Beckstrom Ready For ICANN Challenges
When Rod Beckstrom accepted the top job at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers last week, a former Homeland Security Department colleague warned him that his tenure as director of the National Cybersecurity Center was a walk in the park compared to being CEO of the nonprofit group that oversees the Internet address system. "I hope you enjoy jumping out of frying pan and into the fire," the colleague said in an e-mail. But the Silicon Valley entrepreneur, author and computer security expert says he is ready for the challenge. ICANN, which is based in California but has ramped up its Washington presence in recent years, has faced intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill as it prepares to end its formal relationship with the Commerce Department in September.
Lawmakers and industry stakeholders have raised concerns about the international entity's transparency, accountability, budget processes and stakeholder affairs. Most recently, a chorus of lawmakers called for an extension of the U.S. government's formal role and closer scrutiny over how the 11-year-old organization has evolved. At a House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee hearing earlier this month, ICANN's departing CEO Paul Twomey came under intense questions, while Internet executives voiced an array of concerns. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said ICANN was "far from a model of effective and sustainable self-governance", and Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said ICANN seemed "better at furthering its own interests than those of the millions of Internet users it's supposed to look out for."
Read the full "Issue of The Week" at CongressDaily's TechCentral page here.
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