An Update From CIRA on IoT Security

Last April, I shared information about a multistakeholder process that CIRA is part of, which seeks to identify and guide the development of policy around the Internet of Things (IoT), putting security at the heart of internet innovations in Canada. Since the formation of this process, we've made quite a bit of progress and I'm pleased to share some of that with you. more

Phishers Increasingly Targeting SaaS and Webmail Services, APWG Reports

According to the latest report from Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) while the total number of conventional, spam-based phishing campaigns declined in 2018, users of software-as-a-service (SaaS) systems and webmail services are increasingly targeted. more

A Quick Look at QUIC

Quick UDP Internet Connection (QUIC) is a network protocol initially developed and deployed by Google, and now being standardized in the Internet Engineering Task Force. In this article we'll take a quick tour of QUIC, looking at what goals influenced its design, and what implications QUIC might have on the overall architecture of the Internet Protocol. more

WHOIS Detractors and Advocates: Today’s Viewpoints Post-GDPR

Opposing parties continue to debate whether WHOIS should stay after the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect across the EU in May 2018. While the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees WHOIS, is looking for ways to be GDPR compliant, experts from various fields are contemplating the problems pointed out by officials. more

Domain Registrars Given a Six-Month Deadline to Implement Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)

ICANN issued an industry-wide six-month deadline for the deployment of the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) - a replacement for the WHOIS protocol. more

ICANN LAC-i Roadshow Stirs “High Interest” in Caribbean ccTLDs

The Caribbean can create a unique flavour on the Internet by using effectively managed and financially stable Country Code Top-Level Domains. Speaking after ICANN's first Caribbean edition of its Latin American and Caribbean Internet Roadshow (LAC-i Roadshow), recently held in Turks and Caicos Islands, Albert Daniels said the event yielded "very high interest" in the management and operations of the local ccTLD, .tc. Daniels is ICANN's senior manager of stakeholder engagement in the Caribbean. more

Number of Chinese Internet Users Reaches 829 Million, More Than Double the Population of the US

Latest update from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) reports the total number of Chinese internet users reached 829 million at the end of 2018. more

High-Speed Fibre Makes Up One-Quarter of Fixed Broadband Internet Connections in OECD Countries

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that the share of high-speed fiber in fixed broadband Internet connections in its member countries has risen to 25%, up from 12% eight years ago. more

Internet Outfits Including Facebook, Telegram and Signal Are Rolling Out New Cryptocurrencies

Some of the leading internet messaging companies including Facebook, Telegram and Signal are moving ahead with plans to provide mainstream consumers digital coins. more

Thailand Passes Law Giving Sweeping Powers to State Cyber Agencies

Thailand's military-appointed parliament on Thursday passed a controversial cybersecurity law which gives sweeping powers to state cyber agencies. more

CarPIF Regional Connectivity Meeting to Address Affordable and Resilient Internet Access

The Eastern Caribbean island of Grenada has been selected as the venue for the fifth regional meeting of the Caribbean Internet Peering and Interconnection Forum, CarPIF, set for June 12 to 13. The annual international event, which draws Internet giants like Facebook and Google to the region, is focused on developing the Internet in the Caribbean by improving policy and building relationships between network operators and content providers. more

Russia Is Studying China’s Legislative Experience in Fighting Internet Corruption, Cyber-Terrorism

Russian State Duma deputy, chairman of the Committee on Security and Corruption Control Vasily Piskarev told Russian reporters on Tuesday that Russia is studying China's legislative experience in dealing with corruption, cyber-terrorism and cross-border crime on the Internet. more

The 50th Anniversaries of the Moon Landing and First ARPANET Message

The anniversaries of these milestones remind us of the economic and social returns we have seen from ambitious Federal research and development programs. These events were milestones... the manned spaceflight program and the development of digital telecommunication networks from Morse's telegraph to early electronic digital computers and telemetry experiments, the SAGE early-warning system and eventually the ARPANET and the Internet. more

Dictionary Words Alone or Combined Functioning as Trademarks Are No Less Dictionary Words

By definition "any word" or "any combination of words" can function as trademarks, but whether alone or combined for that purpose no use can overrule their ordinary meanings, support their removal from the public domain, or prevent speculation or use of identical or confusingly similar words by businesses other than rights holders. The fact is, all words that are not coined found in dictionaries, word lists, and circulating in world cultures are generic. more

ICANN Makes Urgent Call for Full Deployment of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC)

In light of increasing reports of malicious activity targeting the DNS infrastructure, ICANN is calling for the full deployment of the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) across all unsecured domain names. more