Major Organizations Overlooking High Priority Security Risks, Too Much Focus on OS

According to a new security report released today by SANS Institute, TippingPoint and Qualys, the number of vulnerabilities found in applications in the last few years is far greater than the number of vulnerabilities discovered in operating systems. "On average, major organizations take at least twice as long to patch client-side vulnerabilities as they take to patch operating system vulnerabilities. In other words the highest priority risk is getting less attention than the lower priority risk." more

China Nearing Full Mobile Broadband Coverage

China’s mission to put its entire population on the internet is almost complete, as analysts predict full mobile broadband network coverage in the world’s second-largest economy within the next few years. more

IPv6 Deployed But in Unexpected Places

Eric Vyncke reporting in the NetworkWorld: "IPv6 exists for more than 15 years and it is rumored to be deployed extensively in Asia and especially in Japan and China with Africa being the last continent to deploy IPv6. Another place where there should be a lot of deployments is of course in the USA with the US Government IPv6 mandates. But, when it comes to measure where web sites are actually deployed over IPv6, the rumor proves to be just a myth..." more

DHS Asks Citizens to Practice Good “Cyber Hygiene”

Kicking off the sixth annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has urged computer users to practice good "cyber hygiene". The campaign was given a boost Wednesday when the Senate passed resolution 285 to support its goal to make U.S. citizens more aware of how to secure the internet. DHS has also announced that is has been given new authority to recruit and hire up to 1,000 cybersecurity professionals across the department to fill roles such as: cyber risk and strategic analysis; cyber incident response; vulnerability detection and assessment; intelligence and investigation; and network and systems engineering. more

Data Breach Costs Continue to Rise, 40% Increase Since 2005

According to a new study by PGP Corporation and Ponemon Institute, data breach incidents cost U.S. companies $202 per compromised customer record in 2008, compared to $197 in 2007. The study is based on 43 organizations across 17 different industry sectors with a range of 4,200 to 113,000 records that were affected. It is also noted that since 2005, the cost component has grown by more than $64 on a per victim basis since -- nearly a 40% increase. more

Cracks Appearing in Trump’s Huawei Boycott

It must have been a galling experience for President Trump when his good mate British Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to step in line with Trump's demand that the UK should also boycott the Chinese firm Huawei by not allowing them to be involved in the rollout of 5G in Britain. However, the involvement of Huawei will be limited. It further proves that boycotting Huawei is a political and not a technical issue. more

Dutch Telecomm Authority is Asking Hotels to Register as ISPs

Dutch sources are reporting that OPTA, the dutch telecommunications authority, has asked more than a dozen hotels to register as Internet service providers. The move has frustrated the Hospitality Association... more

What Internet Governance Boils Down To

Listening to several of the discussions here at the IGF (so far), my post from yesterday seems to be close to what the focus of this meeting is, control and access to resources. Yesterday I highlighted areas of Governance where Governments actually could help, and make difference. Admittedly, that is not all the aspects of governance though. more

The 12 GHz Battle

A big piece of what the FCC does is to weigh competing claims to use spectrum. It seems like there have been non-stop industry fights over the last decade on who gets to use various bands of spectrum. One of the latest fights, which is the continuation of a battle going on since 2018, is for the use of the 12 GHz spectrum. The big wrestling match is between Starlink's desire to use the spectrum to communicate with its low-orbit satellites and cellular carriers and WISPs... more

Domain Name Association Supports IANA Transition, Petitions Congress to Move Forward

I recently sent a letter to congressional leaders including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid expressing the Domain Name Association's support of the U.S. Administration's planned transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to the global multi-stakeholder community under the stewardship of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). more

ICANN Releases Initial Evaluation Results for First Set of New gTLD Applications

The first round of Initial Evaluation results has been released exactly on schedule. On March 23, ICANN announced that 27 out of 30 new gTLD applications reviewed this round passed Initial Evaluation. The remaining three applicants are still marked as in Initial Evaluation. more

FCC Aiming for 100 Million Households at 100 Megabits Per Second

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled a plan on Tuesday proposing minimum broadband speeds of 100Mbps. In his remarks, FCC's chief Julius Genachowski said: "To meet the imperatives of global competitiveness and enduring job creation, we must have broadband networks of such unsurpassed excellence that they will empower American entrepreneurs and innovators to build and expand businesses here in the United States. Our plan will set goals for the U.S. to have the world's largest market of very high-speed broadband users. A '100 Squared' initiative -- 100 million households at 100 megabits per second -- to unleash American ingenuity and ensure that businesses, large and small, are created here, move here, and stay here." more

Intel to buy McAfee for $7.68 Billion, Biggest Acquisition in 42-Year History

Intel plans to buy security company McAfee for $7.68 billion -- the biggest acquisition in its 42-year history. The chipmaker said Thursday it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy all of McAfee's common stock at $48 per share in cash. McAfee's stock closed Wednesday at $29.93, making Intel's offer a 60 percent premium. The boards of both companies have approved the deal. more

2.5 Billion New Broadband Subscribers By 2013

When it comes to broadband subscriptions, the current global recession is merely a short-term phenomenon according to new research released by TeleGeography. The research group reports that "by the end of 2013 the number of broadband subscribers across the world will have grown by 72% to over 700 million, while wireless subscriptions will have grown by well over two billion, an increase of 60%." TeleGeography's GlobalComms Insight predicts that the Asia-Pacific region will continue to dominate the global market but only in terms of total subscription numbers -- the market value will have a different story. "In 2013 the region's 50% share of global subscribers will account for only 28% of global market value. Conversely, while the relative size and importance of the North American market continues to diminish, in 2013 its 7% of subscribers will still account for 23% of global market value." more

Would You Fly an Airplane That Had a Pre-flight Checkout That Was Only 40 Percent Complete?

In the aviation world safety is paramount. Commercial airlines go to major lengths to make sure that their planes are fully up to code and can fly safely in the air. The risks - loss of human lives - are far too extreme to take any chances. One result of this diligence is the fact that travel by plane is far safer than any other method - nearly 40 times safer per mile than travel by car. While application security risks are not as dire, research shows CSOs fail to use the same stringent level of safety to secure their Internet-facing applications. more