Happy Birthday, Backbone

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the decommissioning of the NSFNET backbone on April 30 1995, an important milestone in the development of the commercial Internet. The NSFNET was set up by the US National Science Foundation in 1985 to enable university researchers access to five supercomputer sites across the United States, using Internet Protocol technology. In stepping back, the NSF supported a transition to an Internet shaped by market forces, and the explosion of commercial use soon followed. more

Bill Gates: No One Was An “Absolutist” on Either Side of the Digital Privacy Debate

Speaking during a discussion on innovation hosted by Reuters in Washington, Bill Gates said that no one was an "absolutist" on either side of the digital privacy debate but that he supports Microsoft's lawsuit against the U.S. government seeking the freedom to tell customers when federal agencies have sought their data. more

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

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

Russian Central Bank Announces Mandatory Cyber-Security Regulations for Domestic Banks

"Russian banks will be faced with a whole range of new regulations, and penalties for non-compliance, when it comes to cyber-security, according to the country's Central Bank," Eugene Gerden reported today in SC Magazine UK more

Under Pressure, ICANN Reveals Lobbying Expenses

Following several months of pressure, ICANN has revealed a breakdown of figures under its catch-all term of "professional services," exposing its political expenses, Kieren McCarthy reported today in the Register. 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

Suspected Chinese Interference Causes Internet Outages in Taiwan

Residents of Matsu, an outlying island of Taiwan, have been relying on a very limited internet connection for the past month after two submarine cables leading to Taiwan's main island were cut. This disruption to their lives has also caused significant implications for national security. more

Our Nuclear Facilities are Cyberattack-Proof, Claims Iran

Iran's nuclear facilities are immune to cyber attack a senior Iranian military official has claimed today according to various reports. "Gholam Reza Jalali, who heads an Iranian military unit in charge of combatting sabotage, was quoted Monday by the official IRNA news agency as saying that Iran and its nuclear facilities possess the technology and knowledge to deal with malicious software." more

Why the IGF Now Sits at the Fault Line

The UN's move to grant permanence to the Internet Governance Forum reframes legitimacy in digital policy. As states accelerate action, multistakeholder processes risk becoming ceremonial, with speed replacing consent as the arbiter of influence. 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

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 Legal Enforceability of PIR’s Public Interest Commitment

Since Ethos announced its investment in PIR last fall, Ethos has welcomed the opportunity to engage with .ORG registrants and users to hear their ideas and answer their questions. We listened to concerns expressed in the community, and we worked to address them. We announced a number of voluntary commitments that Ethos is prepared to make, and then we listened to feedback from the community on the scope of those commitments, as well as on the enforceability of those commitments. 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