Iceland closes suspected IS website

Iceland closes suspected IS websiteIcelandic authorities have shut down a website with a New Zealand-registered address suspected of being linked to the Islamic State jihadist group.

Internet in Iceland Inc. (ISNIC) revealed it had suspended the domains of a website “a known terrorist organisation” was using.

ISNIC said the website, khilafah.is, was being run by an organisation calling itself Islamic State, although they have little information on the New Zealand address used to register it. They managed to trace the address to an Iceland-based web hosting company at the weekend, but believe the site has been online for around a month.

ISNIC director Jens Petur said the URL was registered by a man living in New Zealand on 14 September. He explained that at present they have a URL with an .is suffix at ISNIC, with the registration details stating that the owner resides in New Zealand and the webhost is in Hamburg.

Petur revealed that Iceland had never had to close a website due to its content, but that they believe whoever created the site was attracted to the “.is” URL abbreviation. He said it was clear the suffix draws attention, which he described as “unfortunate for Icelanders”.

Although INSIC has closed down the website, Petur said they have no power to remove the URL unless they are given a court order, or there is proof that the domain registrar filed the wrong registration details.

If that happens, INSIC can demand the registration information and, if it is not provided, can then remove the URL because of incorrect registration protocols. However, Petur said that will not ensure the website is removed from the internet.