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IPv6: Smart Investments and Smart Grids

Yves Poppe IPv6 a major catalyst for billions of dollars worth of deals? The Intel announcement of their McAfee purchase for 7.7 billion seems to indicate as much when Dave DeWalt , McAfee CEO is quoted as saying during a conference call; "If we look at the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, we're seeing an explosion of billions of devices and they all need to be secured." more»

ARF is Now an IETF Standard

John Levine When a user of a large mail system such as AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail reports a message as junk or spam, one of the things the system does is to look at the source of the message and see if the source is one that has a feedback loop (FBL) agreement with the mail system. If so, it sends a copy of the message back to the source, so they can take appropriate action, for some version of appropriate. For several years, ARF, Abuse Reporting Format, has been the de-facto standard form that large mail systems use to exchange FBL reports about user mail complaints. more»

Google Voice: Race to the Bottom for Telephony - or Something Else?

Jon Arnold Just when you thought making phone calls couldn't get any cheaper, along comes last week's news from Google about their latest iteration of Google Voice. There have been several steps along the way for Google to get to this point, and there are a host of reasons why this news is of interest to service providers of all stripes. I often write about how certain technologies and disruptive forces change the business of being a service provider, and this is but the latest example. more»

Stopping the Flow of Online Illegal Pharmaceuticals

Terry Zink Reading through Brian Kreb's blog last week, he has an interesting post up on the White House's call upon the industry on how to formulate a plan to stem the flow of illegal pharmaceuticals...It is unclear to me whether or not the goal of this initiative is to stem the flow of online crime in general or to reduce the flow of illegal pharmaceuticals flowing into the United States (since presumably this cuts into the profits of large pharmaceutical companies... more»

House of Cards

Earl Zmijewski Time flies. Although it was over 18 months ago, it seems just like yesterday that a small Czech provider, SuproNet, caused global Internet mayhem by making a perfectly valid (but extremely long) routing announcement. Since Internet routing is trust-based, within seconds every router in the world saw this announcement and tried to pass it on. Unfortunately, due to the size of this single message, quite a few routers choked -- resulting in widespread Internet instability. Today, over a year later, we were treated to a somewhat different version of the exact same story. more»

ICANN's Tokyo Meeting Provides a Little More Clarity on the New gTLD Program

Tony Kirsch New gTLDs continue to be a major topic of discussion within ICANN circles, and the regional meeting currently underway in Tokyo has revealed some interesting updates for potential applicants. ICANN's Chief gTLD Registry Liaison, Craig Schwartz, delivered a great presentation on the progress being made behind closed doors at ICANN and provided the attendees with an insight into a couple of key changes that are likely to be seen in the Final Applicant Guidebook. more»

Ensuring Maximum Resilience to the DNS?

Chuck Kisselburg Yesterday CommunityDNS noticed a sudden, heavy spike in traffic through its Anycast node in Hong Kong. While comfortably processing queries at 863,000 queries per second for close to 2 hours the occurrence was undeniable. While we can't say the increase in traffic was specifically due to DDoS, its sudden increase is suspicious and reminds us that DDoS is still a popular tool used by the malicious community. more»

The Window of Opportunity for ccTLDs

Jon Lawrence The announcement that .co has already achieved over 450,000 new registrations since the opening up of the second level a month ago demonstrates that there is strong demand in the global domain name marketplace for quality new domain spaces. Though .co is the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for Colombia, the second-level registrations (i.e. company.co) are available on a global basis and it is being pitched as a direct competitor to the dominant .com gTLD. Google has altered its algorithm to increase the relevance of search results in the .co domain by treating .co as a gTLD... more»

Omnibus Cybersecurity Bill May Not Go Where Original Authors Intended

J.D. Falk In an interview with GovInfoSecurity, Sen. Thomas Carper said that the U.S. Senate is considering attaching cybersecurity legislation to a defense authorizations bill. Though clearly a ploy to be able to say "we did something about those evil hackers" before the elections, CAUCE applauds the attempt. There can be no doubt that the United States (and many other countries) sorely needs better laws to deal with these threats. more»

Network Neutrality in the Wireless Space

Brad Templeton There's been a tremendous amount written about the Google-Verizon joint proposal for network neutrality regulation. Our commentary at the EFF offers some legal analysis of the good and bad in this proposal. A lot of commentary has put a big focus on the exemption for wireless networks, since many feel wireless is the real "where it's gonna be," if not the "where it's at" for the internet. more»

