LOS ANGELES - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) organization announced the formal restart of the Second Review of the Security, Stability, and Resiliency of the Domain Name System (SSR2).

According to ICANN, the formal restart is marked by the addition of new review team members to the existing roster and the engagement of a facilitator to assist the review team with the transition process.

In April 2018, ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees (SOs/ACs) appointed four new members to the SSR2 Review Team to address the need for additional skills. These new members include:

• Kimberly C. Claffy – Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)

• Laurin Weissinger – At-Large Community (ALAC)

• Rao Naveed Bin Rais – Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)

• Scott McCormick – Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)

In response to the SO/AC chairs' 15 February letter and 13 March request to the Organizational Effectiveness Committee of the ICANN Board (OEC), the ICANN organization (ICANN org) has engaged an external professional to facilitate the transition process and help the review team in restarting and moving forward with its work. After reviewing facilitator profiles and guidance from SO/AC chairs, ICANN org has identified Phil Khoury of Cameron.

Ralph. Khoury Consulting Services to assist the review team in relaunching its activities. Phil Khoury was distinguished by his 15 years of experience facilitating discussions, his solid understanding of the ICANN multistakeholder model, and consensus building expertise to address the scope and focus areas SO/AC chairs established in their 13 March note. His responsibilities will include:

a. onboarding new members who have joined since the "pause" and agreeing on leadership from within the current membership;

b. helping the group to work through concerns around membership and scope as identified in a confidential survey conducted by the SO/AC chairs shortly after the pause; and

c. helping the review team to identify ways to reach consensus.

Next Steps

Phil Khoury will reach out to all review team members to gather input for next steps on a proposed three-day face-to-face meeting ICANN is coordinating with the review team that will take place at its office in Belgium or another identified location. SO/AC chairs noted in their communication of 13 March some key items in relation to both the work of the facilitator and expected deliverables of the work. SO/AC chairs announced in their letter that they plan to share the information gathered from their survey (conducted after ICANN60) with the facilitator to inform his work.