|
ICANN has a managed process for dealing with domain registrar failures.
Registrars are required as part of their agreement with ICANN to maintain a third party backup of all data which is monitored and overseen by ICANN.
ICANN can gain access to this data at any time, regardless of registrar status e.g.: if they have a belief that a register is not abiding by ICANN rules or if the registrar looks like going into liquidation.
If ICANN deem necessary then they begin a well prepared procedure called the De-Accreditation Registrar Transition Procedure (DART).
The first option in the procedure provides the failed registrar to nominate a gaining registrar to take the bulk of domains. ICANN needs to approve the nomination. If this occurs then domains are simply transferred to the gaining registrar.
The more drastic option is that ICANN will call for expressions of interest from all registrars and then choose a gaining registrar from those expressions of interest and domains are transferred to that gaining registrar.
If neither of these options can be arranged within a reasonable period of time then ICANN itself will take over the handling of the registered domains to the point of locking all the domains and then allowing registrants to unlock and then transfer the domain to their registrar of choice.
These eventualities have been well thought out and the worst case scenario for anyone with an affected domain is that they will have to recover their domain via an unlocking process that ICANN has put in place and transfer the domain to a new registrar.
|