Zoom - one of the hottest companies on the planet right now, as businesses, schools, and individuals switch to various forms of teleconferencing due to the pandemic - has come in for much criticism due to assorted security and privacy flaws. Some of the problems are real but easily fixable, some are due to a mismatch between what Zoom was intended for and how it's being used now - and some are worrisome. more
As businesses adjust to the "new normal" in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to quickly take stock of where your organization stands on privacy and security risk. Even in these unusual circumstances, organizations of all sizes and sophistication continue to be expected to act with reasonable care and comply with their public commitments and regulatory obligations. Enterprises may be finding different or better ways to operate, collaborate, and service customers. more
Reading up on COVID-19 and Zoom/Boris Johnson outcry yesterday, an analogy struck me between the two: the lack of testing. In both cases, to truly know how safe and secure we are, testing needs to be stepped up considerably. This post focuses on cybersecurity. Over the past days and weeks, more and more organisations have switched to digital products and services to sustain working from home, to keep productivity up and to be connected. more
The Internet's users rely on domain name registration information for vital purposes, including providing security, problem-solving, and legal and social accountability. The data is so important that users perform more than two billion WHOIS queries every day. ICANN has instituted new data policies over the last two years, and is also directing a migration to a new technical protocol, RDAP, that will replace WHOIS access in the near future. So at this critical juncture, how is it all going? more
This is the question being asked all across the industry as the volume of data traffic has leaped upward due to students and employees working from their homes. We got our first glimpse of the impact of the crisis when Verizon announced a week into the crisis that they were seeing a 22% increase in data traffic in their network. More recently, AT&T announced a 27% increase in network traffic. more
I am writing to you as someone who is not your citizen, (although I had the fortune to wed the most beautiful of your daughters), to share my thoughts about the recent US Government Cyber Solarium Commission report. U.S.A. We owe you one! Without you and your citizens there would be no free Internet as we know it. Thank You! Your constitution is our inspiration. We, the global digital citizenship want to be "the people", in order to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..." more
OneWeb has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel stated that they were "close to obtaining financing" but failed as a "consequence of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis." That is plausible, but they were also far behind SpaceX Starlink in launch cost and capacity. (SpaceX, remains open as an essential industry working on defense contracts, but two employees have tested positive for COVID-19) and financial analyst Tim Farrar said SpaceX faced a "near-term cash problem" even before the pandemic). more
Trademark owners in the U.S. have a choice in suing for alleged cybersquatting: either the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) or the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Of the two, the UDRP is far and away the forum of choice for a very good reason: it is speedy, efficient, and inexpensive. Complaint to award can be concluded in less than 45 days. more
Despite a recent Ninth Circuit decision denying immunity to malware detection software for targeting competitor's software, court holds that Section 230 protected Malwarebytes from liability for designating software driver program as potentially unwanted program. Plaintiff provided software that works in real-time in the background of the operating system to optimize processing and locate and install missing and outdated software drivers. more
The recent Cisco Annual Internet Report for 2018–2023 had one chart that I found intriguing. The purpose of Cisco's report is to look at the future of broadband usage, and the report included a chart showing the amount of bandwidth needed for various web functions. To me, this list was reminiscent of the list that the FCC made in 2015 when they set the definition of broadband at 25/3 Mbps -- except that all of the items on this list require more bandwidth than the functions the FCC foresaw just five years ago. more
With the COVID-19 health crisis evolving so quickly, it's hard to predict the extent of the long-term impact on business and the economy. While every business sector is facing different considerations, it's safe to say all are handling challenges from supply chain interruptions, rapid shifts to remote work, and massive changes in consumer spending and communication habits. more
The last few weeks have reinforced the importance of modern communication networks to societies. Health care providers, schools, governments, and businesses all rely on networks that enable us to connect and collaborate remotely. Had we encountered a similar pandemic ten years ago, we would not have been able to continue our activities on the level that is possible today. more
Straightforward out-of-court domain name proceeding can provide efficient relief against fraudulent websites and email. Google has seen a steep rise amid the Coronavirus pandemic in new websites set up to engage in phishing (i.e. fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and financial details). Companies in all industries - not just the financial sector - are at risk from this nefarious practice. But one relatively simple out-of-court proceeding may provide relief. more
The Quello Center that is part of the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University just released a definitive study that looks at the impact of lack of broadband on students. The study was done in conjunction with Merit Networks, the organization that acts as the ISP for schools in Michigan. I describe the study as definitive because it used study techniques that isolate the impact of broadband from other factors such as sex, race, and family income. more
Early action now on possible performance issues will "flatten the curve" of customer problems in the coming weeks and months. Here are three things technology and software vendors can do right now to get ahead of problems that may appear (if they are not already) with services such as development, implementation and support... Check your contracts to see whether there are any "material assumptions" that have failed or will fail - perhaps because of some governmental action or unavailability of personnel... more
Internet pioneer and vice president of research at Google, Vint Cerf, said in a tweet this morning that he has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). more
The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau today granted temporary spectrum access to 33 wireless Internet service providers serving 330 counties in the U.S. to help them serve rural communities facing an increase in broadband needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. more
An international group of more than 360 cyber threat intelligence researchers from over 40 countries have joined forces to help the medical sector amid the COVID-19 crisis. more
British telecommunications giant BT Group, which also owns the UK's biggest mobile services provider EE, has annouced it is removing all caps on its customers' home broadband plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. more
European Union Internet Market Commissioner Thierry Breton called on streaming services on Thursday, urging them to switch video quality from high definition to standard mode in order to reduce increasing strain on bandwidth during COVID-19 pandemic. Following a phone call with the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, Commissioner Breton, said: "Europe and the whole world are facing an unprecedented situation. more
