Featured Blogs

The Sale of .ORG Registry: Continuing the Conversation We Should Be Having

On 11 February, I participated in a discussion about the pending sale of PIR at American University Washington College of Law, appropriately titled, The Controversial Sale of the .ORG Registry: The Conversation We Should Be Having. It was great to have a balanced discussion, free of some of the emotions that have often made it hard to discern the realities of the transaction. Certain misapprehensions arose in the discussion that we lacked the time to explore fully, so I want to take those up here. more

Bug Bounty Programs: Are You Ready? (Part 3)

The Bug Bounty movement grew out a desire to recognize independent security researcher efforts in finding and disclosing bugs to the vendor. Over time the movement split into those that demanded to be compensated for the bugs they found and third-party organizations that sought to capitalize on intercepting knowledge of bugs before alerting the vulnerable vendor. Today, on a different front, new businesses have sprouted to manage bug bounties on behalf of a growing number of organizations new to the vulnerability disclosure space. more

Finding the Holes in Your Application Security Blanket

Last month, application security provider Veracode came out with a study that stated that more than half of all enterprise applications aren't secure. The company tested approximately 2,900 applications over an 18-month period, and 57 percent failed to meet Veracode's "acceptable levels" of security. While this study gained a tremendous amount of traction in the media... it does not focus on the bigger issue... more

A Simpler Approach to an Email Deliverability Metric

The term Email Deliverability is used to describe how well a mail flow can reach its intended recipients. This has become a cornerstone concept when discussing quality metrics in the email industry and as such, it is important to understand how to measure it. Email Deliverability is considered to be affected by a mythical metric, the reputation of the sender, which is a measure of that sender behavior over time -- and the reactions of the recipients to his messages. more

The 2022 IPv4 Market in North America

In 2021, the story was price. In 2022, the story was price and large block supply. Spurred by unprecedented unit pricing, the IPv4 market in North America experienced its second-best year ever in market history. Nearly double the number of IPv4 addresses were traded in 2022 compared to 2021, predominantly due to the increased flow of large block supply from twelve sellers, five of whom were first-time market participants. more

When You Hear “Security,” Think “National Sovereignty”

These days you can hardly talk about Internet governance without hearing about security. DNSSEC is a hot issue, ICANN's new president is a cyber-security expert, and cyberattacks seem to be a daily occurrence.
This reflects a larger shift in US policy. Like the Bush administration before it, the Obama administration is making security a high priority for the US. Only now the emphasis is on security in cyberspace. The outlines of the new policy were published in the recent US Cyberspace Policy Review, which even recommends a cyber security office directly in the White House. more

More Privacy, Bit by Bit

Before the Holidays, Yahoo got a flurry of good press for the announcement that it would (as the LA Times puts it) "purge user data after 90 days." My eagle-eyed friend Julian Sanchez noticed that the "purge" was less complete than privacy advocates might have hoped. more

Gaining Better Network Edge Visibility with Automated IPAM

Large Communication Service Providers (CSPs) that provide transit to their customers need to pay special attention to those network segments to ensure that the IPs associated to them are actually being used. What happens should that customer move on or require more (or less) IP real estate? What do communication and management processes look like to ensure that all the various departments are aligned for rapid and seamless network configuration changes with no downtime? more

Benefits of DNS Based Architecture for M2M Communications

The number of 'things' connected to the internet is already bypassing the number of people on the planet. This Internet of 'things' is changing the way we live and work: from the way food is grown and produced on farms through automated temperature and feeding controls, to the way we check prices and buy through connected terminals, to the vehicles we drive, the security cameras at work, and automated gates at the entrance. Connected 'things' are everywhere. All these 'things' are helping us to be more productive and efficient while also offering more and more convenience. more

WiFi QoE Assurance with TR-069 - Part 3: From Single AP to Large AP Deployments

Last week we investigated how rich data derived from TR-069 can be used to optimize the service quality of a single access point (AP) within the subscriber premises. Often a service provider will control multiple APs within a multi-dwelling unit, university campus, or other public space. This opens up new doors for optimizing service quality - instead of simply optimizing a single AP, you are now able to control other APs in the vicinity as well. more

Processing Domain Data to Improve Business Continuity as a Domain Name Registry

In the fall of 2022, around 9,000 numeric domain names such as 0146.se, 0148.se, 0149.se, and so on were registered in the .SE zone. These domains were registered with two registrars, Register.eu and 1API. They had the same kind of SSL certificate, and there were other similarities among them that strongly suggested they were connected. All these domains were registered after September 1, 2022, but not on the same date... more

Further Developing a Word Mark Similarity Measurement Framework

Expanding on a framework for quantifying word mark similarity by examining algorithms and proposing enhancements. This article assesses consistency with UK trademark case decisions and a search tool, explores subsequence analysis for similarity, and suggests using IPA phonetics to measure aural likeness. The objective framework could improve consistency in trademark assessments, despite the inherent subjectivity of legal tests. more

Grenada Steps Up Into New Role in Global Internet Governance

Grenada advances its digital resilience by signing the Convention on the Packet Clearing House Organization, positioning itself to help shape global Internet governance while gaining coordinated support, stronger infrastructure, and a formal voice in decisions that influence worldwide connectivity and security. more

Learn More About the DNS at DNIB.com

DNIB.com is a new industry-focused source of information, insights and data on the Domain Name System (DNS) -- a place to hear directly from subject-matter experts about relevant policy and governance news, DNS security and technology topics, and to provide industry data, analysis and insights on a regular schedule. DNIB.com builds on the Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report, which summarizes the state of the domain name industry through a variety of statistical and analytical research. more

Broadband and the Census: Why Decision to Go Online Is Probably Ten Years Premature

The US government is gearing up to begin the 2020 census which will be administered starting next April 20. For the first time, the census is going to rely heavily on people answering the census questions online. Live census takers will then follow-up with those that don't submit the online response. This seems like an odd decision since there are still many people who don't have home broadband. more