Chinese automobile conglomerate Geely has made significant strides since I last wrote about their Geesat LEO constellation for mobile vehicle connectivity. They launched the first nine satellites in June 2022 and a second batch of eleven satellites in February 2024. The mass of the first nine satellites was 100 kg, and the mass of the second eleven was 130 kg, so they are not identical. more
I'm such an industry nerd that I sometimes read customer reviews of large ISPs just to see how the public perceives them. Most ISPs have more negative reviews than positive ones, and that's to be expected since people are more likely to complain when things go wrong than give praise when things are working as promised. more
On July 22, the FCC's open Internet order - which transforms Internet access service from a lightly regulated information service into a heavily regulated telecommunications service - will take effect. This article describes the policies and legal theories underlying the Order and the Order's effect on consumers of Internet services and providers of the service, including a number of entities that had previously escaped FCC regulation. more
Afnic, the association in charge of the .fr domain and several other French overseas and generic Top Level Domains, has published the 2023 edition of its annual observatory report "The global domain name market" containing all of the latest key figures and trends in the TLD market... At year-end 2023, the global domain name market represented some 368 million domain names. more
Anybody not involved in the telephone business will probably be surprised to find that the old TDM telephone networks are still very much alive and in place. The old technologies were supposed to be phased out and replaced by digital technologies. The FCC started talking about this before 2010. In 2013, Tom Wheeler, the FCC Chairman at the time, announced an effort to force the needed changes, which was dubbed the IP Transition. more
The DNS is a crucial part of today's Internet. With the fracturing of the network's address space as a byproduct of IPv4 address run down and the protracted IPv6 transition the Internet's name space is now the defining attribute of the Internet that makes it one network. However, the DNS is not a rigid and unchanging technology. It has changed considerably over the lifetime of the Internet and here I'd like to look at what's changed and what's remained the same. more
At the recent Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) 80 Policy Forum meeting, one notable takeaway was its close focus on questions around the stability and security of the technical layer of the Internet: the growing risks which assail it, and potential ways to address these through governance. more
It is becoming clear that the broadband market is reaching maturity. This is already causing havoc in the industry for ISPs that relied on year-over-year customer growth to prop up stock prices. Earlier this year, the New Street Research, a company that specializes in research in the telecommunications and technology sectors, said that it estimated that new broadband customers would grow by about 1 million this year. more
In the Converse.co dispute, a three-member UDRP panel unanimously ordered the transfer of the disputed domain name to the Complainants, All Star C.V. and Converse, Inc., owners of the well-known brand CONVERSE for shoes and apparel. The panel drew the inference that the Respondent, by setting of an asking price of around $300,000 after having acquired the domain name for $306, was primarily motivated by a bad faith intent to target the Complaint. more
On June 9 CircleID published an insightful article by Thomas Rickert entitled "Demystifying Art 28 NIS2." In that piece Thomas set forth two alternative interpretations of Article 28(6) of NIS2, and argued that TLD registries should not be required to maintain a separate database of the registrant data under NIS2. In my view, Thomas' approach is inconsistent with the remainder of Article 28, and would not achieve the goals of NIS2 to improve cybersecurity across the EU member states. more
We've just published the 2024 edition of the DOTZON study "Digital City Brands." After introducing the study in early 2017, DOTZON has mapped how successful cities are using their Digital City Brands for the seventh year in a row. The Digital City Brand is the digital dimension of the City Brand and mirrors the "Digitalness" of a city. The advent of the Internet was why Digital City Brands came into being in the first place. more
On December 14, 2022, the European Parliament adopted the Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (Directive (EU) 2022/2555) hereinafter referred to as "NIS2"), which was published in the official journal on December 27, 2022. Being a directive, NIS2 requires transposition into national law. According to Art. 41 of NIS2, the transposition into national law must take place by October 17, 2024 and the measures must be applied as of October 18, 2024. more
In the same way monarchs are proclaimed - by powerful stakeholders attending a coronation and not objecting - the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) took a mandate last week to coordinate AI Safety worldwide, with most industry leaders and relevant UN agencies were present when it did so. more
