News Briefs

Pentagon Investigates Military Base Freezer Failures as Suspected Cyberattack

The Pentagon is investigating unexplained refrigeration failures at six US military commissaries as a possible cyberattack, while French authorities examine attacks on Internet-connected refrigeration systems affecting hundreds of supermarkets. more

Iran Escalates Threats Against Gulf Undersea Internet Cables

Iranian officials have outlined plans to target undersea Internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz, while a new propaganda video depicts attacks that could disrupt connectivity across Gulf states. more

Google and Meta Undersea Cables Rank Among Pacific’s Most Vulnerable to Sabotage

New research ranks trans-Pacific submarine cables by sabotage vulnerability, identifying Google and Meta projects among high-risk systems while documenting Chinese research vessel activity near critical underwater communications infrastructure. more

CISA Unveils 2030 Strategy to Shift U.S. Cyber Defense Toward Proactive Threat Removal

CISA's new 2030 strategy shifts US cyber defense toward proactive threat removal, prioritizing critical infrastructure protection and national resilience, with implementation milestones set for the coming year. more

Attackers Hijack Government and School DNS Records to Promote Illegal Gambling

Infoblox researchers uncovered two operations exploiting government and educational DNS infrastructure across three countries to promote illegal gambling, exposing security weaknesses that conventional website monitoring may overlook. more

Low IDN Applications Raise Concerns for ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD Round

Only 21 internationalized domain name applications were submitted in ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round, raising government concerns about linguistic diversity and the accessibility of the domain expansion program. more

France Proposes One-Hour Social Media Removal Rule After Secret DNS-Blocking Plans

France has proposed legislation allowing authorities to block social media platforms over prohibited content, following revelations that telecom operators were asked to prepare geographically targeted DNS restrictions during protests. more

ICANN Names Three Independent Objectors to Review 2026 New gTLD Applications

ICANN has appointed three independent objectors for the 2026 new-gTLD round, establishing a mechanism to challenge applications on public-interest and community grounds, with safeguards against institutional interference. more

RIPE NCC Freezes Internet Number Resources Under EU Sanctions, but Routing Remains Unaffected

RIPE NCC has frozen Internet number resources linked to 28 newly sanctioned entities under EU rules. The restrictions block resource transfers and new allocations but do not automatically interrupt network routing or connectivity. more

UK Proposes Tougher Undersea Cable Security Laws and Emergency Intervention Powers

The UK proposes stronger security obligations for undersea cable operators, tougher penalties for infrastructure damage and emergency intervention powers, raising questions about compliance costs, repair readiness and the resilience of international Internet connectivity. more

ICANN Board Approves IDN Country-Code Domain Policy, Rejects Risk-Appraisal Provisions

ICANN has approved most of its new internationalized country-code domain policy, rejecting provisions for additional risk assessments of confusingly similar strings. Implementation and bylaw amendments remain pending. more

PHP Releases Emergency Security Patches as Researchers Report Exploit Attempts

PHP has released emergency patches for two critical vulnerabilities that could enable unauthenticated remote code execution. Security researchers report attempted exploitation, while authorities urge immediate updates across internet-facing hosting environments. more

Access Now Documents Years-Long Internet Shutdowns Across Conflict Regions

Access Now documents prolonged Internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia and other conflict-affected regions, highlighting persistent connectivity restrictions, damaged telecommunications infrastructure and the difficulty of determining when meaningful access has been restored. more

London Ranks Last Among 18 European Capitals for Mobile Download Speeds

Ookla's latest benchmarking ranks London last among 18 European capitals for mobile download speeds, revealing persistent congestion, worsening latency and infrastructure constraints despite widespread 5G availability. more

ICANN87 in Bali Puts DNS Abuse and New gTLD Implementation in Focus

ICANN87 in Bali brings DNS abuse mitigation, registrant protections and the next gTLD round into focus as policymakers examine implementation challenges affecting domain registries, registrars and Internet users. more