Diversity of View or Unacceptable Inconsistency in the Application of UDRP Law

The general run of Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP) decisions are unremarkable. At their least, they are primarily instructive in establishing the metes and bounds of lawful registration of domain names. A few decisions stand out for their acuity of reasoning and a few others for their lack of it. The latest candidate of the latter class is NSK LTD. v. Li shuo, FA170100 1712449 (Forum February 16, 2017)... It is an example of inconsistency in the application of law. more

People Should Drive Automation - Not Technology

Service providers have traditionally organised their operations around different technology domains. The responsible teams have been staffed with specialists looking after routing, network services, security and various other functional areas. Over time, organizations like this have had the tendency to transform into loosely tied silos with limited interaction between the different teams. more

Attacking DNS Abuse: The Next Amendments Needed

Abusive behavior that leverages the domain name system (DNS) continues to be a problem, with a reach that has been widely and credibly documented. There is little doubt that bad actors continue to use the DNS for nefarious and costly purposes. While the amendments made in 2024 to ICANN's Registry Agreement (RA) and Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) were a step in the right direction, more advanced tools are needed to bring abuse rates down. more

Killing 3G

I have bad news for anybody still clinging to their flip phones. All of the big cellular carriers have announced plans to end 3G cellular service, and each has a different timeline in mind... The amount of usage on 3G networks is still significant. GSMA reported that at the end of 2018 that as many as 17% of US cellular customers still made 3G connections, which accounted for as much as 19% of all cellular connections. more

Announcing the 2024 ICANN Contracted Parties Summit Statement!

As Chairs of ICANN's Registries and Registrar Stakeholder Groups, we are proud to announce that we have initiated a new practice for the Contracted Parties Summits: the publication of our Contracted Parties Summit Statement. As you may (or may not) know, Contracted Parties get together periodically to interact and work together on issues that we care about, and which impact our businesses as registries and registrars. more

New gTLDs: Are You Rich?

Did you know about these new domain name extensions which focus on wellness, wealth and ego? Well, I listed them and there is an interesting one... which really is unique... Many want to be famous and some industries should have a look at this list of extensions since they are keywords dedicated to very powerful industries: Gold and Diamonds, for example, have their own new gTLD for domain names ending in ".gold" and ".diamonds". more

The Early History of Usenet, Part IV: Implementation and User Experience

To understand some of our implementation choices, it's important to remember two things. First, the computers of that era were slow. The Unix machine at UNC's CS department was slower than most timesharing machines even for 1979 – we had a small, slow disk, a slow CPU, and – most critically – not nearly enough RAM. Duke CS had a faster computer – they had an 11/70; we had an 11/45 -- but since I was doing the first implementation, I had to use what UNC had. (Log in remotely? more

Smart Cities Want to Co-Design Change With Telcos

With 5G earmarked as a game-changer for cities, wireless technologies are already widely deployed by leading smart cities, including those here in Australia. However, cities do not want to be locked into proprietary technology solutions, rather seeing themselves as a platform on which many organisations can build infrastructure, applications, and services to benefit all citizens and all local businesses. more

It’s Up to Each of Us: Why I WannaCry for Collaboration

WannaCry, or WannaCrypt, is one of the many names of the piece of ransomware that impacted the Internet last week, and will likely continue to make the rounds this week. There are a number of takeaways and lessons to learn from the far-reaching attack that we witnessed. Let me tie those to voluntary cooperation and collaboration which together represent the foundation for the Internet's development. more

SBI, One of India’s Largest Banks, Switching Its Domain to Branded TLD, bank.sbi

The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced it will be switching its domain name from "sbi.co.in” to the branded "bank.sbi", according to various news sources. more

Washington’s 5G Mania Endpoint – Global CyberBalkanisation

Over the past two years, governments and foreign intelligence agencies around the world have tried to understand the inexplicable, chaotic, irrational, indeed maniacal 5G policies of the Trump Administration. Revelations by former Trump administration officials and most recently Trump's niece confirm that there is no rational basis for Trumpian positions and policies and that the best response is to recognize that Washington is no longer capable of playing a meaningful role... more

New CSC Report Emphasizes Need for Holistic Domain Security Amid Surge in Popularity for AI

It seems that every day, a new artificial intelligence (AI) capability emerges, posing exciting possibilities for technological advancements -- but also great potential to equal or greater risks. Cybercriminals have taken notice of this rapid surge in the popularity of AI technologies and are attempting to take advantage. more

Internet Society Seeks Nominations for 2019 Board of Trustees

Are you passionate about ensuring the Internet remains open, globally-connected, secure and trustworthy - for everyone? Do you have experience in Internet standards, development or public policy? If so, please consider applying for one of the open seats on the Internet Society Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees provides strategic direction, inspiration, and oversight to advance the Society's mission. more

Counterfeit Marks and Counterfeit Goods: Pretense in Cyberspace

The term "counterfeit" is defined under U.S. trademark law as "a spurious mark which is identical with, or substantially indistinguishable from, a registered mark." 15 U.S.C. § 1127 (Lanham Act, Sec. 45). Used as a noun, domain names ultimately found to have been registered in bad faith make their registrants cybersquatters by definition. But more commonly we encounter counterfeiting as an adjective as it applies to spurious goods (counterfeit goods) -- "made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud." more

Into the Gray Zone: Considering Active Defense

Most engineers focus on purely technical mechanisms for defending against various kinds of cyber attacks, including "the old magic bullet," the firewall. The game of cannons and walls is over, however, and the cannons have won; those who depend on walls are in for a shocking future. What is the proper response, then? What defenses are there The reality is that just like in physical warfare, the defenses will take some time to develop and articulate. more