Business Services Industry

Go Daddy is a Trailblazer in Safeguarding Customer Data

Business Wire, Feb 25, 2008

Domain Giant Becomes 1st Registrar to Escrow with ICANN

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Go Daddy Group, Inc. network of registrars are the first to back up all of their customer information with an outside data storage firm under new regulations set forth by The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The Registrar Data Escrow (RDE) program is an ICANN initiative designed to protect consumers from losing control of their domain names should a registrar lose its accreditation or go defunct.

Of course, Go Daddy, the global leader in domain registrations, has always backed up its data - including the registrant and other contact information - through a multi-pronged program that also protects registrants' privacy.

Escrowing the data with ICANN, per the new regulations, provides an additional layer of security, while also setting a good example for the registrar community.

"Go Daddy's customers already enjoy unparalleled, world-class customer support and security," Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons said. "But as the world's undisputed leader in domain registrations, we feel it is our responsibility to take the lead on this important issue."

Go Daddy's registrars are partnering with information protection and storage firm Iron Mountain, also the ICANN designated Registrar Data Escrow Agent, on the project. The new initiative requires all registrars to deposit a copy of their registration databases each week, with high-volume registrars depositing incremental updates daily.

"By getting industry leaders, such as Go Daddy, on board - early in the process - our testing with large volumes of data is streamlined. Go Daddy's participation has been key to ICANN's rollout of the Registrar Data Escrow program," said John Boruvka, vice president of Iron Mountain's Intellectual Property Management services.

The Go Daddy Group is led by its flagship, GoDaddy.com, the world's largest domain name registrar. Go Daddy has more than 27 million names in its portfolio and serves 5 million customers worldwide. It is also one of the planet's best Web hosting providers. It hosts more Web sites with SSL certificates - which guarantee the encryption of sensitive data - than any other company on the globe.

About The Go Daddy Group, Inc.

Go Daddy is a leading provider of services that enable individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence. Go Daddy provides a variety of domain name registration and Web site hosting services, as well as a broad array of on-demand and other services. The Go Daddy Group, Inc. has more than 27 million domain names under management. Go Daddy registers, renews or transfers a domain name every second. GoDaddy.com is the world's No. 1 domain name registrar according to Name Intelligence, Inc. GoDaddy.com is also rated the world's largest hostname provider according to Netcraft Ltd. During 2007, The Go Daddy Group registered more than one-third of all domain names registered in the top six generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, and .mobi.