Featured Blogs

I’m Impressed by Fadi

I could have ignored yesterday's ICANN New gTLD Applicant Update Webinar and just read summaries from the usual respected news and industry sources. However, with three hours slotted and likely questions regarding ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé's somewhat eyebrow-raising comments at the regional ICANN Registry-Registrar meeting in Amsterdam last week -- led me wanting to hear it all myself. more

Tips for Managing Your Company’s Shadow IT Issues

Shadow IT -- the use of unsanctioned software and services by employees -- is a problem. It's a big one. According to Forbes, 72 percent of executives don't know how many "shadow" apps are being used on their network. Beyond overloading network resources and impacting data compliance, there is also the real threat of security breaches from unapproved apps. Managing IT you can't see is no easy task, but fortunately it's not impossible. Here are five tips to help bring light to the shadows. more

Authentication Methods Used in the RIPE Database

Objects in the RIPE Database can only be modified by those authorised to do so. For instance, an object representing a certain range of IP addresses assigned to an organisation by the RIPE NCC or a Local Internet Registry (LIR) can be modified by the organisation holding that address space. Each database object contains one or more attributes referencing the maintainer(s) of that object. In a maintainer (MNTNER) object, credentials are listed for those who are authorised to modify any object referencing that MNTNER object. more

Data Center Operators Are Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The March 19, 2020, guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) declared what global citizens appreciate more each day as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis unfolds: "Functioning critical infrastructure is imperative during the response to the COVID-19 emergency for both public health and safety as well as community well-being." more

Three Reasons Why Apple Didn’t Have to Unlock a Phone

The US government is demanding Apple unlock iPhones in about a dozen cases beside the San Bernardino one. In a strikingly similar case, Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn rejected the government's request for three separate reasons. In the decision the judge refers several times to the San Bernardino case, and it is clear he expects this decision to be an important precedent for that one. more

ICANN Shows Safe Decisions Aren’t Always the Right Decisions

When ICANN selected Deloitte and IBM to provide technical database administration services for a key part of its new gTLD program, it became quickly clear that the choice was not made on whose proposals scored highest, but rather it was based on which partner presented the least perceived business risk but at a much higher than necessary cost. I know this because I wrote a response to the original RFP and as a result am pretty familiar with what the original specification required. more

June 8 Deadline for Survey on Recommendations for Future of the Internet

What do you think must be done to ensure the development of an open, trusted, accessible, and global Internet in the future? As part of the Internet Society's "Internet Futures" project, we'd like your input on recommendations for Internet leaders and policy makers. For more background, please read "Help Shape the Future of the Internet" by my colleague Constance Bommelaer, or browse through the Internet Futures pages. more

Two New Chinese Internet Service Constellations and Their Market

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

How Effective Are Internet Blackouts? Insights from Uganda

On 18th February, 2016, Uganda Communications Commission, the Telco regulator, ordered all ISPs to sever access to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. 11 million Internet users, including myself were forced to live through a four-day Internet blackout. With this unprecedented move, Uganda joined Syria, Russia, Egypt, Burundi and other regimes that have weaponized the Internet to curtail free speech and access to information. more

Return of Net Neutrality: Discussion of European Net Neutrality Proposal Relevant for U.S. Broadband Market

There is an interesting recent discussion in Europe about net neutrality that has relevance to the U.S. broadband market. The European Commission that oversees telecom and broadband has started taking comments on a proposal to force content generators like Netflix to pay fees to ISPs for using the Internet. I've seen this same idea circulating here from time to time, and in fact, this was one of the issues that convinced the FCC first to implement net neutrality. more

Healthy Domains Revisited: The Pharmaceutical Industry

Users scored an exciting victory over copyright-based censorship last month, when the Domain Name Association (DNA) and the Public Interest Registry (PIR), in response to criticism from EFF, both abruptly withdrew their proposals for a new compulsory arbitration system to confiscate domain names of websites accused of copyright infringement. But copyright enforcement was only one limb of the the DNA's set of Registry/Registrar Healthy Practices. more

UK: Barely One in Ten Users Are Satisfied With Mobile Broadband

A web-based poll on the Mobile Broadband Genie site had participants 1160 who were asked: "Is your mobile broadband fast enough?" 133 yes; 740 no; 287 don't know. Perceptions of the term "mobile broadband" appear to far exceed what is being delivered. While operators have been competing to offer cross-subsidized laptop and netbook deals with higher usage caps and ever cheaper mobile Internet deals, they seem to have overlooked the quality of the service. more

Mix It Up: Key Ingredients of Successful Cloud Management Systems

The cloud cuts both ways; while the ability to spin up compute power on demand has empowered even small businesses to compete on a global scale, this same flexibility has led to a significant amount of "cloud sprawl." According to Tech Radar, 61 percent of companies surveyed said cloud sprawl - both from employees using unauthorized services and not fully utilizing approved resources - is responsible for business-wide inefficiencies. Bottom line? more

Who Owns Your Connected Device?

It's been clear for years that IoT companies gather a large amount of data from customers. Everything from a smart thermometer to your new car gathers and reports data back to the cloud. California has tried to tackle customer data privacy through the California Consumer Privacy Act that went into effect on January 1. Web companies must provide California consumers the ability to opt-out from having their personal information sold to others. more

Internet Watch Foundation Uses Hashes to Block Child Abuse Material

Last week during the ICANN meeting in Barcelona I attended a short presentation from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). Their mission is pretty simple: ...eliminate child sexual abuse imagery online. Fortunately, the presentation I was at did not include any of the actual material (which would have been illegal anyway) but even without seeing any of it the topic is one that I think most people find deeply disturbing. more