Breach notice to Pheenix — ICANN sends
Domain name registrar has gone M.I.A.
ICANN has sent a breach notice (pdf) to domain name registrar Pheenix, giving it until May 14 to shape up or face losing its accreditation.
Pheenix was a popular registrar for domain name investors since of a drop catching service it ran. But clients have complained that they can’t get in touch with anyone from the registrar and cannot transfer out their domains.
ICANN cites a number of infractions:
- Not making registration data available upon request by ICANN
- Not providing Whois data in the correct format
- Not paying its accreditation fees
The organization also cites a number of examples of Pheenix ignoring client requests. It’s not responding to ICANN either, and the phone number ICANN has on file is apparently not working.
It’s rather stunning that ICANN hasn’t taken action sooner. As stated by the letter, ICANN has been trying to contact the registrar regarding various issues since October 2019 but hasn’t heard from the registrar.
In other words, the whole thing is a clusterf*ck.
