I’m Impressed by Fadi

I could have ignored yesterday's ICANN New gTLD Applicant Update Webinar and just read summaries from the usual respected news and industry sources. However, with three hours slotted and likely questions regarding ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé's somewhat eyebrow-raising comments at the regional ICANN Registry-Registrar meeting in Amsterdam last week -- led me wanting to hear it all myself. more

Names, Numbers and Beyond…

Couple of weeks ago I started a new initiative called "Names, Numbers and Beyond". I started this as I genuinely think we are facing big issues due to the uncontrolled and non-standard growth of the IP and Name space used today and tomorrow. To keep in control and make everything manageable, parcelling out IP address space and the use of tight naming standards/policies is necessary to make networks work better and make them achievable. more

Verizon and AWS Expand Network Ties to Meet AI Data Demands

Verizon and AWS have deepened their collaboration to build dedicated fiber infrastructure, addressing the growing need for low-latency, high-capacity connectivity to support the rapid expansion of enterprise-scale artificial intelligence workloads. more

Here is the DNSSEC Activity at ICANN 58 in Copenhagen March 12-15, 2017

Want to learn more about the current state of DNSSEC? Want to see demos of new software to secure email? Curious about the potential impact of the Root Key Rollover happening this year? Next week in Copenhagen, Denmark, ICANN 58 will include some great technical info about DNSSEC and DANE happening in several sessions. Here is the plan... more

ICANN Shows Safe Decisions Aren’t Always the Right Decisions

When ICANN selected Deloitte and IBM to provide technical database administration services for a key part of its new gTLD program, it became quickly clear that the choice was not made on whose proposals scored highest, but rather it was based on which partner presented the least perceived business risk but at a much higher than necessary cost. I know this because I wrote a response to the original RFP and as a result am pretty familiar with what the original specification required. more

INET New York: Open Forum of the Copyright Alert System - Thursday 11/15

The Copyright Alert System, the result of a deal between big content and big ISPs, is a graduated response program - popularly known as the six strikes - that escalates from nastygrams, to copyright school, to Internet throttling. Just like SOPA/PIPA, enforcement targets will be arbitrarily selected by the content owners, but unlike SOPA/PIPA there will be no appeal via the courts - only to an arbitration firm hired by the program. more

Neustar Launches KickStart America Campaign with .US Domain

Neustar, Inc. begins a "Kick-start America" campaign for the .US Top-Level Domain. Companies of all sizes -- locally-based or doing business in the United States -- are encouraged to demonstrate their local presence with "America's Address." more

Sally Wentworth Appointed as New CEO of the Internet Society

The Internet Society has appointed Sally Wentworth as its new President and CEO, effective September 1, 2024. Wentworth, who has been with the organization since 2009, previously served as Managing Director and Vice President of Policy, where she played a pivotal role in shaping global Internet policy. more

A Report on DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC) 30th Meeting

DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC) held its 30th meeting in Bangkok on the 12th and 13th May. Here's what attracted my interest from two full days of DNS presentations and conversations, together with a summary of the other material that was presented at this workshop. Some Bad News for DANE (and DNSSEC): For many years the Domain Name X509 certification system, or WebPKI, has been the weak point of Internet security... more

Thoughts About U.S. Government’s Decision on IANA Transition

Last week the government of the United States made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the Internet governance world. The National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), a division of the Department of Commerce, publicly stated that it will not be renewing its contract with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) past its September 2015 expiry date. The importance of this announcement cannot be underestimated. more

How To Build A Cybernuke

The Internet infrastructure has been having a bad month. Not as bad as, say, the world's aviation infrastructure, but bad enough. First, Chinese Internet censorship leaked out to a few massively unlucky users of the I root server. Then China Telecom failed to filter someone who leaked thousands of hijacked routes to other people's networks through them, probably by accident. And then, inexplicably, Forbes went where no one had gone before... more

Afghanistan Enacts Law Targeting Online Crime and Militancy

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani has signed into law a cybercrime bill this week targeting online crime and militancy by groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State despite concerns it could limit free speech. more

More on Private Auctions for New gTLDs

My recent post on private auctions for new gTLDs under contention generated many responses from applicants. Here I follow-up with answers to the questions raised... Many, but certainly not all, applicants have a strong motivation to participate in a private auction. This incentive is especially strong for domains for which the community, geographic, and other factors are not compelling. more

Paul Mockapetris to Serve as Senior Security Advisor to ICANN’s Generic Domains Division

ICANN has announced that Paul Mockapetris, inventor of the Domain Name System (DNS), has agreed to serve as Senior Security Advisor to the Generic Domains Division and its President, Akram Atallah. more

Google Bard Fails to Answer Satellite Internet Questions

In an earlier post, I asked whether electronically steered antennas (ESAs) would replace parabolic antennas in satellite ground stations. I did some research and concluded that it is likely that they will. Next, I discussed the same question with ChatGPT and, while it made several false statements, it made a relevant point that I had overlooked. The relevant addition was positive, but the errors were troublesome, so I decided to try ChatGPT's competitor Google Bard. more