News Briefs

PIR Reaches 11 Million .ORG Domains, Citing Growth and Online Safety Efforts

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit managing the .ORG domain, recently announced it now oversees 11 million registrations. Jon Nevett, PIR's CEO, attributes this growth to what he describes as a "responsible" expansion, emphasizing a focus on security and community support. more

Experts Propose Plan for More Secure Wi-Fi Devices

Over 260 global network and security experts have collectively responded to the newly proposed FCC rules laid out in ET Docket No. 15-170 for RF Devices such as Wi-Fi routers by proposing a new approach to improve the security of these devices. The letter warns FCC ruling will cause more harm than good and risk a significant overreach of the Commission's authority. more

Google Rebrands Portfolio of Products and Services as ‘Google Cloud’

Google's enterprise business is officially rebranded as Google Cloud, the company announced today at a San Francisco event. more

Burger King’s New Ad Teaches Customers About Net Neutrality

Burger King released a three-minute ad today trolling FCC's decision to repeal Net Neutrality rules. more

California Introduces Its Own Net Neutrality Bill; Similar Bills in Progress for WA and New York

Sen. Scott Wiener along with ten state assembly and Senate Democrats have proposed legislation which includes a number of ways to ensure telecom companies operating in California adhere to the principles of net neutrality. more

Over 50 Internet Shutdowns Reported in 2016

"Governments around the world shut down the internet more than 50 times in 2016 -- suppressing elections, slowing economies and limiting free speech," Lyndal Rowlands reporting in IPS. more

Berkeley Lab: Electricity Consumption in U.S. Data Centers Plateaus

A new report, released today from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is reporting that electricity consumption by data centers nationwide, after rising rapidly for more than a decade, started to plateau in 2010 and has remained steady since, at just under 2 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption. more

SpaceX Succeeds in Launching Its First Full Batch of Starlink Internet Satellites

SpaceX on Thursday successfully launched 60 Starlink satellites with its Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. more

Researchers Warn Buried Internet Cables at Risk as Sea Levels Rise

The results of a study presented today at a meeting of internet network researchers depicts critical communications infrastructure could be submerged by rising seas in as soon as 15 years. more

Protests Erupt Over EU’s Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

In a blog post today, Michael Geist writes: "The reverberations from the SOPA fight continue to be felt in the U.S. and elsewhere (mounting Canadian concern that Bill C-11 could be amended to adopt SOPA-like rules), but it is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement that has captured increasing attention this week. Several months after the majority of ACTA participants signed the agreement, most European Union countries formally signed the agreement yesterday (notable exclusions include Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Cyprus and Slovakia). This has generated a flurry of furious protest..." more

AI-Powered Malware Evolves: Google Uncovers Live Use of Generative Models in Active Intrusions

Google's Threat Intelligence Group reveals that hackers are integrating AI models directly into malware, enabling live code mutation, stealthier operations, and dynamic payload execution while exploiting AI tools through deceptive prompts and underground marketplaces. more

Russia Attempts Large Scale Experiment to Isolate Country from Global Internet

In a large scale experiments, Russia has attempted to test the feasibility of cutting the country off the World Wide Web, according to reports. "The tests, which come amid mounting concern about a Kremlin campaign to clamp down on internet freedoms, have been described by experts as preparations for an information blackout in the event of a domestic political crisis." more

US House Committee Announces Oversight Hearing on DNS and Search Engine Blocking

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa today announced that the Full Committee will hold a hearing on January 18 to examine the potential impact of Domain Name Service (DNS) and search engine blocking on security, jobs and the Internet community. The Committee will hear testimony from cybersecurity experts and others from the technology community. more

New Data Shows Significant Increases in Online Adoption Amongst Disadvantaged in the US

The results of the latest survey conducted by the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration shows more American from all walks of life are increasingly connecting to the Internet. more

“African Women to Watch” - Sophia Bekele on Bloomberg TV

In its TV Special program, Bloomberg TV recently featured Sophia Bekele, Founder and Executive Director of DotConnectAfrica Trust along with Juliana Rotich as "two of Africa's leading ladies in the ICT sector" presenting their stories in their prime TV program ,"African Women to Watch". In the interview, Bekele talks about her ICT career journey and focus on helping bridge the "digital divide" that currently exists between Africa and the developed countries. more