The Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency (CISA) is making some major changes to how it manages the infrastructure behind official government websites. The next change, CISA said, is launching a new .gov registrar.
According to CISA, the coming registrar will be a new way to request and manage .gov domains. The agency plans to retire its current platform and open a new one for domain managers in November of this year.
The new registrar puts the domain request process online, meaning a physical signature will not be required. It will enable many future features, like domain name system (DNS) hosting.
On October 13, CISA paused all requests for new .gov domains until January. CISA said it will review requests made before the pause. Moving to the new registrar will require users to take additional actions, which CISA detailed in an email to domain registrants, such as an updated email address and creating and verifying a Login.gov account.it
Those who have a .gov domain “created [with] a Login.gov account with the same email address” using CISA’s current platform will be able to “manage [their] domain in [CISA’s] new registrar” in November, the agency said.
CISA plans to contact users of its current platform in November with further updates on the new platform once it’s live.
CISA initially announced these infrastructure changes last year. The changes should make it easier for government organizations to set up a .gov website, while also making the domain more secure, CISA stated.
“It should be easy for governments to get a .gov domain – and hard to manage one insecurely. So, over the next few months, CISA will initiate major changes to the .gov top-level domain’s tech infrastructure, laying a foundation for the services we will offer in the coming years,” Cameron Dixon, .gov registry manager, said in a September 6 statement announcing the upcoming changes.
Last month, the agency offered a list of upcoming changes to the .gov infrastructure, including the new registrar.
In addition, CISA plans to move the .gov registry to a new DNS service provider. According to the agency, it will be a carefully coordinated shift to ensure government agencies or the public depending on .gov websites and email addresses, aren’t impacted.
This fall, CISA plans to set up a fresh website where users can learn more about .gov. CISA shared a beta version of the site in September 2023.
