Featured Blogs

Ethical Hacking: Turning The Tables to Boost Cyber Security

Hacking remains a huge problem for businesses. As noted by MarketWatch, more than 175 data breaches have already happened this year, and in 2015 approximately 105 million adults in the United States had their personal information stolen. For companies, the stakes are huge: Compromised systems not only damage the bottom line but can severely impact public opinion. more

The 5 key Benefits of a Branded Top Level Domain - According to the Brands Themselves

In early 2012, in order to promote Choice, Competition and Innovation, ICANN opened its doors to allow organizations to apply for new Top Level Domains. In spite of a complex and costly application process, ICANN received a very large number of applications: In total, 1,930 applications were received, of which 675 were brands applying for a closed new gTLD, a dot brand. more

Important Milestone in IANA Stewardship Transition: NTIA Says Proposal Meets Criteria

Today, the global Internet community reached an important milestone. The US Department of Commerce National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) announced that the community-developed proposal to transition the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions meets the criteria it set out in March 2014. more

Representation in Multistakeholder Model

In the recent years, a new form of multilateral cooperation has emerged that is more inclusive and open than the traditional intergovernmental approaches. A solutions oriented governance model where multiple stakeholders work in collaboration to achieve the purpose. These stakeholders could be from various states working at the global level or it could be bound to a nation-state which is referred to as the mutlistakeholderism at the regional or local level.  more

Internet Society Activities at EuroDIG 2016: Trust, Collaborative Security, Zero Rating and More…

Over the next two days (9-10 June), the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) takes place in Brussels, Belgium. With a theme of "Embracing the digital (r)evolution", EuroDIG has a full agenda and Internet Society staff will be participating in many aspects of the programme. For us, a primary focus will be at 11:30 CEST (UTC+2) on Thursday, June 9, when our President and CEO Kathy Brown opens the first Plenary with a keynote speech. more

Growing Interest Abroad for Cloud-Based Email Infrastructure

Between September of 2015 and May 2016, (last 8 months) Port25 saw almost a 30 percent jump in new cloud-based email infrastructure interest outside the United States... While most of the influential senders are not abandoning on-premises mail transfer agent (MTA) solutions, many are looking to cloud infrastructure for managing higher-volumes by bifurcating individual email streams to the cloud. more

Google’s IPv6 Stats Hit 12% on Fourth Anniversary of World IPv6 Launch

Four years ago today, thousands of websites, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo, and hundreds of networks permanently enabled IPv6 in what was called "World IPv6 Launch". One year before, on June 6, 2011, there had been a 24-hour test in "World IPv6 Day" but by June 6, 2012, IPv6 was enabled permanently for the participating sites and networks. One of the many IPv6 statistics sites many of us have watched since that time has been Google's statistics. more

Declaring and Declining to Find Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

What to one panelist is clearly bad faith conduct in filing a UDRP complaint, to another is excusable for lack of proof. The disagreement over reverse domain name hijacking centers on the kind of evidence necessary to justify it and the nature of the burden. RDNH is defined as "using the UDRP in bad faith to attempt to deprive a registered domain-name holder of a domain name." Rule 1, Definitions. more

Unlawful Targeting of Trademarks and Consumers in Registering Domain Names

Unlike trademark applications which go through a lengthy examination process before advancing to registration, anyone (anywhere in the world) can register a domain name identical or confusingly similar to a trademark - instantly and no questions asked, at least, in the traditional space (the legacy gTLDs)! With the new gTLDs registrants will receive notice of possible infringement if the brands are registered with the Trademark Mark Clearing House, but notices do not function as injunctions to block registrants from registering infringing names. more

Using the URS as a Preliminary Injunction for Domain Name Disputes

As I've written before, the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) - the domain name dispute policy applicable to the new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) - is just not catching on. Whether because of its limited suspension remedy, high burden of proof or other reasons, the URS remains unpopular among trademark owners. However, there's one interesting use to which the URS can be put. more

Is 5G Over-Hyped?

It probably is because we are so good at doing that in our industry. We start with over-promising and under-delivering and then in following years we fix it. So why would 5G be different? Our admirable technology companies are telling us that 5G will be 100x faster than 4G and that it will have 50x lower latency. But my more independent technology colleagues tell me 'it all depends'. more

Senate Oversight Hearing Explores “Test Drive” of IANA Transition

The IANA transition still appears to be on track for consummation at the end of the September 30th expiration date of the current contract between NTIA and ICANN in the wake of the May 24th Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing on "Examining the Multistakeholder Plan for Transitioning the Internet Assigned Number Authority". That is, while there are clearly some concerns on both sides of the aisle about terminating the remaining U.S. government ties to ICANN... more

May 31 Deadline for $517,000 US in Internet-related Grants in Africa and Asia Pacific

If you are located in Africa or the Asia Pacific region, this coming Tuesday, May 31, is the application deadline for an excellent series of grants related to Internet infrastructure, development, security and education. I just wrote about the Internet Society Cybersecurity Grant for up to $56,000 AUD (roughly $40K USD) in the Asia Pacific region... but it is part of a larger set of grants that all have a deadline of May 31. more

Are Blockchains the Solution to Financing Smart Cities?

One of the most difficult elements in the development of smart cities is how to finance them. Local government doesn't have the money for it and while state and federal governments might have more money to spend there is no way that their current tax funds could pay for even a fraction of the investments that are needed. Indeed the reality is that in order to create a smart city... massive up-front investments are needed. more

IP Addresses Are Not Telephone Numbers - The Fundamental Flaw with the FCC’s Proposed Privacy Rules

Last month the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI), the information telcos collect about consumers' phone calls. The Commission's proposed rules would adapt and apply privacy rules that have historically applied to the traditional telephone space to broadband carriers. It would also regulate how broadband providers use and share that data. more