News Briefs

US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing Held on IANA Transition

"I urge you: Do not give a gift to Russia and other authoritarian nations by blocking this transition," Lawrence Strickling, administrator of the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said on Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing Held on IANA Transition. more

Schneier: “Someone Is Learning How to Take down the Internet”

"Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet," wrote renowned security expert, Bruce Schneier, in a piece published in Lawfare. more

Internet Architecture Board: IANA Transition Plan Is Fit for Purpose, Should Go Forward as Planned

The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) statement on the IANA Stewardship Transition released on Wednesday more

U.S. Justice Department Forms Group to Study National Security Threats of IoT

"The U.S. Justice Department has formed a threat analysis team to study potential national security challenges posed by self-driving cars, medical devices and other Internet-connected tools," reports Dustin Volz from Washington in Reuters" more

New York’s Department of Financial Services Issues Cybersecurity Proposal

New York state is proposing new rules requiring banks and insurance companies to establish cybersecurity programs and designate an internal cybersecurity officer. more

GAO Rules IANA Transition Not a Transfer of Government Property Requiring Congressional Approval

The Untied States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has concluded that the IANA transition is not a government transfer of property requiring congressional approval. more

Internet Society Urges Congress to Press Ahead with IANA Steward Transition

In a letter to key Congressional leaders, the Internet Society's CEO, Kathryn Brown, has urged Congress to allow the IANA stewardship transition to proceed without delay. The contract between the US Commerce Departments National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is set to expire on September 30. more

White House Appoints Retired Air Force General as First Cyber Security Chief

As part of its effort to improve defenses against hackers, the White House today named a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Gregory J. Touhill as the first Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) -- the position was announced eight months ago as part of Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP). more

Republicans Barreling Toward a September Showdown Over IANA Transition

Republicans gear up for fight against internet transition," Ashley Gold and Tony Romm reporting in the POLITICO today. more

90% of Sky UK Broadband Customers Now IPv6 Enabled, Says Network is “Future Proofed”

"Sky completes roll out of IPv6 becoming the first major UK Internet provider to future-proof its service for customers," announced the company in a press release on Tuesday. more

Google Begins Using New Undersea Cable Across Asia

Google starts using its new undersea cable to speed up Internet services in Asia. more

US Government Admits IANA Transition May Not Move Forward

The US government plan to move control of the internet's naming and numbering functions to ICANN next month may not move forward, reports Kieren McCarthy more

AusRegistry Celebrates 30th Anniversary of .au

It's been 30 years since the .au country code top-level domain was first deployed to give Australians their own national TLD. Over 3 million .au domain names have since been registered. more

Iran Begins Roll Out of “National Internet”

Iran has announced the launch of its first ever national data network. The inauguration ceremony was held on Saturday by country's communications and information technology minister, Mahmoud Vaezi. more

China Taking Steps to Show it is Responsive to Foreign Concerns on Cybersecurity

"China Sets New Tone in Drafting Cybersecurity Rules," By Eva Dou in Beijing and Rachael King in San Francisco reporting in the Wall Street Journal. more