Featured Blogs

Apple (Not Surprisingly) is Not a Cybersquatter

It's highly unusual for a well-known trademark owner to be accused of cybersquatting, but that's what happened when a Mexican milk producer filed a complaint against Apple Inc. under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in an attempt to get the domain name lala.com. Not only did Apple win the case, but the panel issued a finding of "reverse domain name hijacking" (RDNH) against the company that filed the complaint. more

Telco Stimulus Package: Australian Case Study

Most developed nations are now revisiting their telecoms policies with a view to using telecoms infrastructure as a tool to revive the economy. And when exploring this it quickly becomes clear that open networks are necessary if we are to achieve the economic benefits that the digital economy has to offer. The multiplier effect of open infrastructure is obvious. It stimulates developments in healthcare, education, energy, media and Internet -- this in stark contrast to the closed (vertically-integrated) networks that are currently operated by most incumbent telcos around the world. more

More Denial of Service Attacks

There are quite a lot of NTP-amplified denial of service attacks going around at the moment targeting tech and ecommerce companies, including some in the email space. What does NTP-amplifed mean? NTP is "Network Time Protocol" - it allows computers to set their clocks based on an accurate source, and keep them accurate. It's very widely used - OS X and Windows desktops typically use it by default, and most servers should have it running. more

An Open Internet Is Critical for UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, a significant focus of the United Nations will center on the future of global development, including negotiating a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at guiding policy in achieving dignity, well-being, and equality for all the world's people -- especially the poor and underserved. The currently proposed SDGs consist of an ambitious set of 17 goals and 169 specific targets. more

How Should I Present .Brand Domains in Advertising? (Part 1)

Do consumers still get confused when they see a URL without a .com (or other traditional extension)? Probably -- but I don't think anyone really knows the answer to that from a global perspective. What I do know, however, is that it's important for those of us in the new TLD industry to help our brand customers ensure that we're providing audiences with the best possible chance to identify new domains as legitimate web addresses. more

Revised Top Level Domain Law in Sweden?

On March 31, Swedish regulatory overview office, Post and Telecom Authority published a 54 pages report on revision of the Swedish Top-Level Domain (TLD) law for internet. The report contains proposals for revision of policy and Swedish law regulating top level domains. This is not a surprise. The issue has been simmering for ten years, at least. However, with increasing dependency of information society, public regulators are increasingly inclined to revise public regulation in the area. more

Likely and Behind the Scenes Changes at the FCC

It should come as no surprise that the Federal Communications Commission will substantially change its regulatory approach, wingspan and philosophy under a Trump appointed Chairman. One can readily predict that the new FCC will largely undo what has transpired in previous years. However, that conclusion warrants greater calibration. more

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

The Internet in Cuba - a Periodismo de Barrio Anthology

Periodismo de Barrio has edited a collection of 13 articles on the Cuban Internet in collaboration with the Internet Policy Observatory at the University of Pennsylvania. The articles cover the history of the Cuban Internet, the legal framework, services, communities, and projects. It is a diverse collection -- something for everyone. Here are thumbnail summaries of each article. more

Names, Numbers and Beyond…

Couple of weeks ago I started a new initiative called "Names, Numbers and Beyond". I started this as I genuinely think we are facing big issues due to the uncontrolled and non-standard growth of the IP and Name space used today and tomorrow. To keep in control and make everything manageable, parcelling out IP address space and the use of tight naming standards/policies is necessary to make networks work better and make them achievable. 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

Here is the DNSSEC Activity at ICANN 58 in Copenhagen March 12-15, 2017

Want to learn more about the current state of DNSSEC? Want to see demos of new software to secure email? Curious about the potential impact of the Root Key Rollover happening this year? Next week in Copenhagen, Denmark, ICANN 58 will include some great technical info about DNSSEC and DANE happening in several sessions. Here is the plan... more

A Report on DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC) 30th Meeting

DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC) held its 30th meeting in Bangkok on the 12th and 13th May. Here's what attracted my interest from two full days of DNS presentations and conversations, together with a summary of the other material that was presented at this workshop. Some Bad News for DANE (and DNSSEC): For many years the Domain Name X509 certification system, or WebPKI, has been the weak point of Internet security... more

INET New York: Open Forum of the Copyright Alert System - Thursday 11/15

The Copyright Alert System, the result of a deal between big content and big ISPs, is a graduated response program - popularly known as the six strikes - that escalates from nastygrams, to copyright school, to Internet throttling. Just like SOPA/PIPA, enforcement targets will be arbitrarily selected by the content owners, but unlike SOPA/PIPA there will be no appeal via the courts - only to an arbitration firm hired by the program. more

Google Bard Fails to Answer Satellite Internet Questions

In an earlier post, I asked whether electronically steered antennas (ESAs) would replace parabolic antennas in satellite ground stations. I did some research and concluded that it is likely that they will. Next, I discussed the same question with ChatGPT and, while it made several false statements, it made a relevant point that I had overlooked. The relevant addition was positive, but the errors were troublesome, so I decided to try ChatGPT's competitor Google Bard. more