News Briefs

Alphabet Launches New Cybersecurity Company, Chronicle

A new cybersecurity company called Chronicle has emerged from Alphabet's "moonshot factory," that's dedicated to helping companies find and stop cyberattacks before they cause harm. more

UN Broadband Commission Sets Global Broadband Goal for 2025, Targets “Connecting the Other Half”

The United Nations' Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development has set global broadband targets aimed to bring online the world's 3.8 billion not connected to the Internet by 2025. more

Trump’s Commerce Department Pick Assured Republicans Reversal of U.S. Internet Oversight

"The Commerce nominee made the assurance to GOP senators who opposed Barack Obama's decision to give up U.S. oversight," according to documents obtained by POLITICO. more

AT&T CEO Publishes Open Letter Calling on Congress to Establish an “Internet Bill of Rights”

Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO, published an open letter today urging Congress to "end the debate once and for all, by writing new laws that govern the internet and protect consumers." 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

Montana Becomes First State to Require ISPs to Abide by Net Neutrality Principles Despite FCC Repeal

Montana Governor Steve Bullock signs an executive order requiring ISPs with state contracts to adhere to internet neutrality principles. more

Industrial Plant Attack Generates Renewed Concerns Over Critical Infrastructure Hacking Threats

A recent malware attack on the control systems of an industrial plant has renewed concerns about the threat hacking poses to critical infrastructure. more

Some Hackers Earning Over 16 Times That of Full-Time Software Engineers in Their Home Country

A report from one of the largest documented surveys conducted on the ethical hacking community reveals some hackers are earning over 16 times that of full-time software engineers in their home country. more

China Cloud Providers Catching Up to American Firms, Plus China Has Home Market Advantage

"Chinese tech companies plan to steal American cloud firms' thunder," says The Economist. Alibaba has its goal set to match or surpass Amazon Web Services by 2019. more

China Stepping Up Cryptocurrency Crackdown

China is preparing for a new crackdown on cryptocurrency, planning to stamp out remaining trading in the country, according to state media. more

Hackers Hijack DNS Server for Cyrptocurrency Wallet BlackWallet, Over $400K Stolen From Users

Unknown hackers (or hacker) have hijacked the DNS server for BlackWallet.co, a web-based wallet application for the Stellar Lumen cryptocurrency (XLM). more

DOJ Closes Probe of VeriSign Over .Web TLD

The Justice Department has closed its investigation into VeriSign Inc.'s involvement in an auction for the .web internet domain. more

New Harvard Study Recognizes Community-Owned Internet Service Providers as Value Leaders in America

Community-owned fiber networks provide least-expensive local "broadband," according to a recent study by Harvard's Berkman Klein Center. more

Kodak Announces a Blockchain Platform Initiative for Image Rights Management

Kodak today revealed the launch of a blockchain-based platform called KODAKOne which is aimed to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control of image rights management. more

Banking Industry Evaluating Security Benefits of Blockchain to Send Encrypted Information

The banking industry is evaluating security benefits of using blockchain to send encrypted information. more