Top Broadband Stories of 2021

Every year I write a blog talking about the trends that I think we're likely to see in the coming year. But 2021 was such an unusual year for all of us that I thought it would also be useful to talk about what we accomplished in the industry over the last year while fending off a pandemic. All in all, it was quite a year. more

Africa, Let’s Embrace v6 Now!

AFRINIC is the regional Internet registry for Africa, and our core activity is to manage and distribute Internet numbers resources (IPv4, IPv6 and ASN's) to the 57 economies in Africa. IPv4 address scarcity is a very real issue worldwide, the internet keeps growing and the demand for Internet addresses will continue to grow. Africa has the lowest number of Internet users in the world. Internet's penetration in Africa jumped from very low level in 2009, to around 16% of individuals in 2013 and over 20% in 2015. more

Twitter Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over National Security Data

Twitter has filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court seeking to publish its full Transparency Report. In a blog post released this afternoon, Twitter's vice president, Ben Lee writes: "Our ability to speak has been restricted by laws that prohibit and even criminalize a service provider..." more

The Legacy of the Pai FCC

As is normal with a change of administration, there are articles in the press discussing the likely legacy of the outgoing administration. Leading the pack in singing his own praises is former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who recently published this document listing a huge list of accomplishments of the FCC under his Chairmanship. Maybe it's just me, but it feels unseemly for a public servant to publish an official self-praise document. more

Study on Improving Internet Usability: A Framework for Domain Name Policy Evaluation

A domain name is a unique alphanumeric designation that facilitates reference to sets of numbers which actually locate a particular computer on the Internet. Domain names are a fundamental part of the Internet's user interface. Improving the usability of the Internet depends upon effective domain name policy. This study is intended to contribute to improvement in Internet usability for the end users of domain names. Benefits of more usable domain names include: higher sales, customer satisfaction and productivity, and reduced support costs. more

A Diversity Success Story from the Apps for Ag Hackathon Competition

Deema Tamimi had one plan for the 2016 California Apps for Ag hackathon: get in and get out. She thought the weekend-long event would be a good opportunity to meet people, but she didn't feel ready to launch a new app, and so she planned on stealing away soon after the hackathon began. This, despite the very impressive resume she'd accrued and the fully-formed idea for a gardening-based app that had been brimming for half a year. But something magical can happen when so many engineers, experts, change-makers, and creatives converge at a hackathon. more

Canadian International Pharmacy Association Celebrates 20 Years on the Internet

The Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) recently achieved a major milestone: We celebrated our 20-year anniversary, serving millions of customers around the world who otherwise would not afford, access or trust ordering their daily maintenance medications where they live. Founded in 2002 by a group of Canadian pharmacists who recognized the potential of the Internet to provide safe and affordable access to medications... more

Europe and North America Energy Sector Targeted by Sophisticated Cyberattack Group

The Western energy sector is being targeted by a new wave of cyberattacks capable of providing attackers ability to severely disrupt affected operations, according to reports on Wednesday. more

Tech Heavyweights to Congress: Transition Has Our Support, Do Not Delay It

Earlier today some of the biggest names in the tech industry sent a letter to Congress in support of the IANA transition and urging Congress not to delay it. The IANA transition relies on the expiry of the contract between the US Government's Department of Commerce and ICANN which is scheduled for the end of this month. As has previously been noted, some conservative politicians, most notably Senator Ted Cruz, have been very vocal in their criticism of the move and want to block it in Congress. more

ICANN Paris: Seeking Comments from Internet Users in North America

Ahead of next week's ICANN meeting in Paris, I would like to consult users, At-Large Structures (ALSs) and others involved in internet governance in North America. As one of the three regional representatives on the ICANN At-Large Advisory committee, I want to make sure individuals, users and ALS's are given the chance to summit their own questions, suggestions and items to the agenda of the upcoming meeting. I'd be happy to receive your comments, and/or schedule a chat with you Mon-Thur, from 13:00-18:00 EDT. Leave a comment to this post, or leave me a message. more

Leveraging DNS for Subscriber Loyalty

There has been a lot of talk about how the DNS can provide network-based security, and how DNS is in the best position to detect malware traffic before it does any harm. But what does this mean for end users? How does it make their online lives easier and more secure? DNS servers that are aware of sites that host malware, perform phishing activities (harvesting bank details, for instance) and other nefarious misbehaviors, can prevent end users from ever going to those sites. more

Symantec Chosen as Verification Agent for .bank and .insurance TLDs

fTLD Registry Services, LLC has announced an agreement with Symantec Corporation to provide verification services for the ".bank" and ".insurance" generic top-level domains. According to the report, Symantec will be responsible for adding a layer of protection to the new domains by verifying the eligibility of companies requesting domain names, making sure the person requesting the domain name is authorized by the company and ensuring the name requested by the company complies with fTLD's policies. more

Study Reports .COM Domain as Riskiest, .JP Safest Country Domain

Latest research suggests the world's most popular top-level domain, .COM, is also the riskiest. According to McAfee's fourth annual 'Mapping the Mal Web' report released today, 56% of all risky sites end in .COM! The study, which according to the company analyzed more than 27 million websites, also reports that while .COM is the riskiest top-level domain, the riskiest country domain is Vietnam (.VN). Japan's .JP ranks as the safest country domain for the second year in a row. more

The Domain Name’s New Role in the AI Web

As AI transforms how users search, the domain name is evolving from a traffic destination into a trust signal - crucial for citation, identity, and authority in an Internet shaped by machine-mediated discovery. more

Bug Bounty Programs: Are You Ready? (Part 2)

In Part 1 of "Bug Bounty Programs: Are You Ready?" we examined the growth of commercial bug bounty programs and what organizations need to do before investing in and launching their own bug bounty. In this part, we'll discuss why an organization needs to launch a bug bounty program, and what limits the value they will likely extract from such an investment. more