Some registrars take little persuasion to release the so-called 'private' information to the world, requiring only a phone request or a cease and desist letter.
It is debatable whether or not this practice is at odds with the domain registration requirement of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
However, that policy enables spammers, direct marketers, identity thieves, or other attackers to use the directory to acquire personal information about those people.
Researchers in the industry have worked on improving the design of the domain name system, in order to reduce the likelihood of attackers compromising the infrastructure.
[22] Ownership of domains held by a privacy service was also an issue in the RegisterFly case, in which a registrar effectively ceased operations and then went bankrupt.