News Briefs

Facebook Security Vulnerability Allowed Attackers to Steal User Access Tokens Affecting 50 Million

Facebook alerted users today that its engineering team on Tuesday had discovered a security issue affecting almost 50 million accounts. more

Security Experts, Privacy Advocates Hopeful Rollout of 5G Can Eliminate Surveillance Vulnerabilities

Security experts and privacy advocates see the rollout of the new 5G wireless network as a possible solution to eliminate surveillance vulnerabilities that allow spying on nearby phone calls. more

Internet Society Partnering With Facebook to Develop Internet Exchange Points Throughout Africa

The Internet Society today announced that it is partnering with Facebook to develop Internet Exchange Points (IXP) throughout Africa. more

Internet Will Split Into Chinese-Led and US-Led Versions Within the Next Decade, Says Eric Schmidt

Speaking at a private event hosted by Village Global VC, tech luminary and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt predicted that the internet will split into Chinese-led and US-led versions by 2028. more

Trump Administration Says US Will Start Using Offensive Strategy Towards Cyberattacks

The Trump administration today announced that the U.S. will begin a new strategy to deter and respond to cyberattacks with offensive actions against foreign adversaries. more

New York Times Sues FCC for Net Neutrality Records Concerning Possible Russian Involvement

The New York Times Co. filed a lawsuit today against the Federal Communications Commission concerning records the newspaper alleges may shed light on possible Russian participation in a public comment period before the commission rolled back Obama-era net neutrality rules. more

For the First Time in Recent Internet History a Subsea Cable Across South Atlantic Activated

For the first time in recent Internet history, a new submarine cable carrying live traffic across the South Atlantic was activated, directly connecting South America to Sub-Saharan Africa. more

Microsoft Cancels Plans to Move Its Internal Wireless Network to IPv6-Only

Microsoft has digressed from a previously announced plan to move its internal wireless guest network to IPv6-only. more

“Seven Dirty Words” Restriction Policy Lifted from .US Domain Name Registrations

Neustar, the registry operator of the .US domain and NTIA have reversed course, allowing the inclusion of previously restricted "seven dirty words" from future .US domain name registrations. more

Current Security Measures Not Enough to Protect Data in Lost or Stolen Laptops, Experts Warn

A weakness in modern computers allows attackers to steal encryption keys and other sensitive information, according to the latest discovery by cybersecurity firm F-Secure. more

Alphabet’s Loon Balloons Can Now Cover 1000km of Internet Connectivity via 1 Access Point

Loon, formerly a Google X project and now an independent Alphabet company, reveals that it successfully transmitted data over a 1000 kilometers (621 miles) via a network of 7 balloons. more

New Zealand’s Domain Name Commission Wins Injunction in a Lawsuit Against DomainTools

New Zealand's Domain Name Commission today won a motion for preliminary injunction in a US lawsuit against the company DomainTools. more

Basketball Australia Switches Its Official Website to New Top-Level Domain .Basketball

As part of a plan to unify Australian basketball digital front, Basketball Australia is moving its official website to a new TLD-based domain name at www.australia.basketball. more

Frequency of DDoS Attacks Risen by 40% While Duration of Attacks Decrease

The frequency of DDoS attacks has risen by 40% year on year while the duration of attacks decreased with 77% lasting ten minutes or less, according to a new report released by Corero Network Security. more

EU Authorities to Give Internet Companies 1 Hour to Take Down Extremist Content or Face Hefty Fines

European authorities proposed new laws today subjecting internet companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook to big fines if the extremist content is not taken down within one hour. more