CDNIC

Country:	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Website:	nic.cd

Congolese Network Information Centre, or CDNIC was the registry operator that managed and administered the .cd ccTLD for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Office Congolais des Postes et Télécommunications (OCPT) is listed by the ccNSO as the registry manager. The OCPT is now the Société Congolaise des Postes et Télécommunications (SCPT).

History

Political Backdrop

The DRC was facing multiple internal crises in 2016 and 2017.. The Council on Foreign Relations reports that while there are encouraging signs, many of the challenges and conflicts that dominated world attention in 2017 remain today.

ccTLD Management

The required nic.cd domain was active until the summer of 2017. CDNIC's stated objectives includedː

• Harmonizing the registration of domain names in DRC to ensure that it conforms to international best practice and industry standards;
• Ensuring that use of domain names such as Dotcd, Dotgov, Dotint, Dotcom, including other names are consistent within the industry and/or business being undertaken by applicant/users;
• Ensuring the self-sustaining administration of domain name registration in the country, to reduce costs and advance the development and use of the internet;
• Providing quality services and management of the .CD domain name.

On or around August 10, 2017, a notice was posted on nic.cd that the trio of companies who had been in charge of the registry, CONIC, Webnet Africa, and Mikuba, had been removed "due to irregularities in the managment of the Registry." The English translation of the notice emphasized that the three businesses named were "all the same team." The three companies listed appear to still exist, but it is unclear whether they are operating. It is noteworthy that CONIC and Webnet Africa both still offer .cd domains, while mikuba.cd appears to allege that it is still the TLD registry provider.

Instability in operation of the domain was evident prior to the summer of 2017. Open source server automation company goCD was utilizing the .cd domain as a domain hack. Their operations were substantially disrupted when their domain "expired," despite being registered through 2021; they eventually abandoned their use of the go.cd domain.

In October 2020, security consultant Fredrik Almroth noticed that the domain name registration of one of the nameservers for the .cd ccTLD was set to expire in December. After watching the registration for the domain expire, Almroth quickly registered the name, then attempted to transfer ownership back the Democratic Republic of Congo. Control of a nameserver of a TLD would allow a hacker to employ a broad range of middle-man attacks, phishing schemes, and SSL hacks.