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Spam Bouncing Back to Original Levels Despite Major Shutdowns

Average level of spam in the second quarter of 2009 has risen by 53 percent, as compared to the first quarter of this year, according to latest report from Google's email security and archiving services group, Postini. The report foresees unpredictable pattern of drops and spikes for the rest of the year... more»

China Has Delayed Controversial Internet Filtering Software Requirement

China is to delay a controversial plan requiring all new computers sold in the country to be equipped with an internet filtering software, state media says. The filter, called Green Dam Youth Escort, was to have been required from Wednesday, but the industry ministry said computer makers needed more time. more»

US Teaming Up With Italy to Combat Cybercrime

The head of the U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the head of the Italian police and the chief executive officer of the Italian Postal Service to set up an international task force to combat cyber crime. The European Electronic Crime Task Force -- not to be confused with the private study group of the same name that began operating in 2003 -- will tackle identity theft, hacking and other computer-based crime from a headquarters in Rome, Italian officials said... more»

Trojans Fastest Growing Category of Data-Stealing Malware

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) recently reported that the number of sites infecting PCs with password-stealing crimeware reached an all time high of 31,173 in December 2008 - an 827 percent increase from January. And according to a report just released by Trend Micro's Focus Report, 93 percent of data-stealing malware have been identified as Trojans in the first quarter of 2009. more»

Companies Trademarking Possible Future Top-Level Domains

Andrew Allemann reporting on Domain Name Wire: "Companies are filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for service marks related to new TLDs. For example, Top Level Domain Holdings, Ltd (AIM: TLDH) has filed trademarks for .movie, .kids, .books, .buy, .baby, .poker, .golf, and .casino. (Top Level Domain Holdings is an investor in new TLD consulting firm Mind + Machines and dotNYC, LLC.) Other examples include .eco, a trademark filed by Colored Planet of Connecticut that appears close to being approved..." more»

US Continues to Lead As Top Country Hosting Phishing Attacks

Recent study indicates that US continues to widen its lead as the number one country when it comes to hosting phishing sites. According to the latest Brandjacking Index just released by MarkMonitor, US-hosted phishing sites grew by ten percent from last quarter -- up from 36 percent to 46 percent. Canada is now at second position with 4.7 percent of all phishing attacks, followed by the Russian Federation (4.5 percent), France (4 percent), and Denmark (4 percent). more»

Gary Warner: We Are Well Past Time to Declare a Spam Crisis in China

In a blog post last week, Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics at the University of Alabama's (UAB) computer and information sciences department, wrote that it is well past time for someone to declare a "Spam Crisis in China". The warning comes along with UAB's reports that most of the spam they receive has ties to China. "It is very normal that more than one-third of the domain names we see each day in spam messages come from China," Warner wrote. "When one also considers the many '.com' and '.ru' domain names which are also hosted in China, the problem is much worse. More than half of all spam either uses domain names registered in China, is sent from computers in China, or uses computer in China to host their web pages." more»

ICANN New CEO Refuting US Control

Darren Pauli of IDG News Service reports: "The new Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) chief has poured cold water on claims the organization is resisting a break from alleged US oversight. Incoming CEO Rod Beckstrom said at the Sydney ICANN meeting that he does not have a 'fixed form opinion' but is confident that an 'optimistic' resolution will be passed. The comments follow a call last month by European Union society commissioner Viviane Reding for US President Barack Obama to break the country's ties with ICANN..." more»

SPECIAL: Updates from the ICANN Meetings in Sydney

In follow up to the last ICANN meetings in Mexico City, CircleID in collaboration with the team from Dynamic Network Services, will be bringing you video blogs and updates from the 35th ICANN meetings in Sydney (21-26 Jun 2009). Stay tuned as we keep this page updated through out the meetings. Comments and questions? Please post them below in the comment section of the page. more»

Internet Suffers Significant Slowdowns After Michael Jackson's Death

Maggie Shiels reporting from BBC: "The internet suffered a number of slowdowns as people the world over rushed to verify accounts of Michael Jackson's death. Search giant Google confirmed to the BBC that when the news first broke it feared it was under attack. Millions of people who searched for the star's name on Google News were greeted with an error page. It warned users 'your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application'." more»

Official: Rod Beckstrom Announced as the ICANN President and CEO

During its board meeting today in Sydney, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced Rod Beckstrom, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief, as the new President and CEO. Beckstrom will be replacing Dr. Paul Twomey who had been serving this position since March 2003 and announced his resignation earlier this year. Dr Twomey has lately been reported as the primary candidate for heading Australian Government's proposed A$43 billion investment in a new National Broadband Network. more»

Genachowski Confirmed as the FCC Chairman

The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved the Obama administration's nomination of Julius Genachowski, a telecommunications industry executive, to head the Federal Communications Commission. Genachowski is set to chair the five-member panel that will be dominated by Democrats seeking to bring more power to consumers and extend high-speed Internet access to rural parts of the United States. more»