ICANN focuses on security

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body that sets standards for the Web's address system, on Monday named Dr. Stephen Crocker as chairman of a newly formed Standing Committee on Security and Stability. Crocker helped develop protocols for ARPAnet, a precursor to the current Internet, and organized the forerunner of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a key Net standards body. The announcement comes as ICANN continues to be challenged by outspoken critics of its policies. ICANN has been engaged in a heated battle with Web address administrators in Europe, which say the group must guarantee the stability of servers that link domains.