Challenging Domain Names for Abusive Registration: UDRP and ACPA

There are predatory-domain name registrants, and there are registrants engaged in the legitimate business of acquiring, monetizing and reselling domain names. That there are more of the first than the second is evident from proceedings under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). "Given the human capacity for mischief in all its forms, the Policy sensibly takes an open-ended approach to bad faith, listing some examples without attempting to enumerate all its varieties exhaustively. more

More Privacy for Domain Registrants – Heightened Risk for Internet Users

A recent exchange on CircleID highlighted a critical need for data to inform the debate on the impact of ICANN's post-GDPR WHOIS policy that resulted in the redaction of domain name registrant contact data. A bit of background: in my original post, I made the point that domain name abuse had increased post-GDPR. A reader who works with a registrar (according to his bio) commented: "Can you back up that statement with data? Our abuse desk has actually seen a reduction in abuse complaints." more

Monetising Solutions for the Telcos

Developments in the telecommunications industry and the broader digital economy have opened up many new markets over the last few decades. Telecoms has changed from a more or less standalone, horizontally-organized industry to one that has become a key facilitator in a range of vertical markets. The keyword that is used to indicate that change is "smart." We are talking about smart transport, smart energy, smart cities and so on. more

Will Legacy TLDs Have a Long Legacy?

We all live in a world where the rapid pace of innovation can be both exciting and challenging. From keeping up with the latest consumer technologies, such as new mobile apps, social media platforms, and digital assistants like Alexa to business-driven innovations like Things (IoT) to Artificial Intelligence, the one certain thing we all face is change. In the Top-Level Domain (TLD) arena, can the same be said about legacy TLDs? more

.COM Contract Amendment Coming Soon for Public Comment

Last Thursday, during VeriSign's Q3 2019 quarterly earnings call, CEO Jim Bidzos offered statements that seemed to be carefully calibrated to satisfy Wall Street's curiosity about protracted negotiations with ICANN on a Third Amendment to the .com Registry Agreement while also appearing to distance the company from the soon-to-be forthcoming product of that year-long effort. more

Internet Society Seeks Nominations for 2020 Board of Trustees

Are you passionate about working toward a stronger, open Internet available to everyone? Do you have experience in Internet standards, technology, development or public policy? If so, please consider applying for a seat on the Internet Society Board of Trustees. The Internet Society serves a pivotal role in the world as a leader on Internet policy, technical, economic, and social matters, and as the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). more

“lo” and Behold

Happy 50th Internet! On October 29, 1969, at 10:30 p.m. Leonard Kleinrock, a professor of computer science at UCLA along with his graduate student Charley Kline sent a transmission from UCLA's computer to another computer at Stanford Research Institute via ARPANET, the precursor to the internet. more

EFF: For ISPs to Retain Power to Censor the Internet, DNS Needs to Remain Leaky

EFF's Senior Legislative Counsel, Ernesto Falcon, in a post on Monday has argued that major ISPs in the U.S. -- the likes of Comcast, AT&T;, and Verizon -- are aggressively influencing legislators to stop the deployment of DNS over HTTPS (DoH), "a technology that will give users one of the biggest upgrades to their Internet privacy and security since the proliferation of HTTPS." more

Data, Applications, and the Meaning of the Network

Two things seem to be universally true in the network engineering space right this moment. The first is that network engineers are convinced their jobs will not exist, or there will only be network engineers "in the cloud" within the next five years. The second is a mad scramble to figure out how to add value to the business through the network. These two movements are, of course, mutually exclusive visions of the future. more

Part 2: Let’s Have an Honest Conversation About Huawei

In the first section of this piece, I argued that the anti-Huawei litany only makes sense when one realizes that it is the Chinese state, not a global telecommunication equipment manufacturer based in China, is the target of this attack. China, in this view, is an integrated monolith, and any Chinese firm can be ordered to do the government's will without any legal, political, or economic checks and balances. more

Be Wary of 5G Hardware

We've now entered the period of 5G competition where the wireless carriers are trying to outdo each other in announcing 5G rollouts. If you believe the announcements, you'd think 5G is soon going to be everywhere. Device manufacturers are joining the fray and are advertising devices that can be used with the early carrier 5G products. Buyers beware -- because most of what the cellular companies and the manufacturers are hyping as 5G is not yet 5G. more

IETF Appoints Its First Executive Director

IETF today announced that Jay Daley is appointed as the first permanent Executive Director of the organization. IETF had 134 applicants for the position since it began the hiring process in May of this year. more

Blasphemy: The U.S. Problem Is Huawei’s Security Is Too Good

Everyone knows the $100B/year U.S. security apparatus taps almost the entire Internet. Friendly governments help from Australia to Canada to France. Companies like AT&T, Ericsson, Verizon, and Nokia obviously cooperate. The NSA assumes that China is attempting to do the same and that Huawei, as a Chinese company, will provide assistance. The evidence suggests otherwise. Huawei is the primary opponent of U.S. security. more

Crypto Back Doors Are Still a Bad Idea

In the always interesting Lawfare blog, former FBI counsel Jim Baker in a piece called Rethinking Encryption reiterates his take on the encryption debates. There's a certain amount that makes me want to bang my head against the wall... But it's worth reading to remind us of what the other side is thinking, even with a lot of motivated reasoning that makes him conclude that Congress can pass some laws and the going dark problem will be solved. more

Defensive Domain Name Registrations – Exactly Where Should They Resolve?

Domain names can be valuable assets, but many corporate domain name portfolios consist of non-resolving domains. In a recent survey conducted by Brandsight, more than 91% of domain professionals said that ensuring domains redirect to relevant content was an extremely important or somewhat important goal. That said, it's not uncommon for less than half of corporate domain name portfolios to point to live content. more