Suggestions for the Cuba Internet Task Force

The Cuba Internet Task Force (CITF) held their inaugural meeting last week. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs John S. Creamer will chair the CITF, and there are government representatives from the Department of State, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Federal Communications Commission, National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Agency for International Development. Freedom House will represent NGOs and the Information Technology Industry Council will represent the IT industry. more

Automation for Physical Devices: the Holy Grail of Service Provisioning

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) are finally starting to pick up momentum. In the process, it is becoming clear that they are not the silver bullet originally advertised to be. While great for some use cases, emerging technologies like SDN and NFV have been primarily designed for virtual greenfield environments. Yet large service providers continue to run tons of physical network devices that are still managed manually. more

UK’s Government Websites Infected by Cryptocurrency Mining Malware

Thousands of websites are reported to have been infected by malware over the weekend forcing visitors' computers to mine cryptocurrency while using the sites. more

IDC Predicts Blockchain Spending in the Middle East and Africa to More than Double in 2018

Spending on blockchain solutions in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will more than double this year, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation. more

Software-Defined Networking: What’s New, and What’s New for Tech Policy?

The Silicon Flatirons Conference on Regulating Computing and Code is taking place in Boulder. The annual conference addresses a range of issues at the intersection of technology and policy and provides an excellent look ahead to the tech policy issues on the horizon, particularly in telecommunications. I was looking forward to yesterday's panel on "The Triumph of Software and Software-Defined Networks", which had some good discussion on the ongoing problem surrounding security and privacy of the Internet of Things (IoT)... more

Pyeongchang Olympics Organizers Investigating Possible Cyberattack on Opening Day

Reports from various sources indicate Pyeongchang Olympics organizers were looking into a disruption of non-critical systems on the day of the opening ceremony but could not yet confirm if it was a cyberattack. more

Foggy Bottom’s New Cyberspace Bureau “Lines of Effort”: Dumb and Dumber

The release of the Tillerson letter to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs describes the State Department's new "Cyber Bureau" together with its "primary lines of effort." The proposal is said to be designed to "lead high-level diplomatic engagements around the world." Two of those "efforts" deserve special note and provide an entirely new spin on the affectionate local term for the Department -- Foggy Bottom. more

The Internet Association Releases Letter Backing Senate Effort to Reinstate Net Neutrality Rules

The Internet Association (IA) whose members include the likes of Google, Amazon and Facebook, on Thursday issued a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in support of the reinstatement of FCC rules. more

The New State Department Cyberspace Bureau: from Multilateral Diplomacy to Bilateral Cyber-Bullying

These days in Washington, even the most absurd proposals become the new normal. The announcement yesterday of a new U.S. State Department Cyberspace Bureau is yet another example of setting the nation up as an isolated, belligerent actor on the world stage. In some ways, the reorganization almost seems like a companion to last week's proposal to take over the nation's 5G infrastructure. Most disturbingly, it transforms U.S. diplomacy assets from multilateral cooperation to becoming the world's bilateral cyber-bully nation. more

Bitcoin Domain Names Become Popular - and Attract Disputes

Cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) are all the rage -- so, naturally, related domain name disputes are, too. The wild fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices (Bitcoin hit a low of close to $6,000 this week, after reaching an all-time high of more than $19,000 only two months ago, and less than $1,000 a year ago) have attracted speculators, regulators and now even cybersquatters. more

Cryptocurrency Mining Attacks for the First Time Detected on Industrial Control Systems

A water utility in Europe was compromised by cryptocurrency malware mining attack; the attack is the first public discovery of an unauthorized cryptocurrency miner impacting industrial controls systems. more

EFF Founder John Perry Barlow Has Died

Electronic Frontier Foundation founder John Perry Barlow, has died at the age of 70, according to a statement issued by the Foundation. more

Preparing for GDPR’s Impact on WHOIS - 5 Steps to Consider

With GDPR coming into effect this May, it is almost a forgone conclusion that WHOIS as we know it today, will change. Without knowing the full details, how can companies begin to prepare? First and foremost, ensuring that brand protection, security and compliance departments are aware that a change to WHOIS access is on the horizon is an important first step. Just knowing that the ability to uncover domain ownership information is likely to change in the future will help to relieve some of the angst that is likely to occur. more

New Jersey Becomes Latest State to Implement Its Own Net Neutrality Rules

New Jersey on Monday became the latest state to implement its own net neutrality rules following the FCC's Repeal. more

Gold Dragon Helps Olympics Malware Attacks Gain Permanent Presence on Systems, Reports McAfee

A report recently released by McAfee Advanced Threat Research (ATR) revealed a fileless attack targeting organizations involved with the Pyeongchang Olympics. more