News Briefs

NASA Awards Blue Origin Up to $700 Million for Mars Communications Network

NASA selected Blue Origin to build and operate a Mars communications network, extending commercial infrastructure into deep space with high-capacity relays and delay-tolerant networking designed for reliable, interoperable communications among future missions. more

4iG and SpaceX Plan Starlink Mobile Rollout Across Hungary and Western Balkans

4iG and SpaceX plan direct-to-device Starlink services across four European markets, alongside secured government communications, but national spectrum approvals and key details of the proposed sovereign infrastructure remain unresolved. more

Researchers Warn EU AI Rules Are Deepening Reliance on Big Tech

Researchers argue the EU's AI framework increasingly makes major technology companies co-stewards of regulation, raising concerns that reliance on private infrastructure and technical expertise could strengthen incumbents' influence over how AI rules are implemented. more

FulcrumSec Claims 86 GB Data Theft in Manchester Airports Breach

FulcrumSec claims it stole 86 GB from Manchester Airports Group, including detailed booking and travel data, while the operator has confirmed a breach but not the group's account of its scale or method. more

ICANN Terminates Two Registrars as DNS Abuse and Compliance Failures Escalate

ICANN has terminated two registrar accreditation agreements after unresolved compliance failures, citing Trustname's handling of DNS abuse and IPIP's failures involving RDAP, registration data escrow, accreditation fees, and access to non-public registration data. more

More Than 100 Organizations Call for Global Surge in AI-Assisted Cyber Defense

More than 100 organizations are calling for wider use of AI in cyber defense, urging governments, technology providers and AI developers to expand funding, tools, model access and practical support for under-resourced critical infrastructure operators. more

ICANN’s New Data Sharpens the Picture of DNS-abuse Enforcement

ICANN's updated DNS-abuse data distinguishes allegations from actionable complaints and malicious registrations from compromised domains, offering a clearer test of whether tougher contractual requirements are strengthening enforcement or simply generating a larger volume of reports. more

ICANN to Shut Down Open Data Platform and API September 1

ICANN will retire its Open Data Platform and API on September 1, shifting datasets to downloadable CSV files and forcing researchers, registries and domain-industry organizations to update automated workflows that rely on programmatic data access. more

UK Warns of Rising Cyberattacks on Exposed Industrial Systems

Britain's cyber agency warns that attackers are increasingly targeting internet-exposed industrial systems, routers and other edge devices, with some intrusions causing real-world disruption and highlighting the growing risks of poorly secured operational technology worldwide. more

Cable Faults Cut Vietnam’s International Internet Capacity by 30%

Four undersea cable faults are disrupting Vietnam's international internet connectivity, with operators rerouting traffic as earlier outages reduced available capacity by about 30%, highlighting concerns over network redundancy, repair delays and infrastructure resilience. more

After the Close: What the 2026 gTLD Round Has Already Revealed

ICANN's 2026 gTLD round drew more than 1,600 applications, led by ambitious portfolio investors. But scant brand disclosures and new rules banning private settlements could make contention costlier and reshape the economics of domain ownership. more

ICANN Draws More Than 1,600 Applications in New gTLD Round

ICANN has received more than 1,600 applications for new generic top-level domains, setting the stage for administrative checks, public disclosure and potentially fierce competition over sought-after additions to the internet's expanding domain-name system. more

Trump Enlists Private Firms for Offensive Cyber Operations

The Trump administration will allow vetted American companies to conduct surveillance and offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal groups, extending private-sector capabilities into cybercrime enforcement while keeping missions subject to federal approval, oversight and legal safeguards. more

ICANN’s New gTLD Application Window Set to Close, Capping a Landmark Expansion Round

ICANN's second major domain expansion round closes August 12, with costly applications, support for 27 non-Latin scripts and stricter technical vetting setting the stage for a broader, more multilingual internet naming system. more

Microsoft Launches AI Cybersecurity Model to Boost MDASH Performance and Cut Costs

Microsoft has unveiled a specialist cybersecurity AI model powering MDASH, claiming higher benchmark performance and lower costs while launching Project Perception, an agentic security platform designed to help defenders counter increasingly automated cyber threats. more