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Public Interest Registry (PIR) today announced that they have mutually agreed to extend ICANN's time to review PIR's submissions to April 20th. more
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) is reported to have suffered from cyberattacks on its computer system believed, by those familiar with the incident, to be a disruption and disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the response to the coronavirus pandemic. more
Broadband and telephone service providers of all sizes in the US have signed on to a "Keep Americans Connected Pledge" aimed at maintaining connectivity for citizens amid disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. more
Over 50 domain name registries and registrars in China have sent a joint letter to ICANN requesting immediate consideration to remove the 2020 fees. more
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has proposed fines against the country's four largest wireless carriers for apparently selling access to their customers' location information without taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to that information. more
According to the company, the rollout will continue over the next few weeks to confirm that no major issues are discovered as this new protocol is enabled. more
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today announced that its ICANN67 Public Meeting, which was to be held in Cancún, Mexico, will now be held via remote participation-only. This decision was made as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, considered a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. more
Israel's entire voter registry was recently uploaded to a vulnerable voting management app which effectively left the data wide open for days. more
The American University Washington College of Law announced it will be hosting a fireside chat on the sale of the Public Interest Registry (PIR) to the private equity firm Ethos Capital. more
Fallen into the wrong hands, corp.com can be an extremely dangerous domain name providing a doorway to hundreds of thousands of corporate PCs. more
Surveillance cameras in China can detect fevers with infrared cameras to an accuracy within 0.3℃ and recognize faces even if they are wearing masks. more
A notice released by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has disclosed that the Office of the Attorney General of the State of California has requested extensive information from the agency regarding the proposed sale and transfer of Public Interest Registry (PIR) from the Internet Society (ISOC) to Ethos Capital. more
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday announced it is allowing full commercial use of 3.5 GHz band for broadband connectivity and 5G. more
CENTR Reports Decreased Growth in European ccTLDs
According to the latest quarterly report from the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR), the median growth in European ccTLDs during 2019 was recorded at 2.4% YOY, down from the 3.1% recorded at the same time in 2018. more
Damage to a single submarine cable has left the entire Red Sea region disconnected from the Internet. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Ethiopia have all suffered from the last week's cut of the so-called Falcon cable. more
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As stewards of the Web, Internet infrastructure providers are often held accountable for ensuring the safety of users. Sadly, the recent spate of high-profile security incidents shows that this is not an easy task. more
As cyber-attacks become more robust and sophisticated every day, the world of cybersecurity saw the need to shift. Hence, cyber resilience became the new norm. Cyber resilience bases itself on the fact that cyber risks are no longer just IT risks but also business risks. more
Since time immemorial, entertainment companies always had to contend with content theft. Bootleggers are nothing new in the industry, and their ways have evolved much along with technology. more
The domain name system (DNS) forms the underlying infrastructure for how the internet works, serving as a directory to point users to the right web content. When DNS goes down, websites, email, voice-over IP, and remote employee login goes down with it. more
Thousands of trademark infringement cases get heard every year -- some of which are more unexpected than others. For instance, let's take a look at one that originates in the world of fiction. Like SpongeBob himself and Patrick, the Krusty Krab has been a centerpiece in the "SpongeBob SquarePants" cartoon series and movies. more
The business world has seemingly divided views on content filtering. Some say that the tactic is too restrictive, while others opine that it can help in a lot of ways. Building on the latter perspective, in an age when the Internet has become a breeding ground for almost anything. more
Melissa, what many consider to be the first malspam campaign, emerged in 1999. Once successfully installed, the "mass-mailing" virus forwarded copies of itself to the first 50 email addresses on a victim's contact list. While the malware wasn't as dangerous as current variants, it could still effectively max out network resources, resulting in downtime. more
Fighting cybercrime is a never-ending battle. As threat actors continue to craft different ways to attack and scam their target victims, companies need to build their security arsenals to fight against all kinds of threats. What's more, an effective way to achieve cyber resilience is by getting to know the enemy and build attack profiles. more
Following our initial blog on the subject of Internet sites and domains seeking to profit from the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, we dug deeper into the topic. Appdetex looked at keywords within domain names, website content, social media handles and marketplace listings that would likely be related to the coronavirus outbreak. Though the result of this work is related to a very limited set of keywords, the quantities of results delivered are statistically significant in many cases. more
Typosquatting is a malicious tactic that cyberattackers employ to entrap users who mistype web addresses on their browsers. Often, mistyped domain addresses redirect to copycats of legitimate sites and are owned by threat actors. more
Cyber attacks can hit any organization and even derail its operation on a grand scale. Just recently, ISS World, a facility management service provider with clients in more than 70 countries worldwide, released a statement where it mentions being the victim of a malware attack. more
Verisign today released the latest issue of the Domain Name Industry Brief, which shows that the fourth quarter of 2019 closed with 362.3 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of 2.4 million domain name registrations, or 0.7 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Domain name registrations have grown by 13.5 million, or 3.9 percent, year over year. more
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a federal statute that restricts telemarketers from making automated and unsolicited calls as well as sending faxes and messages to people. Affected individuals may choose to file a complaint and collect a minimum of US$500 for each illegal communication received. more
Your .BRAND ownership equates to authority in the new generic top-level domain space – showing that you, not a competitor – is the owner of the brand to the right of the dot. more
Radix, one of the world's largest nTLD portfolio registries, announced today that it grossed over $21M in total revenue in 2019, a 26% rise over its revenue in 2018. more
Phishing attacks continue to post an upward trend. Over the years, phishers have improved their methods, using very convincing domains to bait victims into their schemes. more
Most businesses know the importance of protecting a brand. But, only a few of them understand that protecting their online properties is just as central to their brand-protection strategies. more
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