Russian Cybercrime is Organized / Russian Cybercrime is Not Organized

Terry Zink The more I read, the more I see conflicting views on the state of the criminal cybercrime world. On the one hand, the Russian criminal cybercrime underworld is a scary, organized place... On the other hand, there is the position that that position is an exaggeration of what it is actually like and that it's a bunch of ragtag folks who have some advanced computer skills but they are not formally organized. ... I see this very similarly to how I see cyber warfare... more»

IT Risks for Cloud Computing

John Kane As the industry-wide paradigm shift to cloud computing and software-as-a-service gradually continues to make the transition from buzz to reality, security and availability continue to emerge as the main barriers to customer adoption. A recent ISACA survey of over 1,800 US IT professionals found that only 17 percent believe the benefits of cloud computing outweigh the risks. Only one in 10 respondents said they would consider using software-as-a-service (SaaS) for mission-critical applications. more»

Anatomy of a Domain Name Land Rush

The launch of a new or repurposed Top-Level Domain (TLD) is always surrounded with speculative activity. Some domainers will register domains in the new TLD with hopes of getting rich quick. Others will do so because the same domain in .com is worth a lot of money. And then there are the developers who see the prospect of building a carefully branded website in the new TLD. And with all those proposed new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), this cycle will be repeated. But what does a Domain Name Land Rush look like? more»

The Web is Dead: What This Means to ICANN, New gTLD Program and the Domain Industry

Constantine Roussos While we are spending years figuring out how to create the perfect generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) launch and guidebook, the Internet is moving along at an extraordinary pace without any care about ICANN policy-making. The fact of the matter is ICANN is a ghost to the ordinary person or Internet company. You can not imagine how many times I had to explain what ICANN is, what ICANN does and why ICANN is important. more»

Network Neutrality is the Wrong Fight!

Brough Turner We shouldn't settle for network neutrality. It's a poor substitute for what we had and much less than what we need. Let me explain. There are two topics to discuss. The first is "common carriage," a centuries old legal concept that applied to the US telecom industry throughout most of the 20th century. The second involves communications protocols. Both topics are complex, so I will cover only what's needed to understand why we shouldn't accept network neutrality and why, at a minimum, we should fight for enforcement of existing common carriage rules. more»

News Briefs

IPv6 Posing New Security Issues

Dark Reading – "The countdown to the saturation of the IPv4 address supply is now down to a matter of months: and along with the vast address space of the next-generation IPv6 architecture comes more built-in network security as well as some new potential security threats. ...its adoption also poses new security issues, everything from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to new vulnerabilities in IPv6 to misconfigurations that expose security holes." ›››

White House Calls for a Meeting with Domain Registrars, Registries, and ICANN

Brian Krebs reporting in Krebs on Secruity: "The Obama administration is inviting leaders of the top Internet domain name registrars and registries to attend a three-hour meeting at the White House next month about voluntary ways to crack down on Web sites that are selling counterfeit prescription medications..." ›››

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..." ›››

Verizon: Advent of 4G LTE, WiMAX-Based Devices Will Only Increase the Need for IPv6

Network World – Verizon Business has a message to companies still reluctant to migrate their networks to IPv6: You're better off doing it now than later. William Schmidlapp, Verizon Business's product manager for Internet dedicated access services, says that the advent of 4G LTE and WiMAX-based devices will only increase the need to switch over to IPv6, since each of those devices will require its own IP address... ›››

ICANN Looking Into Demand Media's eNom After Serious Allegations by Security Group

Computerworld – ICANN is looking into Demand Media's eNom division for answers following complaints from the Internet security group HostExploit. "ENom, the world's second-largest domain name registrar, came under fire last week in a report from HostExploit, a volunteer-run anti-malware research group. According to HostExploit, eNom is host to an unusually large number of malicious websites and is a preferred domain name registrar for pharmaceutical spammers." ›››

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. ›››

Dot-Jobs Expansion Worries Job-Site Operators

Wall Street Journal – Sarah E. Needleman reporting in the WSJ: "So far limited to only employers' names, as in Disney.jobs or Whirlpool.jobs, the dot-jobs Internet domain will begin accepting applications next month for generic names like hospitality.jobs and virginia.jobs. But the mostly small businesses that run job sites ending in dot-com say they worry how the development will affect their already crowded and distressed sector of the economy." ›››

