A costly consequence of security breaches.
Ben Butler reports:
Corporate raider Nicholas Bolton has lost his legal battle with internet domain-name regulator auDA over a security breach at his domain-name business.
On Monday, auDa will take over about 10,000 customers who registered domain names through Mr Bolton’s company, Australian Style. The transfer can go ahead because three Court of Appeal judges yesterday threw out an appeal by Australian Style, which trades as Bottle Domains.
In his reasons, Justice David Harper said Australian Style had ”sought to persuade the trial judge that what on careful examination was clearly one thing, was actually another”.
Justices Peter Buchanan and Mark Weinberg agreed with Justice Harper’s reasons. Costs were awarded against Australian Style. Mr Bolton acted in bad faith and his stance towards auDA had a ”lack of reality”, Justice Harper said.
Australian Style is better known as the vehicle used by Mr Bolton for a daring $4.5 million raid on stricken toll road builder BrisConnections last year. But the company traded as a domain name registrar from 2002 until last year, when auDA moved to revoke its licence after two security breaches involving customer information. The termination was suspended because Mr Bolton sued auDA in the Supreme Court. AuDA chief executive Chris Disspain said the termination was ”no longer suspended”.
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