News Briefs

EFF Resigns from World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) over EME Decision

In an open letter to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced on Tuesday that it is resigning from World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in response to the organization publishing Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) as a standard. more

Net Neutrality Advocates Planning Two Days of Protest in Washington DC

A coalition of activists and consumer groups are planning to gather in Washington, DC to meet directly with the members of Congress, which is said to be the "most effective way to influence their positions and counter the power of telecom lobbyists and campaign contributions." more

Forty Percent of New Generic TLDs Shrinking, According to Domain Incite Analysis

Forty percent of non-brand new gTLDs are shrinking, reports Kevin Murphy in Domain Incite: "According to numbers culled from registry reports, 172 of the 436 commercial gTLDs we looked at had fewer domains under management at the start of June than they did a year earlier. more

China to Create National Cyberattack Database

China has revealed plans to create a national data repository for information on cyberattacks and will require telecom firms, internet companies and domain name service providers to report threats to it. more

Bluetooth-Based Attack Vector Dubbed “BlueBorne” Exposes Almost Every Connected Device

Security firm, Armis Labs, has revealed a new attack vector that can target major mobile, desktop, and IoT operating systems, including Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux, and the devices using them.

 more

U.S. Navy Investigating Possibility of Cyberattack Behind Two Navy Destroyer Collisions

Deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, Vice Adm. Jan Tigh, says the military is investigating the possibility of compromised computer systems behind two U.S. Navy destroyer collisions with merchant vessels that occurred in recent months. more

Equifax Breach Blamed on Open-Source Software Flaw

Equifax has blamed a flaw in the software running its online databases for the massive breach revealed last week that has allowed hackers to steal personal information of as many as 143 million customers. more

Equifax Hacked, Nearly Half of US Population Affected

In an announcement today, credit reporting giant Equifax revealed a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. more

EU Presidency Pushing Other Member States for Substantial Internet Surveillance

A leaked document by Statewatch reveals the current EU Presidency (Estonia) has been pushing the other Member States to strengthen indiscriminate internet surveillance and to follow in the footsteps of China regarding online censorship. more

Europe and North America Energy Sector Targeted by Sophisticated Cyberattack Group

The Western energy sector is being targeted by a new wave of cyberattacks capable of providing attackers ability to severely disrupt affected operations, according to reports on Wednesday. more

RIPE NCC to Hold Sixth IPv6 Focused Hackathon

The Regional Internet Registry for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia (RIPE NCC) together with Comcast and Danish Network Operator's Group (DKNOG), are organizing the sixth IPv6 focused hackathon. more

Domain Registries to Discuss Possibility of ICANN Fee Cuts in Private Meeting This Month

Heads of 20 or more gTLD registries will meet privately this month to discuss various topics including the possibility of a reduction in their ICANN fees. more

Researchers Expose Over 320 Million Hashed Passwords

A group of security researchers have succeeeded in cracking over 320 million passwords which were made public in an encrypted blacklist. more

China Continues VPN Crackdown, Targets Alibaba and Other Ecommerce Sites

In the latest series of measures taken by China to clamp down on use and distributions of VPNs, Chinese authorities have issued warning to the country's top ecommerce platforms, including Alibaba's Taobao.com, over the sale of illegal virtual private networks that allow users to skirt state censorship controls. more

Cloudflare Reverses Long-Held Policy to Remain Content-Neutral, Ends Service to the Daily Stormer

Cloudflare on Wednesday reversed its long-held policy to remain content-neutral and terminated its service to neo-Nazi site, The Daily Stormer. more