News Briefs

Ransomware Crisis in U.S. Healthcare

A significant ransomware attack by a group known as AlphV or BlackCat has severely disrupted pharmacies across the U.S., affecting the delivery of prescription medications for over ten days. This attack on Change Healthcare has resulted in considerable difficulties for hospital pharmacies and nationwide drug distribution. more

CENTR Releases 2024 TLD Insights

The CENTR Global TLD Report 2024 highlights a modest growth in registered domains across the EU, with a notable increase in Poland, France, and Italy, primarily through their national ccTLDs. more

6G Collaboration by U.S. and Allies Against Authoritarian Control

The United States, along with key global partners, has formally committed to principles guiding the development of 6G technology, as announced by the White House. This move comes amidst a strategic contest to shape the future of wireless communication standards, driven by concerns over authoritarian regimes exerting greater control over the internet within their borders. more

Houthis Blamed for Disrupting Asia-Europe Communications by Damaging Underwater Cables

A series of underwater communications cables connecting Saudi Arabia and Djibouti have been rendered inoperative, an incident attributed to the actions of Yemen's Houthi rebels. This revelation comes from an exclusive report by the Israeli news outlet, Globes. more

China’s Satellite Internet Ambitions: A Quest to Rival SpaceX

launched a notable 67 commercial rockets in a single year, marking a significant effort to catch up with the United States, which led with 116 launches, primarily for SpaceX's Starlink project. more

CENTR Releases Paper on Why We Need Multistakeholder Internet Governance

In a recently released paper by the Council of European National Top-level Domain Registries (CENTR), authored in collaboration with Chris Buckridge, the spotlight is once again on the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance. more

Global Law Enforcement Strikes Major Blow Against LockBit Ransomware Operation

In a significant global operation, law enforcement agencies from 10 countries have severely disrupted the LockBit ransomware group, recognized as the most prolific and harmful cyber threat worldwide. more

Widespread Network Outages Disrupt AT&T Services Across the US

In a significant service disruption early Thursday, AT&T's network experienced widespread outages, affecting cellular service and internet connectivity for users across the United States. According to the tracking site Downdetector, the issues began around 4 a.m. ET, with over 32,000 reports of outages, which surged to more than 71,000 by 8 a.m. ET. more

UN Treaty Threatens Cybersecurity, Warns Google

As governments convene to discuss the UN Cybercrime Treaty, Google is urging caution, warning that the current draft could endanger online security and free expression.  more

Millions of Smart Toothbrushes Hijacked in Cyberattack on Swiss Firm

Hackers have commandeered approximately three million smart toothbrushes, transforming them into a botnet for launching a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack against a Swiss company's website, causing significant financial losses. more

U.S. Implements New Visa Restrictions to Combat Commercial Spyware Abuse

The U.S. has introduced a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals implicated in the misuse of commercial spyware. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that these restrictions would apply to those involved in, facilitating, or benefiting from the abuse of such technology. more

Mozilla Launches Monitor Plus, A Comprehensive Privacy Service

Mozilla is launching Mozilla Monitor Plus, a premium service priced at $8.99 per month annually, promising to detect and remove users' personal information from over 190 data broker sites. more

DNSSEC Failure Causes Massive Website Outages on Russian Internet

A DNSSEC failure plunged hundreds of Russian-language websites into darkness on Tuesday evening, rendering .ru and .рф domains inaccessible. The outage affected users both within and outside Russia, with major platforms such as Tinkoff Bank, Avito, Wildberries, Yandex, and MTS experiencing disruptions. more

ICANN Proposes Exclusive TLD: .INTERNAL for Private Use

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is considering the introduction of a new top-level domain (TLD) named .INTERNAL. Unlike traditional TLDs, .INTERNAL is designed exclusively for internal use, akin to the private IPv4 block 192.168.x.x. more

NSA Admits Purchasing Americans’ Internet Browsing Data Without Warrants

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has confirmed acquiring Americans' internet browsing information without warrants through commercial brokers, according to a letter from NSA Director Paul Nakasone to Senator Ron Wyden. more