The end of the year is an exciting time: reviewing the past and curiously looking forward to the coming. We want to take the opportunity to look back on the events of the last twelve months and look ahead to the digital challenges of 2024.
The topics of our retrospective at a glance:
Start of the year: LEMARIT’s roadmap and new product developments
The start of the year was dedicated to the strategic roadmap for 2023. At LEMARIT, we are constantly striving to intensify our corporate development and adapt it to the satisfaction of our customers. At the beginning of the year, the LEMARIT team got in the mood for this development at the hotel “Das James” in Flensburg. We not only took a look at the past year, but also focused on the milestones of the coming twelve months and the future product range. In 2023, the focus was particularly on optimizing the LEMARIT.app.
On the dot: webinar series a resounding success
In order to present our knowledge and expertise not only to our customers, but also to a wider audience, we launched the “On the dot” webinar series in the summer – after all, it is no coincidence that webinars have long since become an indispensable part of the communication and information landscape.
In a themed week from July 11 to 13, we focused on current topics from the areas of legal, marketing and IT. To kick things off, CEO Martin Küchenthal explained what the term blockchain domains actually means and at the same time took a look at specific examples. The presentation by Neli Marcheva was no less current in its relevance. LEMARIT’s Senior Product Manager for Registry Services had an answer to the controversial question of how ICANN wants to enable access to WHOIS data in the future: with the new Registration Data Request Service (RDRS).
Free webinar with Neli Marcheva
For further insights into WHOIS and RDRS, watch our on-demand webinar.
Watch webinar nowAt the end of the webinar series, CTO Thomas Küchenthal took the opportunity to explain the risks that brand owners run with missing DNS records and why they are so important for preventing spam, phishing attacks and other security risks. Küchenthal also made clear the importance of this topic in an in-depth interview with dotmagazine in the fall.
Behind the scenes: Making hay while the sun shines
The aforementioned development of our services is also reflected in the growth of our team, which has become even more diverse this year and continues to have a high level of expertise. At the same time, identification and a great passion for the satisfaction of our customers have always played a major role at LEMARIT. To give lasting expression to this culture, we once again hosted the traditional LEMARIT summer party in 2023. In the company’s own courtyard, family, friends and colleagues ensured a cheerful get-together, accompanied by musical entertainment. Also here on the instruments: three LEMARIT colleagues.
The performances at the LEMARIT Halloween party in October were less traditional, but all the more terrifying. While the premises in Harrislee were transformed into an underworld, our colleagues impressed with costumes as individual as our solutions – whether as Joker & Harley Quinn, Walter White, Lagertha Lothbrok or – particularly spooky – Thomas Küchenthal-Double.
Finally, a record number of participants came together for a festive Christmas party at the end of the year. Under the motto “LEMARIT Office Olympics”, the team reviewed the year and got even closer together for office chair races, mini-golf and more.
The highlight of the year: ICANN in Hamburg
There were also celebrations in Hamburg; for the first time since 1999, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) returned to Germany – and not just anywhere, but virtually on our doorstep. At the invitation of the City of Hamburg, eco and DENIC eG, it also celebrated its 25th birthday from October 21 to 26.
LEMARIT took this as an opportunity to provide all guests visiting the Hanseatic city with insider knowledge and published the Hamburg Tour Guide (www.lemarit.hamburg) – packed with tips and tricks about restaurants and sightseeing spots in and around Hamburg.
On October 21, right at the beginning of the ICANN78 Annual General Meeting, our highlight of the week took place: the LEMARIT Hanseatic Fest. Around 100 invited guests from the domain world, including friends, colleagues, customers and industry experts, came together at the Ruder-Club “Allemannia von 1866” to enjoy Hanseatic serenity and maritime flair. A sumptuous barbecue buffet and exclusive drinks, as well as a blue and white photo box, made for a relaxed atmosphere and an all-round successful (networking) evening – with an incomparable view of the Alster, Hamburg’s blue center.
New gTLDs on the way, RDRS provides insight into WHOIS data
Of course, there were also meetings, discussions and decisions made in Hamburg. After all, ICANN has the task of ensuring the allocation of domain names and IP addresses worldwide – and thus guaranteeing the secure and stable operation of the Domain Name System (DNS) for the Internet.
With LEMARIT among the approximately 2,400 international participants, topics discussed included application procedures for new generic top level domains (gTLDs), the further development of the open, free and secure Internet and the data protection-compliant handling of registration data. The topics of DNS abuse and the influence of the new EU-wide NIS 2 directive were also high on the agenda of the working groups.
In order to influence the processes, LEMARIT was not only represented in Hamburg, but also at the two previous “Public Meetings” of the year in Cancún, Mexico (ICANN76) and Washington D.C., US (ICANN77). LEMARIT actively promoted the interests of trademark owners in the respective working groups such as the Registry Stakeholder Group, the Registrar Stakeholder Group, the Brand Registry Group, Subsequent Procedures, TechOps and others.
The two most important findings include the implementation plan for new gTLDs, which contains the expected resource requirements for the next round of applications as well as work plans and schedules, and the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). The implementation of the implementation plan represents a major step towards the opening of the next round of new gTLDs. This development also brings potential dotBRAND customers one step closer to their own TLD. As a registry service provider, LEMARIT is following the developments from the front row – with the aim of opening the application window in April 2026.
Much earlier, in November of this year, ICANN published a new form of WHOIS: the RDRS. This service makes it possible to contact registrars directly with requests for domain registration data. You can find out how this works in detail and the important role that registration data plays in the fight against cybercrime here.
New guidelines and familiar threats: a look ahead to 2024
Speaking of cybercrime: the range of possible security measures for protecting brands will continue to reflect the constant increase in digital threats in 2024 and grow accordingly. The dynamic domain world faces a number of particular challenges. It will be significantly affected by changes to regulations in the coming year, including the EU-wide NIS 2 Directive. This came into force on January 16, 2023 and must now be transposed into national law by every EU member state by October 17, 2024. The regulation obliges registries and registrars to “collect and maintain accurate and complete domain name registration data in a dedicated database with due diligence in accordance with Union data protection law in relation to personal data.” This also affects operators of DNS-I and registry infrastructure.
Policies like these aim to create a safer digital space. In order to keep pace from a company’s perspective, measures such as brand monitoring and high-quality security solutions should be high on the agenda alongside the essential basics – such as an optimal domain portfolio – in order to jointly take on the fight against phishing, hijacking and the like. In order to be able to offer state-of-the-art solutions in this area in the future, LEMARIT is expanding its team at the beginning of next year to include further proven experts.
Digital certificates have also been part of these solutions for some time now. Since the fall of 2020, SSL/TLS certificates have been issued for a maximum period of 13 months – and this period will be further shortened in 2024. In order to effectively utilize the security benefits of the shortened lifespan of 90 days, the management of digital certificates is essential. In the coming year, companies will have no choice but to automate the life cycles of digital certificates on a large scale.
We will be happy to provide you with further information on these and all other topics. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. We at LEMARIT look forward with excitement and passion to working with you in the coming year and look forward to supporting you as a reliable partner in the background.
