IT directors are not being sufficiently vigilant about online processes, according to the organisation responsible for co-ordinating internet addresses.

And they are inadvertently putting the reputation of their business on the line by not ensuring timely registration of domain names.

Speaking exclusively to Computing at the annual meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) in Cape Town this month, president and chief executive Paul Twomey warned that global chief information officers (CIOs) are operating a very risky strategy.

Icann holds regular 'working group' meetings around the world. One of the issues these groups consider is the implementation of policies, particularly the registrars that sell domain names.

When Icann started, there was just one registrar for all .com, .net and .org domains.

Now there are almost 350 accredited by the organisation, and because of the increasing competition, prices have dropped by more than 80 per cent.

Consequently, Twomey says, businesses need to be more vigilant.

'A couple of months ago I had a phone call from a very large software company, with hundreds of millions of pounds of online sales,' said Twomey.

'It had failed to renew its domain name.'

This particular business had its domain registered with 'one of the more adventurous' registrars, which had taken control of the company's domain and put a porn site in its place.

'As of Monday morning, instead of having hundreds of thousands of dollars of ecommerce flowing through the web site, customers to the business were getting porn,' said Twomey.

The software company's unhappy CIO quickly called Icann. The organisation holds the accreditation for all its registrars and has put in place several consumer protection policies, including a redemption grace period.

The policy gives users that fail to renew their domain a period of time in which to renew before losing it.

'The registrar had breached the redemption grace period, so we had a sharp conversation with the registrar and, several hours later, the domain name was back up and operating,' said Twomey.

'IT directors will be responsible for a site that moves hundreds of millions of dollars in ecommerce, but will not think about a $25 domain name. It's like building a skyscraper and not thinking about your land tax.'

It is time, therefore, for IT directors to pay closer attention to the basic infrastructure of the internet, he says.

'Icann co-ordinates a single global, interoperable internet. It ensures that any ecommerce transaction, mail or URL request that goes across the internet works smoothly,' said Twomey.

'If the functions we perform did not occur, businesses' online activities would be in dire threat.

People should be concerned about how Icann operates, because it's one of the fundamental infrastructure issues that supports their business.'

Icann helps to provide services to the internet's billion users worldwide.

'IT directors might not be aware of what we do because the internet works well,' said Twomey.

'But they need to pay attention because, as the internet continues to globalise, and as the issues begin to get more complex, we need to ensure the web is managed in a sensible way.'

Currently up for debate is the future direction of Icann.

The organisation has just released a strategic plan outlining its direction for the next three years.

Icann has been operating under the auspices of the US Commerce Department since the late 1990s, and aims to become an independent group in 2006.

'When we complete the transition, the US government is keen that a multi-stakeholder organisation should continue to operate,' said Twomey.

He is keen to maintain input from the technical community, global business, internet users and the world's governments, without the over-arching influence of any other global bodies, such as the United Nations (UN).

'IT directors should think very carefully about whether they want a UN-controlled or self-regulatory model,' said Twomey.

'We represent a public-private partnership and self-regulation, and we don't think the internet is naturally open to international treaty and UN control.'