Two Years Later the Conficker Worm Not Entirely Disappeared

In a SecurityWeek article today, Ram Mohan writes: "Just over two years ago, the Internet held its breath. The high-profile, widely proliferated Conficker worm had been in the wild from October 2008; its largest mutation was revealed in February 2009, with a widely publicized activation date of April 1, 2009. ... What we do know: Conficker could have proved much more damaging than it ultimately did, and the threat has not entirely disappeared." more

Gas Pipeline Firms Under Targeted Phishing Attacks

The United States Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) has issued a warning about an active "spear phishing" campaign targeting companies in the natural gas pipeline sector. In an advisory issued last week, ICS-CERT said it has received information about targeted attacks and intrusions into multiple organizations over the past several months. more

How Regional Internet Registries Should Adapt to Current Markets

Outdated policies at Regional Internet Registries hinder the efficient transfer and leasing of IP addresses, driving up internet costs in emerging markets and limiting innovation. A faster, more inclusive governance model is urgently needed. more

WiFi QoE Assurance with TR-069 - Part 3: From Single AP to Large AP Deployments

Last week we investigated how rich data derived from TR-069 can be used to optimize the service quality of a single access point (AP) within the subscriber premises. Often a service provider will control multiple APs within a multi-dwelling unit, university campus, or other public space. This opens up new doors for optimizing service quality - instead of simply optimizing a single AP, you are now able to control other APs in the vicinity as well. more

Further Developing a Word Mark Similarity Measurement Framework

Expanding on a framework for quantifying word mark similarity by examining algorithms and proposing enhancements. This article assesses consistency with UK trademark case decisions and a search tool, explores subsequence analysis for similarity, and suggests using IPA phonetics to measure aural likeness. The objective framework could improve consistency in trademark assessments, despite the inherent subjectivity of legal tests. more

Approach IoT With Security in Mind, Says AT&T Chairman

By 2020, some 50 billion devices are expected to connect to the Internet and the economic value created by IoT could be worth as much as $11.1 trillion -- roughly 11% of the global economy by 2025, according to a new report released by AT&T. more

New Non-Profit Launched to Support the Growth and Development of Domain Name Industry

An international nonprofit organization has been created to promote the interests of the domain name industry by advocating the use, adoption, and expansion of domain names as the primary tool for users to navigate the Internet. more

US Antitrust Enforcement in Telecommunication Being Ramped Up

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that antitrust enforcement in telecommunication is being ramped up by the Obama Administration, after relatively lax times. In a piece entitled Telecoms Face Antitrust Threat it indicates that investigators are weighing up the roles of the large carriers and whether they are abusing the market power amassed under the Bush Administration. more

UK Announces Additional £1.9 Billion in Cyber Security Funding

Chancellor George Osborne announces government plan to almost double its investment in cyber security initiatives over the next five years, spending an additional £1.9 billion. more

Afilias and Neustar to Collaborate With ISC on DNS Security Initiative

Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has announced that it is working with Afilias and Neustar, Inc. in the effort to support ISC's DNSSEC Look-aside Validation (DLV) registry by providing secondary DNS service for the DLV zone. DLV is a mechanism that provides many of the benefits of DNSSEC (short for DNS Security Extensions), enabling domain holders to secure their domain information today in advance of broader DNSSEC deployment and adoption. "Adding Afilias and Neustar as secondary DNS providers for the DLV zone demonstrates our collective understanding that DLV is a vitally important production service bigger than any single provider in the same way that there are 13 root server operators, not just one." more

Hackers Earned Over $100K in 20 Days Through Hack the Air Force 2.0

HackerOne has announced the results of the second Hack the Air Force bug bounty challenge which invited trusted hackers from all over the world to participate in its second bug bounty challenge in less than a year. more

MAAWG Overview of DNS Security - Port 53 Protection

J.D. Falk writes: Last week, MAAWG quietly published a new document titled "Overview of DNS Security - Port 53 Protection." [PDF] The paper discusses cache poisoning and other attacks on the local DNS, including likely effects of such a compromise and what access providers may be able to do to prevent it. more

Telecom Execs Meet at the NGT Asia Summit to Discuss the Move to 4G

"Such a meeting has been a long time coming, large operators have been losing revenue as the communication market has diversified, network optimization should lend to them finding new revenue streams as the level of service can expand" -- Nick York, NGT Summit Director Asia Pacific. more

Learn More About the DNS at DNIB.com

DNIB.com is a new industry-focused source of information, insights and data on the Domain Name System (DNS) -- a place to hear directly from subject-matter experts about relevant policy and governance news, DNS security and technology topics, and to provide industry data, analysis and insights on a regular schedule. DNIB.com builds on the Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report, which summarizes the state of the domain name industry through a variety of statistical and analytical research. more

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: Net Neutrality “A Mistake”, Planning on Much Lighter Style Regulation

During a speech at Mobile World Congress today, Ajit Pai said that net neutrality was "a mistake" and that the commission is now "on track" to return to a much lighter style of regulation. more