Internet Connected Devices Reaching 5 Billion

Network World – John Cox reporting in Network World: "Sometime this month, the 5 billionth device will plug into the Internet. And in 10 years, that number will grow by more than a factor of four, according to IMS Research, which tracks the installed base of equipment that can access the Internet. On the surface, this second tidal wave of growth will be driven by cell phones and new classes of consumer electronics..." ›››

Google Responds to Criticisms Over Proposed Net Neutrality

Responding to recent controversies over Google-Verizon deal, Richard Whitt, Google's Washington Telecom and Media Counsel writes: "Over the past few days there's been a lot of discussion surrounding our announcement of a policy proposal on network neutrality we put together with Verizon. On balance, we believe this proposal represents real progress on what has become a very contentious issue, and we think it could help move the network neutrality debate forward constructively. We don't expect everyone to agree with every aspect of our proposal, but there has been a number of inaccuracies about it, and we do want to separate fact from fiction." ›››

Harvard's Berkman Center to Study ICANN's Accountability and Transparency Review Process

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University announced today that it "will conduct an independent, exploratory study analyzing ICANN's decision-making processes and communications with stakeholders." The study is aimed at developing a framework and recommendations for understanding and improving ICANN's accountability and transparency. "The Berkman Center's final report will be made publicly available after ICANN's Accountability and Transparency Review Team has had the opportunity to utilize its findings in recommendations to the ICANN board." ›››

Security Experts Urge Shifting from Defense to Offense in Cybersecurity

A report, released today by McAfee, Inc., titled "Security Takes the Offensive," says that traditionally, security technology companies and computer users have taken a defensive posture, putting the cyber equivalent of body armor on computers, networks and in the cloud. The report's authors say it is now time to avoid enemy strikes altogether by taking a more aggressive stance, aligning forces and involving law enforcement. ›››

BBC Creates Smartphone Malware to Expose Vulnerabilities

BBC – BBC News has shown how straightforward it is to create a malicious application for a smartphone. Over a few weeks, the BBC put together a crude game for a smartphone that also spied on the owner of the handset. The application was built using standard parts from the software toolkits that developers use to create programs for handsets. ›››

Regulators Halt Internet Traffic Talks

Reuters – John Poirier reporting in Reuters: "Regulators halted closed-door negotiations about net neutrality rules with phone, cable and Internet companies on Thursday after reports of a side deal between two participants, Verizon Communications Inc and Google Inc, surfaced. ... The collapse means Genachowski may have to decide how to regulate Internet access without further input from the industry. His decision will likely be challenged in court..." ›››

GlavMed Hacks U.S. Government Website

Garth Bruen writes: A report in LegitScript takes a look at Russian rogue Internet pharmacy hacking US government website. "As rogue Internet pharmacy networks become more sophisticated, even US government websites are at risk. Today, we're taking a look at how a rogue Internet pharmacy linked to a criminal network operating out of Russia and Eastern Europe has hacked into a US government website. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US foreign aid agency, utilizes a ".gov" top-level domain, which is assigned to the control of the US government. Domain names ending in .gov are typically administered by the General Services Administration." ›››

Vulnerability Broker to Enforce a Six-Month Deadline

threatpost – Ryan Naraine reporting in ThreatPost: "Looking to put pressure on software vendors who procrastinate on fixing security flaws, the world's biggest broker of vulnerability data is drawing a line in the sand. Starting tomorrow (August 4, 2010), TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) will enforce a six-month deadline for patches on all vulnerabilities bought from the security research community and reported to software vendors." ›››

BlackBerry Service to be Suspended in UAE from October 11

Imran Ahmed Shah writes: Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced on Sunday to ban Blackberry Services, this ban will take effect on October 11. This ban will affect hundreds of thousands of BlackBerry users who access Internet, e-mail and messaging services on their mobile handsets. ›››

2010 Data Breach Report from Verizon, US Secret Service

A study conducted by the Verizon Business RISK team in cooperation with the United States Secret Service has found that breaches of electronic records in 2009 involved more insider threats, greater use of social engineering and the continued strong involvement of organized criminal groups. ›››

Paul Kane Selected as One of Seven Security Key Holders

BBCChuck Kisselburg writes: Responsible for safe-guarding a share of the ROOT Zone's DNSSEC Recovery Key, Paul Kane, CEO of CommunityDNS, is one of 7 TCRs (Trusted Community Representative) selected from around the globe by ICANN. "In the event of a security breach -- such as a terrorist attack -- Mr Kane may be required to travel to a secure location in the US." ›››

