An Alternative to CCWG Overreach

ICANN is in the midst (I wouldn't yet say the middle) of its transition from oversight by the US Department of Commerce to oversight by something else. A Cross Community Working Group (CCWG) on Accountability delivered a long report in August that proposes a new oversight structure for ICANN. But it has the practical problem that the ICANN board really, really hates it. Having looked at it, I can't entirely blame them. more

Secret Doors in Phones and Computers

An article appeared in Computer World that alleges: in exchange for the Indian market presence" mobile device manufacturers, including RIM, Nokia, and Apple (collectively defined in the document as RINOA) have agreed to provide backdoor access on their devices. Could it be true that Nokia, RIM and Apple opened up to Government interception? more

Five Security Blind Spots from Prolonged Implementation of a Business Continuity Plan Amid COVID-19

The novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has prompted many organizations in Mainland China and Hong Kong to execute their business continuity plan (BCP). During the last epidemic in 2003, the SARS outbreak lasted for nine months – and with an infection rate that is increasing rapidly, this new coronavirus has the potential to cause prolonged periods of commercial disruption, and heavy reliance on BCPs. more

No Surprise: Verisign’s Shift on New gTLDs

Five years after ICANN approved the new gTLD policy in Paris, two years after it approved the implementation plan in Singapore, and a year after the application window closed and some concrete steps were taken toward delegation of new gTLDs, a series of scary-sounding "what if" scenarios have mysteriously taken over discussions at ICANN. From colliding names and failing life support systems to mass confusion and technological outages, the profusion of horror stories has rivaled the hype for the Y2K conversion, with about as much basis in fact. more

State-Sponsored Cyberattack Against Telecom Providers Is Targetting Data on Specific Individuals

The researchers at Cybereason Nocturnus have identified an advanced, persistent attack targeting global telecommunications providers carried out by a threat actor using tools and techniques commonly associated with the Chinese-affiliated threat actor APT10. This multi-wave attack is reported to have sought to steal communications data of specific individuals in various countries. more

The Free Internet in Jeopardy

The venerated BBC World Service recently commissioned a polled involving more than 27,000 people across 26 countries. The findings are unremarkable: some 87% of Internet users believe that Internet access should be a basic right, and more than 70% of non-users believe that they should have access to it. more

Remedies for Cybersquatting: New gTLD Domain Names

In the discussions proceeding the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) publishing The Management Of Internet Names And Addresses: Intellectual Property Issues (Final Report, April 30, 1999) that ultimately led to the ICANN implementing the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) (1999) commentators considered three remedies to combat cybersquatting: suspending, cancelling, and transferring infringing domain names. more

White House on SOPA: Protecting Intellectual Property Must Not Threaten Open, Innovative Internet

The White House today released a response to SOPA and PIPA petitions and the legislative approaches to combat online piracy. The response is prepared by Victoria Espinel, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at Office of Management and Budget, Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, and Howard Schmidt, Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator for National Security Staff. more

Ten Countries Face Significant Internet Disruption After African Coast to Europe Submarine Cable Cut

The ACE (African Coast to Europe) submarine cable that runs along the west coast of Africa between France and South Africa (connecting 22 countries), was damaged on March 30. more

Yahoo Collaborating With US Intelligence Agencies

It was revealed yesterday that Yahoo has been scanning people's email for the federal government. This activity was, apparently, authorized by Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer but not the former CSO Alex Stamos. Mr. Stamos left Yahoo in June 2015. He also publicly disagreed with the director of the NSA back in February 2015 about the NSA having access to encrypted data. more

Global Technical Internet Related Issues That Need Fixing

Given its engineering background, many positive contributions can be made by the engineering community in the broader ICT world to assist in addressing some of the broader internet issues, often addressed within the more limited telecoms environment.. Of course some of this is already happening; however much more work would be needed to strengthen the technical foundations of the internet. Just as an example, the type of issues that could be addressed by a broader ICT engineering foundation could include... more

Malaysian Government to Fully Adopt IPV6 by End of 2012

The Malaysian government is poised to fully adopt the Internet Protocol version 6 or IPv6 by the end of next year and may emerge as the first government in the world to achieve full IPv6 compliance, Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang said. According to the report several government agencies have already adopted IPv6 and several others are in the process of shifting from IPv4. more

Meeting with ITU Secretary General Dr Hamadoun Touré

During the ITU Conference I had the honour of a private meeting with Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the ITU since 2006... Dr Touré has a fascinating background. Born in Mali and educated in Russia, he has brought with him a distinctly fresh approach to the ITU. He has been Africa's Regional General Manager for ICO Global Communications and worked at various levels at the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT). more

RIM’s Secret Weapon

The US analyst community has been holding a wake for RIM in the last few days... It's a pile-on that has driven the stock price down from the upper fifties to the mid forties in the last month. And yeah, RIM's stock price is going to suffer in the short term, not just because of these analyst reports, but because their existing software technology is long-in-the-tooth, to put it politely... I wouldn't count them out, though. RIM's secret weapon is the man I nearly bumped into last week... more

The Impacts of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria on the Internet

The devastation caused by several storms during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season has destroyed neighborhoods and taken lives across a number of Caribbean island nations including Texas and Florida in the United States. Senior Director of Internet Research & Analysis at Oracle Dyn Global Business Unit has posted a blog that takes a look at the impacts. more