Featured Blogs

Call for Proposals: ICANN 64 DNSSEC Workshop in Kobe, Japan (March 2019)

Will you be at the ICANN 64 meeting in March 2019 in Kobe, Japan? If so (or if you can get to Kobe), would you be interested in speaking about any work you have done (or are doing) with DNSSEC, DANE or other DNS security and privacy technologies? If you are interested, please send a brief (1-2 sentence) description of your proposed presentation before 07 February 2019. more

What If I Were Wrong About Edge-Caching?

Nicholas Thompson at Wired Blog sums up yesterday's Wall Street Journal piece on Google. To summarize his summary: Google's edge caching isn't new or evil; Lessig didn't shift gears on NN; Microsoft and Yahoo have been off the NN bandwagon since 2006; The Obama team still supports NN; Amazon's Kindle support is consistent with its NN support. Yet... yet... more

A Domain Or Social Media: What Builds Consumer Trust? (A Market Research Study Conducted by the DNA)

Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have become key places for businesses to communicate with customers and even sell directly to consumers. Yet when it comes to actually making a purchase, do consumers trust a social media site over a domain? This is a relevant question for virtually every business. Earlier this year, we designed a survey to answer this question... more

Hannaford Data Breach Plaintiffs Rebuffed in Maine

A US District Judge in Maine largely granted a motion to dismiss brought by Hannaford in a big data breach case... According to the court, around March 2008, third parties stole up to 4.2 million debit and credit card numbers, expiration dates, security codes, PIN numbers, and other information relating to cardholders "who had used debit cards and credit cards to transact purchases at supermarkets owned or operated by Hannaford." more

CircleID’s Top 10 Posts of 2008

Here is a list of the most viewed news and blog postings that were featured on CircleID in 2008... Best wishes for 2009 and Happy New Year from all of us here at CircleID. more

Internet Governance: What Does It Mean, Anyway?

Ask anyone involved in Internet policy what "Internet Governance" means and you're likely to get a different answer, despite the fact that a decade ago, after torturous negotiations, the international community agreed on a working definition for the term (if a vague one). The lack of clarity has resulted in a policy space that appears to cover more and more subjects, with less and less agreement the more it spreads. In discussions recently on the /1net email list, I've seen proposals for an 'Internet Governance Roadmap' that includes delivering e-health initiatives, solving mass surveillance, and adopting new measures for taxation of Internet commerce - to name just a few. more

Cuban “Technological Sovereignty” - a Walled Garden Strategy?

ToDus, a messaging application described as a "Cuban WhatsApp" and Apklis, a distribution site for Android mobile apps, were featured at the First Computerization Workshop held recently at the Universidad de Ciencias Informáticas (UCI). One might ask, why do we need a Cuban WhatsApp and Apklis when we already have WhatsApp itself and the Google Play Store? more

ICANN Approves New gTLD Program; Applications Accepted January 2012

In what can best be described as a historic decision, today the ICANN Board overwhelmingly approved the new gTLD Program with a vote of 13 to 1 with 2 abstentions. Applications for new gTLDs will be accepted from January 12, 2012 to April 12, 2012. Experts believe that there will likely be hundreds of new applications submitted during this first round. more

President of Afternic Responds to WLS Issue

Afternic holds a unique position on this subject; we're neutral. This is partly because we have partners on both sides of the issue and want to be diplomatic. But it is also because we don't think that it matters much in a mature domain name market. The backorder service market is an apparition. It depends on the owner of a valuable property thinking the property is worthless. How long can that situation exist to fuel the backorder market? As domain name owners gain knowledge and experience regarding domain name values, we expect few valuable names to drop.

A positive consequence of this debate is that domain name owners will gain knowledge about the value of their domains. more

ICANN Terminates AlpNames

AlpNames has been sent a notice of termination by ICANN. Unlike many termination notices that specify a future date, the one they were sent has an immediate effect. As reported in multiple fora over the last few days AlpNames had gone offline, and at time of writing still is. They've also become unresponsive. It's on the basis of this that ICANN decided to terminate their contract straight away. more

More Available Wireless Spectrum and Higher Market Entry Barriers

The tremendous demand for, and profitability of mobile telephony supports legislative and regulatory efforts to refarm spectrum with an eye toward reallocating as much as possible for wireless telephony and data services. But there is a downside that no one seems to acknowledge. In light of past FCC practice and the behavior of incumbent wireless carriers I expect two anticompetitive outcomes to occur with the onset of any more spectrum. more

The CCT Review Needs You!

Come join the discussion on Wednesday 17:15 UTC. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? As ICANN approaches its 18th birthday, it marks its ascension to adulthood and independence with a new framework of accountability. As we attempt to modernize and empower the organization with oversight of the DNS, the question of "who watches the watchmen?" is on the tip of everyone's tongue. more

Comments on ICANN’s Studies on New Proposed TLDs

I outline some general critical comments on the recent commissioned reports for ICANN's proposed introduction of new top-level domain names (TLDs)... The reports cite seminal papers in economics, but the papers' applicability here is dubious. For example, for economists a "good" is a product intended for consumption, which is a different sort of animal than a financial investment. more

Another Big Step Forward for New TLDs

So after the initial reaction and "over-reaction" by some folks in the audience, I have been thinking about the implications of the ICANN resolution on new gTLDs at its Board meeting in Cartagena, Colombia. In short, the resolution and subsequent comments by the chair, Peter Dengate-Thrush have shown that there is positive momentum with respect to the program overall. "We have reached a turning point in the new gTLD program" he said. more

Creating a National Cybersecurity Framework: Need For New Regulation?

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released a major new study examining cybersecurity. The report, "Creating a National Framework for Cybersecurity: An Analysis of Issues and Options" discusses a variety of significant public and private cybersecurity concerns. The CRS analysis lists several broad options for addressing cybersecurity weaknesses ranging from adopting standards and certification to promulgating best practices and guidelines and use of audits among other measures. more