The Future of Internet Governance? Comments on IGF 2018 Speech by French President Emmanuel Macron

Macron has declared the Internet to be under threat. Without stepping back to question and explore the underlying causes of those threats, he uses them as a justification to propose a different approach to, albeit limited, current Internet Governance processes. Here we explore his proposals and some of the issues they generate. He acknowledges that Civil Society and the private sector have been core drivers in the creation of the Internet. He argues that its benefits and existence are endangered by predatory practices. more

US, European Consumer Groups Call on FTC to Investigate Google for Deceptive Tracking of Users

Over 75 consumer groups in U.S. and Europe have asked the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Google for unfairly and deceptively manipulating users of mobile phones with its Android operating system by constantly tracking location. A letter sent to the FTC by the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a forum of US and EU consumer organizations, says Google manipulates users into constant location tracking. more

Half of Phishing Sites in the Wild Have SSL Certificates and Show Padlock Security Icon, Study Finds

A new study by anti-phishing company PhishLabs reveals 49 percent of all phishing sites in the third quarter of 2018 had Secure Sockets Layer or SSL with HTTPS in their URL. more

In a Networked World Knowing the Right Time Is Essential but How Accurate Are the Computer Clocks?

Computers have always had clocks. Well maybe not clocks as you might think, but digital computers have always had oscillators, and if you hook the oscillator to a simple counter then you have a clock. The clock is not just there to tell the time, although it can do that, nor is it there just to record the time when data files are created or modified, though it does that too. Knowing the time is important to many functions, and one of those is security. more

Abusive Conduct: Domain Name Registrants and Rights Holders

Abusive conduct or cybersquatting is the essence of disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), usually by domain name registrants violating their warranties of registration but also (in appreciable numbers) by trademark holders overreaching their statutory rights. The UDRP remedies are asynchronous: there is forfeiture of offending domain names; for abusive use of the process there is reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH), essentially a shaming remedy that substitutes for a monetary penalty. more

U.S. Government Trying to Persuade Allied Countries to Avoid Telecom Equipment from China’s Huawei

The U.S. government is engaged in persuading wireless and internet providers in allied countries to stop using telecommunications equipment from China's Huawei Technologies. more

Japan’s Cybersecurity Minister Admits He Does Not Use Computers and Not Familiar With Cybersecurity

Japan's cybersecurity minister, Yoshitaka Sakurada, 68, who recently stated he doesn't use a computer, also admitted on Thursday to a parliamentary committee that he's not very familiar with the whole cybersecurity field. more

FCC to Classify Text Messaging as Information Service to Fight Spam Texts, Others Oppose the Move

The FCC has unveiled two proposals as part of its plan to help reduce unwanted phone and text spam however the move is challenged by consumer advocacy groups. more

Google Building 600 Million Euro Data Center in Denmark Powered by Renewable Energy

Google will invest 600 million euro (roughly $700 million USD) to construct its first Danish datacenter. The company says the site will be matching its energy use with 100 percent carbon-free energy. more

EU Should Not Be Setting US WHOIS and Privacy Policy, Says MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in its recent submission to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has raised a stern objection regarding ICANN's attempt to adhere to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), stating that the temporary specification had gone "well beyond what the GDPR mandates." more

An In-Depth Interview of OneWeb CEO Greg Wyler

OneWeb is building a large constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) Internet-service satellites and Via Satellite has published the "definitive 2018" interview of OneWeb CEO Greg Wyler. The following are some of the quotes that caught my eye... They are going through the final stages of testing now before the launches begin. The satellites have actually performed better than expected in many ways, especially with their Radio Frequency (RF) performance which is really positive. more

SpaceX Wins FCC Approval to Deploy 7,518 Satellites for Broadband Communications

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is granted permission from U.S. regulators to deploy over 7,000 satellites. more

Neglected Domain Renewals Increasingly Scooped Up by Crooks for Credit Card Stealing Purposes

The registrant of domain names with decent traffic who fail to renew them are proving quite costly for owners and others. more

US, Russia and China Stay Out of Paris International Cybersecurity Pact

US, China and Russia have refused to sign the French-backed agreement, Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, announced by French President at the UNESCO Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on Monday. more

Nigerian Cable Company Takes Blame for Misrouting Google’s Global Traffic Through China

Much of Google's traffic yesterday appeared to be re-routed through Russia and dropped at China Telecom. The issue raises serious concerns as a possible traffic hijacking incident. more