ICANN have requested information from prospective contractors and other interested parties who can assist them and its High Security Top-Level Domain (HSTLD) Advisory Group in assessing and shaping a new programme aimed at increasing security and trust for top-level domain registry operators who choose to participate. “This is an opportunity for interested stakeholders to have a voice in the formation of a program that will provide an additional layer of trust in the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS),” said Craig Schwartz, Chief gTLD Registry Liaison. “Eventually this programme could allow interested top-level domain registries to obtain an HSTLD designation, which will mean that a third party evaluator has verified that its business and technical operations have met certain security criteria.” The HSTLD programme will be available to any top-level domain registry operator who wishes to participate