http://domainincite.com/beckstrom-breaks-tas-bug-silence-says-big-reveal-could-be-as-late-as-prague/ Beckstrom breaks TAS bug silence, says Big Reveal could be as late as Prague]</ref>
On May 2, 2012, ICANN reported that there were 1268 registered users and around 95,000 file attachments were available when the system went offline. It estimated 455 incidents wherein a file name and user name was possibly seen by another applicant. It also identified that the file names and user names of 105 applicants were viewed by another applicant and 50 applicants possibly viewed the file names and user names of one or more applicants. ICANN assured the internet community that it was continuously working on improving the system to fix the technical problem.<ref>
[http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-02may12-en TAS Interruption - Update (2 May 2012)]</ref> On May 4, ICANN informed that it received approximately $350 million dollars in application fees and the payments from 214 potential applicants registered before the March 29 cut had yet to be received. In addition, the internet governing body also reported that notifications were being sent to applicants informing them if they were affected by the software. The notification process was expected to be completed by May 8 and the schedule to re-open the TAS to be announced thereafter.<ref>[http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-04may12-en TAS Interruption - Update (4 May 2012)]</ref>
ICANN re-opened the TLD Application System on May 21. TAS was down for a total of 40 days; the length of this downtime has been criticized by ICANN's detractors and supporters alike.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/9026-tas-reopens-after-humiliating-40-days TAS reopens after humiliating 40 days, domainincite.com]</ref> All applicants were able to log in, review and submit their applications until May 30, 2012.<ref>[http://htl.li/1gPHZr TAS Interruption Update May 21, 2012]</ref>
===Reveal Day and Aftermath===
===Reveal Day and Aftermath===