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Growth in IPv6-Capable DNS Infrastructure

In our last post on CircleID we showed encouraging growth in the number of IPv6-enabled networks. But announcing an IPv6 prefix is only one of the first steps a network operator should take when deploying IPv6. For a full IPv6 deployment, IPv6 needs to be enabled on network infrastructure and made available to end users. One key piece of infrastructure for which we can measure IPv6 capabilities are DNS resolvers. more

World Notices That Verisign Said Three Months Ago That They Had a Security Breach Two Years Ago

The trade press is abuzz today with reports about a security breach at Verisign. While a security breach at the company that runs .COM, .NET, and does the mechanical parts of managing the DNS root is interesting, this shouldn't be news, at least, not now. Since Verisign is a public company, they file a financial report called a 10-Q with the SEC every quarter. According to the SEC's web site, Verisign filed their 10-Q for June through September 2011 on October 28th. more

The Path Towards Centralization of Internet Governance Under UN: Part 2

This essay is the second of a three-part series, written by Anonymous, and published by the Publius Project of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. It focuses on the steps of a possible roadmap for centralizing Internet governance under the United Nations. more

Domain Registry/Registrar Cross Ownership: A Reality Check

Funny how marketplace reality can poke holes in claims and theories. A debate is raging between some existing registries (Afilias, PIR, Neustar) and registrars like ourselves over the issue of 'cross-ownership' in Top-Level Domains (TLDs). At question: should the same set of shareholders be allowed to own all or part of a registry as well as a registrar that sells names in the TLD owned by the registry? These registries are saying 'no', and one of their principal objections is they think current registrars have an unfair advantage in pursuing TLD deals. more

ICANN at a Crossroads: GDPR and Human Rights

The European Data Protection Board certainly has been keeping its records straight. Its 27 May statement starts with the following: "WP29 has been offering guidance to ICANN on how to bring WHOIS in compliance with European data protection law since 2003." All internet users have dealings with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, yet the vast majority have never heard of ICANN. more

Bogus WSJ Story on Net Neutrality

Today's Wall Street Journal has a bogus, misleading story claiming that Google has been making deals with telephone and cable carriers that violate Network Neutrality. My BS detector was triggered by paragraph five, which reads: "One major cable operator in talks with Google says it has been reluctant so far to strike a deal because of concern it might violate Federal Communications Commission guidelines on network neutrality. 'If we did this, Washington would be on fire,' says one executive at the cable company who is familiar with the talks..." more

Passive Holding of Domain Names and the Argument for Bad Faith or Forfeiture

There is a misconception among some trademark owners and their counsel that passive holding of domain names alone or combined with lack of rights or legitimate interests supports abusive registration. Thus, Respondent's inactive use of the disputed domain name demonstrates bad faith. Respondent also had actual knowledge of Complainant's YOU ASKED FOR IT mark as Complainant has attempted to buy the domain from Respondent... more

Telesat and the Government of Canada Join Forces to Tackle Canada’s Digital Divide

The Canadian satellite operator, Telesat announced this week that it has partnered with the Government of Canada in a mission to provide affordable high-speed Internet connectivity across rural and remote areas of Canada through the development of Telesat's LEO Satellite Constellation. more

Why Donuts Should Win All Wine New gTLD Applications

There are 2 reasons why Donuts, applicant for more than 300 Top-Level Domains, should become the official Registry for wine applications. It is not because of the content of its application: There are 3 applicants in total and all of them followed the rules provided by ICANN in its applicant guidebook. It is not because they protect the wine industry: the Applicant Guidebook did not "force" applicants to do so. It is not because they are American: there are also very good wines in Gibraltar and Ireland. In Gibraltar in particular... more

IPv6: The Four Horsemen of the IPcalypse

War, famine, pestilence and death. They fought for the last IPv4 addresses, hoarded and sold them at outrageous prices, traffic and commerce came slowly to a halt... Pestilence invaded the internet... Bandits roam the lands. A retired general told recently that the internet looks like the North German plains, easy to invade. Cyberwar and Cybersecurity are becoming mainstream subjects and have increasing Government attention. more

Too Little, Too Late? Why ICANN’s Proposed WHOIS Access System Isn’t Worth It

After two years of grueling, complex and contentious debate, the ICANN EPDP team delivered its Phase 2 Final Report on July 31st, 2020. Unfortunately, and disappointingly, the policy recommended for the so-called "System for Standardized Access/Disclosure" (SSAD) fails to meet the needs of the users it supposedly is designed to benefit. more

Series of New African TLDs Fail to Go Live, Get Termination Notice from ICANN

Nine of the 17 African new Top-level Domain (TLD) applicants have received termination notices this week as a result of missing their deadlines to go live. more

Phish or Fair?

It shouldn't be a big surprise to hear that phishing is a big problem for banks. Criminals send email pretending to be a bank, and set up web sites that look a lot like a bank. One reason that phishing is possible is that e-mail has no built in security, so that if a mail message comes in purporting to be from, say, [email protected], there's no easy way to tell whether the message is really from bankofamerica.com, or from a crook. more

Court Sides with FTC, Says AT&T Cannot Escape Jurisdiction of the Agency

California appeals court today gave Federal Trade Commission the green light to move forward with a lawsuit alleging that AT&T Inc was deceptive in slowing internet speeds to customers with unlimited plans. more

Who Are the Major New gTLD Applicants and… (Part Two: Uniregistry)

This, the second in a series of articles looking at portfolio gTLD applicants, is focusing on Uniregistry. At the moment, the Uniregistry press machine is buzzing, like an angry bee, about two of the 50 TLDs in its portfolio: you may have read about .TATTOO and .SEXY. Yes! .SEXY but, according to Uniregistry, it is nothing to do with sex; it is about fashion, modelling and attitude. more