On August 16 of 2016, the US Government announced its intention to transit the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function to the multistakeholder community upon the expiration of the IANA function Contract as of October 1 of 2016, barring any significant impediment... This announcement attracts the close attention of Internet community around the world and also in China. more
Industry standards are indispensable for today's technology driven economies. Every time we use a mobile phone to place a call, or connect a computer to the Internet at a café, we rely on standardized technology. Most standards are developed over years through the collaboration of numerous engineers from different companies -- the result is a technical document explaining how to make products that can 'interoperate' with one another. As EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes put it: 'Standards are the foundation of interoperability.' more
I saw recent headlines that claim that the time people watch streaming content is now greater than all of the time spent watching content from cable companies. A deeper look at the underlying statistics shows that this isn't entirely true, but it makes for a great headline. But it's still news that the percentage of viewing done through streaming continues to grow while the number of traditional cable customers continues to plunge. more
President Obama is seeking a 35 percent increase in cybersecurity funding in his final budget to boost the capability of the federal government to defend itself against cyberattacks, reports Ellen Nakashima in the Washington Post. more
In the "Sate of the Internet Report" released by Akamai for the first quarter of 2009, the company reports that, on a global basis, the average connection speed increased by approximately 11% and more than 120 countries had average connection speeds under 1 Mbps (report based on date Q4 2008 through Q1 2009). Through Akamai's view of the Internet traffic (reported at approximately 1 billion users per day), the company also notes that in the first quarter of 2009, Japan had the highest percentage of connections (57%) at speeds above 5 Mbps while South Korea fell to second place for high broadband connectivity in the first quarter. more
The digital market has matured over the last 20 years, and it is no longer an excuse for governments to do nothing with the aim to let new markets and innovations emerge without immediate regulatory oversight. It has become clear this period is now well and truly over. The European Commission has already launched several lawsuits against the digital giants. Regulation, in general, is known as "ex-post" (after the deed has been done). This is set to change, as I will explain later. more
Rick Boucher, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee, will hold a hearing on June 4th to examine the future of U.S. government's relationship with ICANN. Tech Daily Dose of the National Journal reports: "Boucher has previously expressed interest in holding an ICANN hearing, particularly since a joint project agreement that has allowed Commerce Department oversight of ICANN is slated to sunset on Sept. 30 amid accountability and transparency concerns." more
The U.S. Senate today passed legislation placing a permanent ban on states' taxing Internet access, sending the measure to President Obama for signing into law. more
Republican congressmen continue their efforts in delaying the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition from the US government to ICANN. Kieren McCarthy reporting in The Register writes: "For the third time, a House Appropriations subcommittee has included a provision in a must-pass bill that would prevent the Department of Commerce from using any funds in the transition of the IANA contract from the department to non-profit California organization ICANN..." more
"Three years after hackers used a spearphishing attack to successfully gain access to internal data at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the data is still being passed around and sold on black markets for $300, complete with claims that it’s never been leaked before," reports Patrick O'Neill in CyberScoop. more
"British security agencies have secretly and unlawfully collected massive volumes of confidential personal data, including financial information, on citizens for more than a decade, top judges have ruled," according to a report published today in The Guardian. more
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, on Tuesday announced the launch of internet.org, a global partnership with the goal of making internet access available to the next 5 billion people. more
An apparently legitimate ISP in Tartu, Estonian is reported to have been serving as the operational headquarters of a large cybercrime network since 2005 according to TrendWatch, the security research arm of TrendMicro. "An Estonian company is actively administering a huge number of servers in numerous datacenters, which together form a network to commit cybercrime. It appears that the company from Tartu, Estonia controls everything from trying to lure Internet users to installing DNS changer Trojans by promising them special video content, and finally to exploiting victims' machines for fraud with the help of ads and fake virus infection warnings..." more
According to a leaked US intelligence report, China is developing capabilities to "deny, exploit or hijack" enemy satellites as a core part of its goal to control information. more
Following rumors last week on the leading candidate for ICANN's new CEO position, an official announcement has been released by ICANN confirming that the board may indeed announce its selection during its meeting in Sydney next week. more