Trusted signals. Immediate action.

DNS AXE is a nonprofit corporation that delivers trusted, evidenced-based threat notifications, ensuring DNS operators can act responsibly against online dangers that threaten human life.

Mission

Enable timely, defensible action at the domain level when there is a well-evidenced, reasonable likelihood of immediate and credible harm to human life.

  • Evidence-first notifications
  • Aligned with the DNS community
  • Operator-ready context

Position

We focus on imminent harm and standardized justification, not on replacing laws. Clear thresholds and consistent documentation shorten the path to action while preserving auditability.

About

DNS AXE exposes peril and mitigates harm with the use of extensive research and controls. We promote voluntary, coordinated responses by Internet infrastructure actors to reduce life-threatening activity, particularly involving pharmaceuticals.

We coordinate three roles: Trusted Reporters (signals), independent Verifiers (corroboration), and Notifiers (operator bridges). This triad produces concise, defensible packets without revealing internal tradecraft.

Signals are sourced largely from the abuse-intelligence feed provided by our partner CleanDNS and community submissions are handled via the widely trusted NetBeacon.

What we are not

  • Not a regulator or law-enforcement body
  • Not a substitute for due process
  • Not a public blocklist

Key issues

Fragmentation

Jurisdictional variety and inconsistent practices slow responses to life-threatening abuse.

Thresholds

No widely adopted baseline for when DNS-level disruption is justified by imminent harm.

Evidence

Operators need concise, verifiable packages to act defensibly: facts first, claims second.

Auditability

Actions must remain reviewable, with clear reasoning and reproducible end-to-end documentation.

DNS AXE harmonizes terminology, establishes baseline evidence standards, and supplies actionable context for operators, all without revealing operational information that could assist malicious actors.

Leadership

Ron Andruff — CEO

Sportsman, veteran Internet Governance contributor, and entrepreneur with decades of executive experience across multiple industries. Longstanding ICANN community leader in policy and implementation contexts.

Mark Datysgeld — CTO

Researcher, coder, and community leader specializing in Internet Governance and Global Health Policies. Active in the ICANN ecosystem for over a decade, where he has led two major Working Groups and driven technology projects that bridge policy and operations.

Board of Trustees

Ron Andruff — Chair

Founder and CEO.

Olga Cavalli

Professor, government cybersecurity leader, and long-time Internet Governance organizer with senior national and international experience. Co-founder and Academic Director of the South School on Internet Governance and ARGENSIG.

Jeffrey Bedser

Entrepreneur in threat intelligence and online-harm mitigation with extensive DNS operational insight and decades of work on abuse investigations. Founder of iThreat and CEO of CleanDNS.

Reg Levy

Associate General Counsel for Tucows Domains, where she leads a compliance team handling abuse, policy, and law-enforcement requests. Active in ICANN registrar policy work on DNS Abuse mitigation and operational best practices.

Brian Cimbolic

Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Public Interest Registry (.ORG), overseeing legal, policy, and DNS abuse initiatives, including quality and anti-abuse programmes. Serves as Advisor to the Board.

Technical Advisory Committee

Rick Hansen

Chief Technology Officer at CleanDNS and seasoned IT executive responsible for the product and infrastructure roadmap. Brings deep experience building SaaS platforms and leading development teams in high-availability environments.

Rod Rasmussen

Cybersecurity industry leader and early pioneer in anti-phishing and DNS abuse mitigation. Co-founder of Internet Identity and long-time contributor to ICANN and security communities such as FIRST.

John Levine

Internet author and consultant best known as co-author of “The Internet for Dummies,” with decades of experience in email and Internet infrastructure. President of CAUCE and member of ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee, active where technical standards meet public policy.

Contact

For participation, due-diligence materials, or coordination with your abuse desk: