January 21, 2005 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Australian domain registrar Melbourne IT acknowledged on Friday that it did not properly confirm a transfer request for Panix.com, a mistake that led to the hijacking of the New York ISP's domain for most of this past weekend, according to a report by Internet research firm Netcraft (netcraft.com).
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In a posting to a North American Network Operators Group mailing list, the company acknowledged an error in the checking process before the transfer took place, saying the shift should never have been initiated. The company said it had closed the "loophole" that led to the slip, though it did not identify the loophole specifically.
The company said the transfer of the domain to Melbourne IT from Dotster was initiated by a Melbourne IT reseller account set up using stolen credit card information.
In its report, Netcraft suggested that the hijacking could lead to greater scrutiny of new ICANN rules put in place in November, which allow domain transfers to go through without customer confirmation by the existing registrar. ICANN began seeking feedback on the new rule last week.
Panix said in interviews that neither it nor Dotster received any notification that the transfer was set to take place.
