News Briefs

Megaupload Domains Seized by FBI Now Link to Scam Ads and Malware Due to Renewal Failure

Sean Gallagher reporting in Ars writes: "Earlier this week, something suspicious started happening with Web addresses related to sites seized by the FBI from Megaupload and a number of online gambling sites." more

47 of the World’s 70 Largest Economies Now Have Active 5G Networks, US Takes the Lead Over China

The United States has taken the lead in the number of 5G cities, surpassing China for the first time. There has been a large increase of 5G cities in the U.S., with 503 cities now having 5G networks, compared to 297 in May 2022. more

ICANN Denies .GAY’s Request for Reconsideration

ICANN's Board Governance Committee (BGC) today released its comments on recent reconsideration request of dotgay LLC's new top-level domain .GAY application. Kevin Murphy from Domain Incite reports: "ICANN has refused dotgay LLC's latest appeal against adverse .gay decisions, and has taken the unusual step of preemptively defending itself against probably inevitable accusations from gay right groups." more

Google Discloses Rising Number of Government Requests

In the spirit of shining more light on how government actions could affect users, Google Inc. in early 2010, began periodically sharing number of government requests received in what it calls the "Transparency Report." more

Norwegian Cruise Line Joins the Fleet of Cruise Liners to Adopt Starlink Satellite Broadband Service

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has announced the start of the trial for Starlink, a satellite broadband service, on one of its ships - the Norwegian Breakaway. NCL plans to potentially deploy the service across eight cruise ships this year. This includes the three new additions to its fleet - Vista, Norwegian Viva, and Seven Seas Grandeur. If the trials are successful, NCL will equip these vessels with Starlink terminals. more

Vint Cerf Receives IEEE Medal of Honor

Vinton Cerf, widely known as the "Father of the Internet," has been awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor in 2023 for his contributions to the development of the Internet architecture and for his leadership in its growth as a critical infrastructure for society. more

British Researchers Discover AI-Powered Technique That Can Extract Data Through Typing Sounds

A new study conducted by British researchers has unveiled a potentially concerning form of cyber threat where hackers can extract personal data just by listening to someone type. more

Experts Urge Immediate Halt on Development of “Giant” AIs

More than 1,000 experts in the artificial intelligence community have called for an immediate pause on the development of "giant" AI systems like GPT-4 for at least six months. more

Data Breaches Reported During 2016 Exposed Over 4.2 Billion Records

2016 broke the previous all-time high, set back in 2013, for the number of records exposed from reported data breaches. more

Neustar Acquires Bombora Technologies, the Holding Group for Ari Registry Services and AusRegistry

Neustar announces that it has acquired Bombora Technologies Pty Ltd (Bombora), based in Australia, for AUD $118.5 million, or approximately USD $86.9 million. Bombora and its subsidiaries, which include ARI Registry Services, provide registry services for a number of top-level domains (TLDs) including .au, .melbourne, .sydney, and over 100 new TLDs, including several in the Fortune 500. more

In Memoriam: Dave Mills (1938-2024)

The world of the Internet mourns the loss of a pioneering force, as Dave Mills, a luminary in the realm of computer networking, passed away on January 17, 2024, at the age of 86 (announced by Vint Cerf). A trailblazer and visionary, Mills played a pivotal role in shaping the very foundations of the interconnected world we inhabit today. more

Vint Cerf Says He Is in Favor of .ORG Acquisition, Explains Why

In a post published today titled, "A Stronger Future for .org and the Internet," by Vint Cerf -- often referred to as one the father's of the Internet – he has expressed his disappointment with the controversy surrounding Ethos Capital's proposed acquisition of the Public Interest Registry (operator of .ORG domain). more

NYC Fiber Network Distributes Entangled Photons, Paving the Way for the Quantum Internet

In a groundbreaking development for quantum communication, researchers at Qunnect Inc. have successfully achieved the automated distribution of polarization-entangled photons over New York City's existing fiber network. more

W3C Re-Launches as a Public-Interest Non-Profit Organization

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) formed a new public-interest non-profit organization in 2023, allowing additional partners from around the world beyond Europe and Asia. The organization preserves the existing core process and mission of the Consortium, which is to develop open web standards with contributions from W3C Members, staff, and the international community. more

U.S. Department of Justice Demands IP Addresses, Other Details on Visitors to Trump Resistance Site

The Los Angeles-based hosting company, DreamHost on Monday revealed that for the past several months it has been dealing with a search warrant from the Department of Justice pertaining to a website used to organize protests against President Trump. more