Further Developing a Colour Mark Similarity Measurement Framework: Building a Database

In my recent article on mark similarity measurement, I discussed a possible framework for protecting colour marks. The framework involves the specification of each colour according to its RGB (red-green-blue) specification (in which each component is expressed as an integer value between 0 and 255), with the suggestion that the protection afforded by a colour trademark could incorporate not only this exact colour, but also all similar colours around it up to a certain 'distance'... more

Public-Private Cooperation Policy for Cyber Security Suggested by Commissioner Kroes

At a speech during the Security and Defense Agenda meeting on 30 January Vice-President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, showed how the Commission envisions public-private cooperation on cyber security. more

Surfing the Internet in Bali: Reflections on IGF 2013

It's been a busy week for the Internet. More famous for its golden beaches, Bali recently hosted the eighth Internet Governance Forum which delivered waves of constructive discussion and debate. Over the past few days, the Internet governance community has exchanged best practices and debated a wide range of key topics that will continue to pose questions for policy as the Internet evolves... more

‘Not the Best Time’ for Proposed Russia-U.S. Cyber Unit, Says NSA Chief

NSA chief, Mike Rogers during the annual Aspen Security Forum on Saturday, shunned the proposed Russia-U.S. cyber unit, stating "I would argue now is probably not the best time to be doing this." more

China Calls on the United Nations to Impose an International Code of Conduct on the Internet

A Chinese official on Friday called on the United Nations to impose an international code of conduct on the Internet. "It is highly necessary and pressing for the international community to jointly bring about an international code of conduct on cyberspace at an early date," said Wang Qun.. more

IT Security Guide: “Financial Impact of Cyber Risk” Released by ANSI and ISA

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Internet Security Alliance (ISA) released today a new action guide to assist business executives in the analysis, management and transfer of financial risk related to a cyber attack. In 2004, the Congressional Research Service estimated the annual economic impact of cyber attacks on businesses -- which can come from internal networks, the Internet or other private or public systems -- to be more than $226 billion. In 2008, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff named cyber risks one of the nation's top four priority security issues. more

Why Did It Take a Pandemic to Be Able to Use Telehealth?

In early April, I had a routine consultation with my electrophysiologist at Nuvance Health via telehealth. Nuvance uses telehealth technology from American Well. In preparation for the consult, I took my blood pressure with a Qardio cuff and my iPhone, weighed myself on the Fitbit scale, and took a 30-second ECG with the Apple Watch. A nurse called 15 minutes before my appointment and took the information for input to the Electronic Health Record. more

Support Plug-and-Play with On-Boot Firmware Updates

Have you ever purchased a new electronic device, taken it home, excitedly unwrapped it and switched it on, only to discover that something is wrong and you need to phone customer support? This scenario is all-too-common in the broadband services industry, and unfortunately, it's usually the service provider who takes the blame. New customers will often purchase gateways from third parties or redistributors without knowing that the device's firmware is out of date. more

Predictions for a Post-COVID-19 World

While it might still be too early to make predictions, there are dozens of articles on the web predicting how the COVID-19 pandemic might change our long-term behavior. Here are some of the more interesting predictions I've seen that involve broadband and telecom... Millions of people were sent home for work or school to homes that didn't have good broadband. These folks have been telling the world for years that they don't have good broadband... more

Impartiality of Dot Pharmacy TLD Questioned

Catherine Saez and William New reporting in Intellectual Property Watch: "New generic top-level domain names seem set to be a constant source of discussions and dissension. The domain '.pharmacy' has been awarded to a United States pharmacy association with industry backing, stirring concerns among civil society and others. But the association insists it will work in an impartial manner to ensure safety of online pharmaceutical sales..." more

National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Cautions ICANN on .INC, .LLC, .LLP, .CORP TLDs

Michael Berkens reporting in TheDomains.com blog reports: National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) is an organization whose members include Secretaries of State and Lieutenant Governors of the 50 U.S. states and territories send a letter to ICANN in late July that was just published today, that the new gTLD's .INC, .LLC, .CORP and .LLP.should only be allowed to be registered by 'entities that are appropriately registered and in good-standing with the Secretary of State or other appropriate state agency." more

Would You Like Your Private Information to be Available on a VHS or Betamax Tape?

When I was a young child growing up in the late 1980s, my parents were lucky enough to be able to afford to have both a VHS-tape video-recorder in the living room and a Betamax tape recorder in their bedroom. This effectively meant that to me, the great video format wars weren't a decade-defining clash of technologies, but rather they consisted mainly of answering the question "in which room can I watch my favorite cartoons?". more

Trump to Sign Cybersecurity Executive Order on Tuesday

President Donald Trump expected to sign an executive order on cyber security on Tuesday. more

Interstate at Rush Hour ...in the Rain ...on a Friday – AKA, Your Enterprise Traffic on the Net

Congestion. Traffic. Two words that draw a visceral response, whether you are commuting to work or managing a network. Managing data traffic used to be easy. Everything was housed in centralized data centers, and all traffic was routed through big, dedicated, effective but expensive "pipes" -- Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) links. When all the applications are at the data center, it makes sense to build private access for all traffic. more

U.S. Justice Department Forms Group to Study National Security Threats of IoT

"The U.S. Justice Department has formed a threat analysis team to study potential national security challenges posed by self-driving cars, medical devices and other Internet-connected tools," reports Dustin Volz from Washington in Reuters" more