Domain Security: An Underused Cybersecurity Strategy and First Line of Defense in Your Zero Trust Model

Domain security is a critical component to help mitigate cyberattacks in the early stages - your first line of defense in your organization's Zero Trust model. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), most cyberattacks - including ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) - begin with phishing. Although losses due to ransomware now exceed billions annually, most ransomware protection and response measures don't adequately address phishing risks in the early stages of an attack because they don't include domain security measures to protect against the most common phishing attacks. more

Google Shutting Down Engineering Office in Russia Amid Tighter Data Law

Google is closing its engineering office in Russia as a result of new law coming into force next year requiring foreign firms to store Russian users' personal data on servers located in Russia. more

US Justice Department and FBI Dismantle Long-Running Russian State-Sponsored Cyber-Espionage Operation Targeting NATO

The United States Department of Justice has announced that it has neutralized a global network of computers compromised by malware called "Snake," which the U.S. government attributes to a unit within Center 16 of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). more

ICANN Accountability Takes Center Stage at Dublin Meeting

With the ICANN 54 meeting in Dublin in full swing, the internet stakeholder community should be assessing where the IANA transition and ICANN accountability proposals stand and where they will need to go before a transition occurs. At the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group meeting in Los Angeles last month, the consensus seemed to be all systems are go for launch. more

Security, Privacy Issues and USB Drives

In an article on CSO.com.au a report from Sophos Australia is reported on. The anti-virus software company had bought 50 usb drives for analyses at a public transport auction of devices left on the Sydney trains. When they wrote that 66% was infected with malware, I presumed that they were left behind consciously, but were they? more

Privacy in the Age of COVID-19

The Washington Post reports that a recent poll conducted shows that 3 out of 5 Americans are unable or unwilling to use an infection-alerting app developed by Google and Apple. About 1 in 6 adults can't use the app because they don't own a smartphone -- with the lowest ownership levels for those 65 and older. People with smartphones evenly split between those willing versus unwilling to use such an app. more

Dealing With the Digital Divide

A political focus on subsidizing telecom infrastructure is just so easy. There are multiple photo opportunities (at the announcement, the cheque presentation and the system activation), happy mayors, happy voters. It gets to be portrayed as economic stimulus, direct job creation and consistent with progress on digital economic development. But while it may feel satisfying politically, I question the effectiveness of continued broad government subsidies based on geography, rather than taking a more focused approach based on need. more

NANOG’s Edward McNair Delivers Keynote Address at CaribNOG 17

Edward Mc Nair, executive director of the North American Network Operators Group (NANOG), delivered the keynote at the seventeenth regional meeting of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG), held from April 10 to 12 at the Hilton in Bridgetown, Barbados. McNair's keynote focused on the important role that network operator groups, or NOGs, play in building an Internet that serves the specific needs of the people in the region. more

Google Books Case Part 4,523: Decide Fair Use First

The endless lawsuit by the Authors Guild (which purports to represent authors, no longer including me), against Google moved another small step toward completion today. The Guild is just sure that Google's book scanning project means that end of civilization as we, or at least they, know it. Their arguments run from the somewhat plausible, that the scans are in violation of copyright, to the just plain goofy, that the scan data is so amazingly valuable yet vulnerable that Google must destroy it before someone steals it. more

Silencing the Cold War Hype: Understanding the Road to .ECO

With ICANN's announcement that the application window for new TLDs will be opening in January 2012 there has been an influx of media coverage directed at our bid for .ECO, as well as the bids of many other organizations the world over. To date, many articles related to our bid have drawn immediate reference to the involvement of Mikhail Gorbachev and Al Gore. more

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s Meeting With Tech Company Executives

While Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel was in New York to address the United Nations, he met with members of Congress and executives from the agriculture, travel and information and communication technology (ICT) industries. The ICT meeting was at Google's New York office and ten other companies attended. In addition to Díaz-Canel the Cuban ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and Communications were at the meeting. more

The “Kiwi” Way of Interneting

By now, we are all exposed to the narrative of how the Internet is no longer a safe place. It is full of bots, misinformation, abuse and violence; it is a space that has been overtaken by terrorists and extremists. The Internet is weaponized to influence elections, undermine democracies, and instill fear in its users. That's the story we are told. No one can deny the swift change that is taking place in global politics. The "brave new world" that has emerged is, currently, based on isolation and fear. more

Google Public DNS Service Passes 70 Billion Requests Per Day, No Longer Experimental

Google reports that its "experimental" public DNS service launched in December of 2009 has now passed 70 billion requests a day and no longer considered experimental. From the announcement: "Google Public DNS has become particularly popular for our users internationally. Today, about 70 percent of its traffic comes from outside the U.S. We’ve maintained our strong presence in North America, South America and Europe, and beefed up our presence in Asia. We've also added entirely new access points to parts of the world where we previously didn't have Google Public DNS servers, including Australia, India, Japan and Nigeria." more

Is Fiber a Hundred Year Investment?

I think every client who is considering building a fiber network asks me how long the fiber will last. Their fear is having to spend the money at some future point to rebuild the network. Recently, my response has been that fiber is a hundred-year investment -- and let me explain why I say that. We're now seeing fiber built in the 1980s becoming opaque or developing enough microscopic cracks that impede the flow of light. more

Brexit Done: What Does It Mean for an Online Presence?

On January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom officially ended the transition period and is no longer subject to European Union rules. The U.K. had been part of the EU for 47 years, or almost two generations. Comprehending the impact, the changes, the new ruling, and compliance will take some time. But in a world where online shopping, online banking, and communication is growing at lightning speed, we need clarity on key digital assets - the basic domain name. more