White House on the DNSSEC Deployment: "A Major Milestone on Internet Security"

Andrew McLaughlin reporting in the White House website: "Last week marked a significant advance in the security of the Internet. After years of intensive design, testing, and implementation work, the Internet's domain name system now has a new security upgrade that allows Internet service providers and end users alike to protect against an important online vulnerability: the clandestine redirecting of online communications to unwanted destinations." ›››

China's Popular Search Engine Gets Go Ahead from Judge to Sue Register.com

Reuters – Grant McCool reporting in Reuters: "China's leading search engine, Baidu Inc, can sue its U.S.-based domain name service provider, Register.com Inc, for breach of contract, gross negligence and recklessness related to an attack by hackers, a U.S. judge ruled on Thursday. The January 11 attack prevented Internet users around the world from gaining access to Baidu for five hours and disrupted its operations for two days..." ›››

Popular News – Last 30 Days

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Industry Updates

Dyn Inc. Acquires EditDNS and Launches Dynect SMB

Dyn Inc. Dynamic Network Services Inc. (Dyn Inc.), today announced the acquisition of EditDNS and the launch of Dynect SMB, offered on its IT services storefront, DynDNS.com, further cementing its position as the world's fastest growing provider of managed DNS. more»

.ORG the Public Interest Registry Announced Today That Alexa Raad Has Resigned as President and CEO

PIR The Board of Directors of .ORG the Public Interest Registry announced today that Alexa Raad, the President and Chief Executive Officer of PIR, has decided to resign from her positions with the company effective on September 24th, 2010. Her resignation concludes 3 1/2 years of service and leadership at PIR. more»

Afilias' Project Safeguard to Boost Global DNSSEC Deployment by 50 Percent

Afilias Afilias, a global provider of Internet infrastructure services, today announced that it will deploy Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) across its registry platforms, signing 13 more top-level domains (TLDs) and increasing DNSSEC deployment among domain registries by 50 percent. more»

.ORG, The Public Interest Registry Releases Results of Bi-Annual Domain Name Report, "The Dashboard"

PIR In the first six months of 2010, the .ORG domain grew by 7.6 percent -- more than doubling last year's first half gain of 3.2 percent. This increase in registrations has brought .ORG's total domains under management to an astounding 8.5 million. more»

Afilias Announces Judging Panel for 2010 .INFO Awards

Afilias Afilias today released the roster of judges selected to evaluate submissions to the fourth annual .INFO Awards program. The Awards program, which opened last week, enables any .INFO website owner to submit their site for consideration to receive top honors as the "Best .INFO Website of 2010" and receive a cash prize of up to $7,500. more»

Afilias Opens .INFO Awards to Select the Best Websites of 2010

Afilias Afilias, a global provider of Internet infrastructure services and registry for the .INFO top-level domain (TLD), today announced the opening of its fourth annual .INFO Awards program which recognizes the best .INFO websites around the world. more»

.CO Internet Announces Landrush Auctions for .CO Domain Names

.CO Internet .CO Internet S.A.S. announced that auctions will commence today for the more than 2,500 .CO domain applications that received multiple bids during the .CO "Landrush" phase. The auctions, which will take place over the course of the next four weeks, are only open to the individuals and entities that previously applied to register a specific .CO domain during the .CO Landrush phase. more»

Registrar DNSSEC Implementation Cheat Sheet

PIR To ensure that all of our registrars know what to consider as they plan out their DNSSEC implementation, take a note of "Registrar Implementation Cheat Sheet," written by Shinkuro and Sparta that outlines operational considerations a Registrar should review, including important topics such as NSEC vs. NSEC3, Key Length, and Key Rollovers, as they plan their DNSSEC implementation. more»

Internationalised Domain Names Set to Take Off with Approval of IDNA 2008 Protocol

AusRegistry International The body responsible for the development and promotion of Internet Standards (the Internet Engineering Task Force or IETF), has approved IDNA 2008 as the official Internet protocol for Internationalised Domain Names by publishing the Internet Drafts as official RFCs. more»

400,000 .CO's and Counting!

.CO Internet On August 6th, .CO domain registrations reached over 400,000! This is just 18 days after the official launch on July 20, 2010. I dare to say that this is the most successful launch of a domain extension in recent history! more»






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