China’s plans for low-Earth orbit Internet service constellations began with two projects, Hongyun (156 satellites) and Hongyan (864 satellites). These were eventually sidelined for Guowang, an ambitious, 12,992 satellite constellation that is expected to begin launching satellites this year. But, that is old news. China’s five-year plan designates satellite Internet as a strategic emerging industry and two new constellations have emerged, G60 (12,000 satellites) and Honghu–3 (10,000 satellites). more
Every day, there are tens of thousands of domain names registered across the globe -- often as a key first step in creating a unique online presence. Making that experience possible for Verisign-operated top-level domains (TLDs) like .com and .net is a powerful and flexible technology platform first introduced 25 years ago. more
South Korean Telecom Giant KT Corporation Accused of Infecting 600,000 Users with Malware Over Torrent Use
South Korean telecom giant KT Corporation has been implicated in deliberately infecting over 600,000 users with malware due to their use of torrent services, as reported by JTBC. more
Biden Administration Probes Chinese Telecom Firms Over U.S. Data Security Concerns
The Biden administration is investigating China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom over concerns that these companies could potentially exploit their access to U.S. data through their cloud and internet services, potentially sharing this data with the Chinese government. more
Biden Administration Bans Kaspersky Software Over National Security Concerns
The Biden administration is set to prohibit the sale of Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software in the U.S., citing national security risks due to the company's ties to the Russian government. more
French Court Orders Google, Cloudflare, Cisco to Poison DNS in Anti-Piracy Crackdown
In a significant escalation against piracy, a French court has ordered Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to tamper with their DNS resolvers to block access to approximately 117 pirate sports streaming domains. more
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has appointed Kurt Erik "Kurtis" Lindqvist as its new President and CEO, effective December 5, 2024. Lindqvist, an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience in the development of Internet Service Providers and global network carriers, currently serves as the CEO of the London Internet Exchange (LINX). more
Canadian Bill S-210 Sparks Controversy Over Internet Regulations
A new bill in the Canadian Senate, Bill S-210, has ignited a heated debate over its potential impact on the Internet in Canada. The bill, which mandates strict age verification for online content, has raised significant concerns among privacy advocates, network operators, and digital rights groups. more
Mystery Malware Takes Down 600,000 Windstream Routers in Coordinated Attack
In late October, subscribers of Windstream's Kinetic broadband service reported widespread router failures, affecting approximately 600,000 devices across 18 states. Users flooded online forums with complaints, noting their ActionTec T3200 routers displayed a persistent red light and were unresponsive to resets. more
Internet’s 50th Anniversary Celebrated Worldwide with IEEE Event
On May 19, 2024, the Internet's 50th anniversary was celebrated in a virtual event named i50, drawing participation from 1,000 IEEE members and internet enthusiasts from 56 countries. The live-streamed event was a highlight in a series of celebrations marking this milestone. more
For over four days, a crucial server within the Internet's domain name system (DNS) experienced an unexplained glitch, causing it to fall out of sync with its 12 peer root servers. The server, operated by Cogent Communications, is one of the 13 essential root servers that manage the Internet's root zone. more
Researchers Expose Privacy Risks in Apple and Starlink’s Geo-Location Data, Uncovering Military and Civilian Tracking
Researchers from the University of Maryland have revealed significant privacy and security concerns related to the way Apple and Starlink geo-locate devices. Their study found that Apple's Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) collects and publicly shares precise locations of Wi-Fi access points. more
Yemen’s Submarine Cable Repairs Hindered by Political Dispute
Repair efforts for three crucial submarine internet cables damaged in the Red Sea are being obstructed by political disputes over access to Yemeni waters. more
Today UK's new consumer protection laws against hacking and cyber-attacks officially take effect. This legislation, a global first, mandates that all internet-connected smart devices - from smartphones and game consoles to connected refrigerators - meet stringent security standards. more
In response to ongoing controversies over the use of copyrighted content in training artificial intelligence, U.S. Representative Adam Schiff has introduced the Generative AI Disclosure Act more
Major U.S. broadband providers are now mandated to display clear consumer labels outlining prices, speeds, and data allowances for their services. This directive from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) applies to all major standalone home and mobile broadband plans, targeting providers with over 100,000 subscribers. more
