Can Big Companies Stop Being Hacked?

The recent huge security breach at Sony caps a bad year for big companies, with breaches at Target, Apple, Home Depot, P.F.Changs, Neiman Marcus, and no doubt other companies who haven't admitted it yet. Is this the new normal? Is there any hope for our private data? I'm not sure, but here are three observations... This week Brian Krebs reported on several thousand Hypercom credit card terminals that all stopped working last Sunday. Had they all been hacked? more

In Search of an Agenda for a New Netmundial

With the strong possibility of a new Netmundial-style event being organized under the stewardship of CGI.br in 2024, the Internet governance community ought to reflect upon the benefits that this could bring to all stakeholders. In a scenario of uncertainty over the several processes affecting the future of the global network, there is value in taking another look at the original event's collaborative outcomes document, which summarized much of what was then understood to be core principles of Internet governance. more

Ethical Hacking: Turning The Tables to Boost Cyber Security

Hacking remains a huge problem for businesses. As noted by MarketWatch, more than 175 data breaches have already happened this year, and in 2015 approximately 105 million adults in the United States had their personal information stolen. For companies, the stakes are huge: Compromised systems not only damage the bottom line but can severely impact public opinion. more

ICANN Must Simultaneously Reveal TLD and Second-Level Registration Rules

I outline two possible drawbacks with the idea of first revealing rules for the new proposed Top-Level Domains (TLDs) and then for second-level registrations. I propose a lottery process to initially allocate second-level domain names. A number of people have voiced concerns about the idea of automatically granting the winner of the TLD a monopoly power over second-level domain registrations. We should also be worried about the financial interest ICANN has in not providing the rules for the two-level registrations simultaneously. more

The Death of Millimeter-Wave Cellular?

Apple recently announced that it is not building millimeter-wave spectrum antennas into the next generation SE iPhone. Interestingly, this is a phone sold by Verizon, which spent a year advertising on TV and showing us speed tests on cellphones that were receiving gigabit speeds. more

Scientists Transmit Terabits Per Second Through Air, May Replace Undersea Cables

Scientists from ETH Zurich and their European partners have demonstrated a groundbreaking capability for transmitting several tens of terabits per second, despite considerable air turbulence. This feat was accomplished with lasers over a distance between the Jungfraujoch mountain peak and the city of Bern in Switzerland. The technology could potentially eliminate the need for expensive undersea cables, currently forming the backbone of the Internet. more

Deadline TOMORROW to Apply to Represent the “Technical Community” at the Brazil Meeting and in 1Net

Are you interested in being a representative of the "technical community" to the "Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance" happening in April 2014 in Brazil? Or would you like to represent the technical community on the "1net Steering Committee" that is guiding the future of the 1net initiative? If so, THE DEADLINE IS TOMORROW, Friday, January 10, 2014, to submit your expression of interest in being considered for a role on those committees. more

More Evidence Why Doing Good Pays Off and Love Doesn’t

The new gTLDs program can't succeed unless two things happen. The approved registries must do good, and ICANN must weed out applicants who are in love. This is to say that registries should put users' good first, and applicants shouldn't get the nod unless their motive is economic and/or social viability. A recent study reveals that leading companies have enjoyed healthy profits because they made doing good their strategic foundation. more

Security and Reliability: A Closer Look at Vulnerability Assessments

Building on my last article about Network Assessments, let's take a closer look at vulnerability assessments. (Because entire books have been written on conducting vulnerability assessments, this article is only a high level overview.) What is a vulnerability assessment? more

UK Announces £100 Million in Funding to Help the Nation Build and Adopt the Next Generation of ‘Sovereign’ AI

The UK's Foundation Model Taskforce has been established in response to the UK government's ambition to become a leader in the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). The task force will be supported by £100 million of investment and will focus on building the UK's 'sovereign' national capabilities, so public services can benefit from the transformational impact of this type of AI. more

BT Announces 500Mbps to 1000Mbps Broadband Rollout to UK Homes

British Telecom has announced its plan to transform the UK broadband landscape from superfast to ultrafast. The company says it plans to deliver much faster broadband for homes and small businesses via a widespread deployment of “G.fast” -- a technology the company will test in two pilot locations starting this Summer. G.fast is aimed to help BT deliver ultrafast speeds of up to 500Mbps to most of the UK within a decade. Deployment will start in 2016–2017, subject to the pilots being successful, BT says. more

The Ageless Warning of Icarus

It wasn't that long ago that, during a visit home, my brother asked me, "Why are you so stuck on this Internet thing?" His direct question caused me to realize that I had never actually stopped and considered why I was investing so much time – and in such a highly visible manner – into Internet governance when I wasn't being compensated for doing so and, in fact, was – not putting too fine of a point on it – flat broke. more

ICANN Policymaking Should Be Even More Transparent

Transparency and accountability are embedded in ICANN's core values. Indeed, ICANN's Bylaws mandate that "ICANN and its constituent bodies shall operate to the maximum extent feasible in an open and transparent manner ...". Public Interest Registry believes that a dedication to transparency is fundamental to the strength and continued effectiveness of ICANN's multistakeholder model. more

ICANN 53 - Guaranteeing Accountability in Internet Governance

I recently attended the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) 53rd meeting in Buenos Aires to further discuss the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition process. During the meeting, public and private Internet stakeholders made important strides on a transition timeline, accountability planning and future management of the Internet that supports global creativity and innovation. more

Internet and the Telecommunication Acts of 1900

On his blog Bruce Schneier recently published a post called "Power and the Internet". An article that most people in the western world will agree with. Internet freedom against Internet safety and security, the powerful have a lot of power to wield and the rest is at best ad hoc organised or fairly powerless lobby organisations. So who is likely to win? Vested interests, he warns. more