China’s Top Diplomat Calls for Global Cyberspace Fairness, Urges Resistance to Technological Dominance

In a call for "fairness and justice" in cyberspace, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, has encouraged emerging economies to collectively resist any attempts at dominance in science, technology, or the internet. more

When to Consider ‘Both Sides of the Dot’ in a Domain Name Dispute

In the case, filed by Michelin, the panel found the domain name 'tyre.plus' confusingly similar to the trademark TYREPLUS. Specifically, the panel wrote: "If one ignores the 'dot' between the Second-Level Domain ('tyre') and the Top-Level Domain ('plus'), the mark and the Domain Name are identical..." It's an issue that's arising with increasing frequency -- just as I had predicted. more

Software Glitch Causes ICANN to Extend New gTLD Application Deadline

Due to unusual behaviour with the operation of its TLD Application System (TAS), ICANN announced today that it has shut down the system until Tuesday. ICANN has also extended the submission deadline: "In order to ensure all applicants have sufficient time to complete their applications during the disruption, the application window will remain open until 23:59 UTC on Friday, 20 April 2012." more

Looking at Centrality in the DNS

The Internet's Domain Name System undertakes a vitally important role in today's Internet. Originally conceived as a human-friendly way of specifying the location of the other end of an Internet transaction, it became the name of a service point during the transition to a client/server architecture. A domain name was still associated with an IP address, but that 1:1 association was weakened when we started adjusting to IPv4 address exhaustion. more

Problems With the Burr-Feinstein Bill

What appears to be a leaked copy of the Burr-Feinstein on encryption back doors. Crypto issues aside -- I and my co-authors have written on those before -- this bill has many other disturbing features. (Note: I've heard a rumor that this is an old version. If so, I'll update this post as necessary when something is actually introduced.) One of the more amazing oddities is that the bill's definition of "communications" (page 6, line 10) includes "oral communication", as defined in 18 USC 2510. more

Explaining the Legal Enforceability of the PIC Proposed by Ethos for .ORG

Ethos Capital has recently announced that it has voluntarily proposed to add an amendment to Public Interest Registry's (PIR) .ORG Registry Agreement with ICANN in the form of a Public Interest Commitment, also known as a "PIC." In the press release Ethos indicated that the PIC would become "legally binding" and "enforceable" both by ICANN and by members of the community. I anticipate that some would ask a number of logical questions: How would that work in practice? more

‘Beyond the Scope’ of the UDRP

Not all domain name disputes are appropriate for resolution under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). While the UDRP is clearly the "go-to" legal tool for trademark owners pursuing cybersquatters, some disputes are about larger -- or different -- issues than the UDRP was designed to address. As stated in WIPO's Overview: Depending on the facts and circumstances of a particular case, and irrespective of whether the parties may also be engaged in court litigation... more

First Four TLDs Pass Pre-Delegation Testing

The first four new Top Level Domains (TLDs) have passed pre-delegation testing. Historically, it has taken most companies about 9 months after the Registry Agreement is signed before domain names go on sale to the general public. The four TLDs signed Registry agreements in April 2013. These TLDs may begin to sell domain names to the public as early as December 2013 or January 2014. more

Google Instant - Great for Top Internet Brands

In late September Google introduced Google Instant, an auto-complete algorithm that assists users in searching with greater speed. Google's new service predicts search queries in real time, can catch a mistake if the user mistyped and guides users to previously performed searches. This new service greatly benefits top brands on the Internet and those that have purchased key words and ad words; while it might not be as beneficial for companies with low website traffic or those that are not well known. more

Where Should the Telcos Jump Next?

With declining revenues now across all of the major revenue segments -- something in the order of $25 billion worldwide -- it is 2 minutes to 12 and the industry needs to act. Unlike previous situations, this time there is no large money-spinner around the corner for the telcos, such as we saw in previous situations when broadband and mobile came to the rescue. more

Is Today the Beginning of the End of Net Neutrality?

Today, May 15, 2014 a vote will be taken at the FCC. Today the Internet we know can change forever. Today at 10:30 am EST the FCC meets to vote on the issue on whether or not allow the collection of special rates to provide certain services through the Internet for those who can afford it. A "faster lane" has been called... Who will pay for the use of this improved infrastructure? more

Strengthening Caribbean Internet Capacity to Support Local Online Services

The Caribbean needs more robust infrastructure to support the delivery of local online services during the COVID-19 pandemic and for crises to come. Public health and safety mandates, from social distancing and quarantines to stay-at-home orders and curfews, have confined an estimated one billion persons to their homes globally. The sudden restrictions on social movement have created a reliance on the Internet and technology-enabled services. This should come as no surprise. more

China Accused of ‘Weaponizing’ Global Internet Users to Launch DDoS Attack

Activists battling internet censorship in China are reporting that they have proof of a massive online assault on their websites by the Chinese authorities. The attack, which began last Thursday, targeted two GitHub projects designed to combat censorship in China: GreatFire and CN-NYTimes, a Chinese language version of the New York Times. more

Telecoms Infrastructure As a Service

More than a decade ago we predicted that the telecoms industry would be transformed, driven by its own innovations and technological developments. As a result we indicated that in many situations the telecommunications infrastructure would be offered as a service by hardware providers. We also predicted that this would open the way for a better sharing of the infrastructure. more

The Impact of a Pandemic on Cyberattacks and Business Continuity Plans

A new survey of security and IT leaders by csoonline.com sheds light on how organizations across industries are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, how prepared they were when the pandemic first hit, how vulnerable they are, and what the long-term impact on companies may be. Unsurprisingly, the survey found there has been an increased number of employees working from home. more