Time to Play Offense

The United States is under cyber-attack. An article in Time magazine titled "The Invasion of the Chinese Cyberspies" discusses a computer-network security official for Sandia National Laboratories who had been "tirelessly pursuing a group of suspected Chinese cyberspies all over the world." The article notes that the cyberespionage ring, known to US investigators as Titan Rain, has been "penetrating secure computer networks at the country's most sensitive military bases, defense contractors and aerospace companies." more

Every Domainer Is Subsidizing Tasting… Abolish Registration Grace Period

One issue that a large number of domainers agree on is that domain tasting under the current ICANN-approved policy is bad for the industry. For one thing, a healthy portion of the practice involves trademark use that not only is illegal but also destroys value. Of course, particular segments of the domain name ecosystem can suffer value destruction because of tasting that doesn't infringe trademarks. But most criticism is directed, and rightly so, at tasting that raises trademark issues. Litigation over the trademark issues has done little to stop the practice and destroys value for trademark holders and domainers alike... more

Net Neutrality: A Net-Head View

Net neutrality is a complex issue with some strongly opposed views that at times sound more like religion than sensible argument, so this article is an attempt to provide some sense for those still not completely sure what it is all about. Be warned though, that this article is not an unbiased appraisal of the arguments, it is written from the perspective of a confirmed net-head. more

To Serve the Public Interest You First Have to Define ‘Public Interest’

In the ancient parable, six blind men are asked to describe an elephant, with each coming up with wildly different answers, depending on which part of the animal they touched. Now, while I would hesitate to call participants in the ICANN process "blind men," I am starting to think that "public interest" is their elephant. ICANN is on the threshold of completing its first major obligation under the Affirmation of Commitments it signed with the U.S. Government in 2009. more

RIPE NCC Distributed Last IPv4 Address Space from the Available Pool

On Friday 14 September, 2012, the RIPE NCC, the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, distributed the last blocks of IPv4 address space from the available pool. more

Should the Government Prepare a Preemptive Cyber-Attack?

The House Committee on Science recently held a hearing to "examine the extent of U.S. vulnerability to cyber attacks on critical infrastructure such as utility systems, and what the federal government and private sector are doing, and should be doing, to prevent and prepare for such attacks." Specific issues addressed at the hearing included whether: 1) the U.S. is able to detect, respond to, and recover from cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure; and 2) is there a clear line of responsibility within the federal government to deal with cybersecurity... more

How Much Money Do Spammers Make?

News reports say that high profile Ryan Pitylak was fined $10 million by the Texas Attorney General. A few days ago, he paid a $1M settlement to Microsoft. Since it had been widely reported that he'd made between $3M and $4M during his spamming career, that seemed like a pretty good deal for him. As I commented to the San Antonio Express, this new fine is more in line with what he did, and at least relieves him of all his ill-gotten gains... more

Jerry Falwell Critic Can Keep Domain Name, Appeals Court Says

I want to call your attention to a very important Internet free speech decision, perhaps the most significant of our domain name cases from the past several years. In Lamparello v. Falwell, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held today that the use of the domain name www.fallwell.com for a web site devoted to denouncing the views of Rev. Jerry Falwell about homosexuality neither infringes Falwell's trademark in his name nor constitutes "cybersquatting." more

Africa’s Digital Darkness: Internet Shutdowns Reach Record High

Governments across Africa increasingly wield internet blackouts as a tool to suppress dissent, with 2024 marking a record high for digital censorship. According to a report by Access Now and #KeepItOn, 21 internet shutdowns were recorded across 15 African nations, surpassing previous highs in 2020 and 2021. more

UDRP Does Not Apply To Bad Faith Domain Name Renewals: Part II

The first part of this article offered background examination on why Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) fails to apply to domain name renewals. Here, in the second part of this two part series, we will examine UDRP further by reviewing cases involving the renewal of domain name registrations. more

The Verisign Shared Registration System: A 25-Year Retrospective

Every day, there are tens of thousands of domain names registered across the globe -- often as a key first step in creating a unique online presence. Making that experience possible for Verisign-operated top-level domains (TLDs) like .com and .net is a powerful and flexible technology platform first introduced 25 years ago. more

INTERPOL Leads Arrest of 1,209 Suspects in Pan-African Cybercrime Crackdown, Recovers $97 Million

Authorities across 18 African nations, aided by the United Kingdom and INTERPOL, have arrested 1,209 suspects and dismantled over 11,000 illicit cyber infrastructures. more

New Trend: Vanity IPv6 Addresses

It's like a vanity license plate, but for your IP address. Previously under IPv4 DNS registration, users were limited to only using numbers. However, with the height of IPv6 underway users are getting creative with their newfound use of characters. Although you can only use characters A-F, it only takes a little creativity to find ways around this. more

DNSSEC Ready Set Go! But, Wait, Are You Ready?

The year 2010 is turning out to be the "year of DNSSEC" from Registry implementations, Registrar implementations, ISP support, to the Root being signed this summer. Because we are dealing with such critical infrastructure, it is important to not lose sight of careful implementations. more

Internet Governance: Analogue Solutions to Digital Problems

This is an overview of the booklet, "Internet Governance: Issues, Actors and Divides," recently published by DiploFoundation and the Global Knowledge Partnership. "Internet Governance is not a simple subject. Although it deals with a major symbol of the DIGITAL world, it cannot be handled with a digital - binary logic of true/false and good/bad. Instead, the subject's many subtleties and shades of meaning and perception require an ANALOGUE approach, covering a continuum of options and compromises." Update: This article was reposted with additional information and a new title. more