Sources: Ex-cyberchief is top pick to head ICANN

NEW YORK -- Rod Beckstrom, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief who resigned in March amid persistent turf battles, is the leading candidate to run an international organization with oversight of the monikers behind every Web site and e-mail address, The Associated Press has learned.

Beckstrom's approval as chief executive of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers could come with a board vote Friday as ICANN caps weeklong meetings in Sydney, Australia, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has yet to be made, and negotiations could still fall through.

Beckstrom has been attending some public sessions and meeting privately with board members this week.

If approved, he would replace Paul Twomey, ICANN's third and longest-serving chief executive. Twomey, an Australian who became CEO in March 2003, plans to stay with the organization until the end of the year to help with the transition.

The U.S. government, which funded much of the Internet's early development, selected ICANN in 1998 to oversee policies on domain names -- the ".com" and other suffixes that define zones on the Internet.

The Marina del Rey, Calif.-based nonprofit organization is in the midst of revamping procedures for adding domain name suffixes, a move likely to spawn hundreds or thousands of new Internet addresses in the coming years.

ICANN had wanted to start taking applications for new names early this year, but that timetable proved too ambitious as objections were raised over such issues as whether trademark owners could wind up having to buy thousands of new domain names simply to protect their intellectual-property rights.

A launch next year is more likely, under the new chief's tenure.

ICANN also is close to allowing entire Internet addresses to be in languages besides English for the first time. That could begin as early as year's end.

In recent years, ICANN also has expanded its role to tackle security issues, given the importance of domain names in allowing computers to find Web sites and route e-mail. Minute changes in the directories of domain names could lead users to a fake Facebook site or even make all Web sites under country-specific domain name unreachable. ICANN has been working with other technology groups to promote ways to authenticate entries.

Beckstrom brings security experience, having served as the first director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity Center, which was formed in 2008.

This past March, less than a year after taking the job, Beckstrom complained in a blunt resignation letter about a shortage of money for the center and a clash over whether the National Security Agency should control Internet-security efforts. The role of the NSA in protecting domestic computer networks has triggered debate, particularly among privacy and civil-liberties groups that oppose giving such control to U.S. spy agencies.

Previously, Beckstrom served as chairman of Privada Inc., a company that developed Internet privacy technology. He also co-founded software companies and has co-authored four books.

Beckstrom's service with the U.S. government could help him navigate upcoming negotiations with the Department of Commerce over the future role of ICANN. Commerce retains oversight of ICANN under an agreement that expires Sept. 30; some parties, including governments abroad, have pushed for independence.

But Beckstrom's blunt resignation also could be a liability, as he is "accused by some of burning bridges in Washington," said Milton Mueller, a Syracuse University professor who has often been critical of ICANN.

Mueller said he hoped Beckstrom ultimately would prove tough enough to stand up to "severe political pressure from governments and well-organized business lobbyists."

An executive search firm hired by ICANN, Egon Zehnder International, had received more than 100 applications and approached hundreds of others. ICANN's board interviewed eight finalists before settling on Beckstrom, according to the people with knowledge of the talks.

Twomey, who declined a three-year contract renewal with ICANN, has not announced his post-ICANN role beyond saying he was seeking another leadership job in the private or international sector.