In a landmark move that may pave the way for enhanced online data protection in the United States, key congressional committee leaders are on the brink of finalizing a national framework to safeguard Americans' personal data on the Internet. more
Scientists Set New Internet Speed World Record: 4.5 Million Times Faster Than Average Broadband
In a groundbreaking development, scientists from Aston University, in collaboration with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan and Nokia Bell Labs in the US, have set a new world record in internet speed. more
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has unveiled the first cycle of its Grant Program, earmarking up to $10 million for projects aimed at enhancing Internet resilience and global interoperability. more
Biden Administration Alerts Governors to Rising Cyber Threats on U.S. Water Systems
The Biden administration has issued a stark warning to the nation's governors about the increasing threat of cyberattacks on the United States' water and wastewater systems. more
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has updated the national broadband speed standard to at least 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload speeds, marking the first adjustment since January 2015. more
The Council of European National Top-level domain Registries (CENTR) has issued recommendations to modify the EU's Financial Data Access Regulation proposal, warning about the potentially irreversible effects on European consumers and businesses. more
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Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, founders of Samourai Wallet, a cryptocurrency mixing service, were sentenced in April 2024 and their sites taken down for executing more than US$2 billion in unlawful transactions and laundering more than US$100 million in criminal proceeds. more
Phishing is and remains a top threat. Google alone blocks around 100 million phishing emails daily, and it doesn't help that phishers get extra help from phishing kits -- ready-made cybercrime tools that allow even cybercriminal newbies to launch attacks following a few simple steps. more
Last month, Stephanie Driver, CSC's marketing manager, spoke with Global Director of Security Services Mark Flegg and discussed the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) 2022, which comes into force in October 2024. more
Threat researcher Dancho Danchev recently uncovered 130 domains that seemingly belong to fake cryptocurrency sellers. The WhoisXML API research team sought to find potential connections to the threat by expanding the current list of indicators of compromise (IoCs) using our vast array of DNS intelligence sources. more
A new advanced persistent threat (APT) group dubbed "Unfading Sea Haze" has been trailing its sights on various organizations based in countries surrounding the South China Sea. more
Check Point Research reported a Foxit PDF Reader vulnerability that threat actors have begun exploiting, putting the application's users at risk. When exploited, the bug triggers security warnings that may deceive unsuspecting users into executing harmful commands. more
Cybercriminals can launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks with relative ease these days by using DDoS booter services, online services that automate the DDoS attack process. more
IPv4.Global, the world's largest, most-trusted and transparent IPv4 marketplace, today announced it is a founding member and sponsor of NOGUA's (Network Operators Group of Ukraine) first conference in Lviv, Ukraine, June 3-6, 2024. more
Intel-Ops researchers recently discovered that the 8Base Ransomware Group has been using Phobos ransomware to infect their targets' networks. 8Base has reportedly been active since mid-2023. more
A decade-old advanced persistent threat (APT) group called "Stately Taurus," also known as "Mustang Panda" and "Earth Preta," was recently observed targeting Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in cyberespionage activities. Specifically, Palo Alto Networks observed two malware packages that may have been used to target Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Singapore. more
While 20% of businesses may not survive past their first year, those that manage steady growth face new challenges over time. Among them is external attack surface expansion, one of the most critical security aspects for growing businesses. more
In recent news, more than 13,000 subdomains of brands were hijacked for a large spam campaign that "leverages the trust associated with these domains to circulate spam and malicious phishing emails by the millions each day, cunningly using their credibility and stolen resources to slip past security measures." more
Malwarebytes Labs recently published a report on the latest Nitrogen malware campaign that has been targeting system administrators using fake ads in the guise of Google sponsored search results. According to the security analysts, the victims are currently limited to North America. more
This month, Stephanie Driver, CSC's marketing manager, spoke with Patrick Hauss, head of Corporate Development and Strategic Alliances EMEA, about the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) as part of an ongoing a series of interviews with CSC's Digital Brand services business experts, where we talk about industry issues across cybersecurity, domains, brand protection, and fraud protection. more
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