U.S. bank regulators on Wednesday outlined cyber security standards meant to protect financial markets and consumers from online attacks against the nation's leading financial firms," Patrick Rucker reporting in Reuters. more
Appointments and operations at three hospitals in the United Kingdom have been canceled due to a cyberattack on the computer network lasting five days. more
At ICANN's recent virtual meeting, I was fortunate enough to join a panel facilitated by the Brand Registry Group (BRG), an association of organisations promoting the use of brand top-level domains, where we discussed the release of the next round of the generic top-level domain (gTLD) program. The fact that I was participating in a discussion like this is hardly news, as I've been commenting on the policy discussions and debating its role in the digital landscape for years. more
In a joint statement today by the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security, Russia has been blamed for hacking and publishing archived emails from the Democratic National Committee this summer. more
In a joint venture worth $540 million, SpaceX and Indonesia have successfully launched SATRIA-1, the nation's largest telecommunication satellite, to improve internet connectivity in remote regions of the archipelago. more
Facebook lobbyists are working behind the scenes for a major cyber bill set for a final Senate vote Tuesday despite growing opposition to the bill among tech companies, according to a digital rights advocacy group fighting against the measure. more
Fiber manufacturers are always trying to make it easier to deploy fiber. One of the most interesting trends is the increasing migration from 250-micron fiber to 200-micron fiber. For those not familiar with the metric system, a micron is one-thousands of a millimeter. A 250-micron fiber has a diameter of 0.25 millimeters, while a 200-micron fiber has a diameter of 0.2 millimeters. more
America's FCC has barred new foreign-made consumer routers on security grounds, tightening supply for ISPs and households while raising costs and risking technological lag unless domestic manufacturing or approvals quickly expand in coming years significantly. more
Internet Society President and CEO, Kathy Brown has released a public note today stating that the U.S. entry ban has places an unwarranted burden on people in the organization. more
In a previous article, I reported on the problems that Facebook (Meta) is facing – currently betting the house on its Meta service, based on a software platform that will create a virtual reality (VR) networked environment. I mentioned that I was critical about this business model and that I don’t see, at least for the foreseeable future, a platform (based on VR) that would turn the internet or mobile networks into VR environments. I also mention that I do see interesting markets for VR in certain sectors. more
A new phishing survey released by the Anti-Phishing Work Group (APWG) reveals that the longevity of phishing Web sites dropped by 25 percent over the last year. The survey has also revealed that a single criminal syndicate dubbed "Avalanche" was responsible for nearly one quarter of all phishing attacks in the first half of 2009. Indications are that the gang is continuing to claim a larger proportion of all detected phishing attacks. more
This month marks the fifth annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) will be actively engaging public and private sector partners through events and initiatives to increase overall awareness and minimize vulnerabilities. This year, according to DHS, 28 state governors signed a proclamation in recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month and 51 endorsements were provided by companies, non-profits, universities and government agencies. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. To learn more, visit DHS and StaySafeOnline.org. more
The page with the WSIS version of enhanced cooperation of Internet governance, developed in 2005, was turned forever on 30 September 2016 with the expiration of the IANA contract between the NTIA and ICANN. The IANA arrangement was the last issue that remained unchanged since the WSIS Tunis phase where the international community discussed Internet governance related issues for the first time. On 1 October 2016, the concept of enhanced cooperation as defined by the Tunis Agenda ceased to exist. more
As governments, firms and engineers reshape networks, the internet is fragmenting into rival systems. Interoperability erodes, raising costs, curbing rights and weakening resilience, with global growth, innovation and cooperation increasingly at risk. more
Over the years, I've kept tabs on residential Internet services in my local area (Vancouver, BC) and noticed that almost all providers have the following "limited time offer"... On the surface, this sounds like a great way to entice users to sign up -- or more importantly, switch over. But are we missing something here? After the initial discounted rate, subscribers receive a friendly reminder of what their subscription actually costs. And chances are, they're not going to be happy with their next bill. more