Cybercrime

Invalid WHOIS Data: Who Is Responsible?

Suppose you wanted to know who operates a website at a given domain name. Perhaps you suspect that the domain name is pointing to a website that offers illegal content, or you may just want to send a comment to its authors. Conveniently, the Internet provides a so-called "WHOIS" system that ordinarily provides contact information for each registered domain. But in the case of many hundreds of thousands of domains, the WHOIS data just isn't accurate.  more

Domain Name Theft, Fraud And Regulations

When it comes to domain name disputes, no domain name has captured more media attention than sex.com. Of course, disputes about sex often obtain a great deal of attention, and the sex.com domain name dispute can grab its share of headlines because the case involves sex, theft, declared bankruptcy, a once-thriving Internet porn business, and fraud, instead of the typical cybersquatting allegations. Indeed, this case is remarkable for its potential impact on the development of caselaw concerning whether there is a valid basis to assume that trademark interests should overwhelm all non-commercial interests in the use of domain names. The answer is no, but the caselaw to support that answer is in tension with cases that strongly imply a contrary conclusion. more

The Internet, Beyond a Right: A Critical Infrastructure

As governments, economies and essential services become ever more dependent on connectivity, the internet can no longer be viewed solely as a right. It must be treated as critical infrastructure, protected, regulated and made resilient against disruption. more

Cybercriminals are Driving Significant Domain Name Market Demand

Cybercriminals are becoming a major force in the domain-name market, driving an estimated one-fifth of new gTLD registrations in 2025 and exposing how commercial incentives, weak enforcement, and scale continue to fuel online abuse. more

Africa’s Digital Transformation Is Outpacing Its Cybersecurity Governance

Africa's digital boom is accelerating, but safeguards lag. Governments and firms deploy systems at speed, while weak enforcement and fragmented oversight leave economies exposed to mounting cyber risks. more

Why Africa’s Cybersecurity Problem Has Nothing to Do with Hackers

Africa's cybersecurity failures stem less from sophisticated hackers than from insecure system design, weak governance and limited skills, leaving institutions exposed and shifting the challenge from external threats to internal accountability and resilience. more

Africa’s AI Governance Crisis Is Not a Regulatory Gap, It Is a Sovereignty Emergency

Africa's looming AI rules expose a deeper problem: foreign-controlled infrastructure, weak enforcement capacity and externally governed data flows are eroding digital sovereignty, leaving states unable to regulate, protect citizens or meet global obligations. more

Trusted Notifier Network (TNN) Core Concept 1: Unfair Cost Transfer and Reversal of Commercial Best

A flawed abuse-response system shifts costs from perpetrators to intermediaries, overwhelming enforcement. The Trusted Notifier Network seeks to realign incentives, curb low-quality reporting, and restore efficiency by embedding trust, accountability, and cost redistribution. more

Securing Africa’s Digital Future: Why Cybersecurity Must Lead Digital Transformation

Africa's rapid digital expansion, from fintech to e-government, is outpacing its cybersecurity capacity, leaving critical systems exposed and trust at risk unless governments embed security as a core pillar of development across the continent today. more

Five Things the UN Permanent Mechanism on Cybersecurity Must Actually Deliver

The UN's new permanent cybersecurity mechanism promises continuity after decades of fleeting forums, yet risks irrelevance unless states enforce existing law, bridge cybercrime divides, address AI threats, build practical capacity, and include non-state expertise meaningfully. more

The Growing Role of Threat Intelligence in Internet Infrastructure Security

Threat intelligence is shifting from a passive feed to a core operational layer, helping infrastructure defenders connect fragmented signals, identify recurring attack patterns, and prioritise responses in an increasingly modular and fast-moving cybercrime ecosystem. more

Internet Governance in 2026: Sovereignty, Security, and the Limits of Multistakeholderism

As Internet governance fragments in 2026, authority shifts from open, multistakeholder forums to state-led security regimes, legal instruments, and alliance-based cooperation, challenging longstanding institutions and reshaping global norms through enforcement rather than consensus. more

Breaking Ground: Historic Launch of UN Global Mechanism for Cyberspace Governance

The international community has long struggled with the challenge of translating international law into actionable norms and practices in cyberspace. The conclusion of the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021-2025 marks a vital milestone in that ongoing process.  more

Tech Continuity in President Trump’s First 100 Days

Tech developments saw less drama than trade and environmental shifts during Trump's first 100 days. Continuity, not abrupt change, defined his approach to AI and digital regulation. Only 9 of 139 executive orders (EOs) focused on tech. Trump's tech policy emphasised reviews and incremental shifts. Public consultations on AI, cybersecurity, and cryptocurrencies signal steady evolution over upheaval. more

NIS 2.0 and Its Impact on the Domain Name Ecosystem

I recently appeared on the 419 Consulting podcast to discuss the European Union's NIS 2.0 Directive and its impact on the domain name ecosystem. I encourage all TLD registries, domain name registration service providers, and DNS operators to listen to the recording of that session which Andrew Campling has made available. more