Pakistan Sets Death Penalty for Cyber Terrorism

Causing death through "cyber terrorism" will be punishable by death in Pakistan, according to a decree issued by President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes law will be applicable to anyone who commits a crime detrimental to national security through the use of a computer or any other electronic device, the government said in the ordinance. "Whoever commits the offence of cyber terrorism and causes death of any person shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life," according to a copy of the ordinance, published by the state-run APP news agency. more»

Chinese Hackers Breach White House Computers, Documents Accessed

Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials, a senior US official told the Financial Times. On each occasion, the cyber attackers accessed the White House computer system for brief periods, allowing them enough time to steal information before US computer experts patched the system. US government cyber intelligence experts suspect the attacks were sponsored by the Chinese government because of their targeted nature. more»

Governments Concerned Over Introduction of New Geographical Top-Level Domains

There has been a lot of argument at the 33rd meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Cairo, which ends on Friday, about the rules for introducing new top-level domains. If certain governments have their way, ICANN will have to wait before introducing country or regional names as top-level domains (TLDs). They want the procedure for introducing new country domain names (ccTLDs, such as .uk) in non-Latin alphabets to be adopted first. This emerges from a report delivered by the Latvian diplomat Janis Karklins, chairman of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) at the meeting in Cairo. more»

Internet Black Boxes to Record Every Email and Website Visit in Britain

Under Government plans to monitor internet traffic, raw data would be collected and stored by the black boxes before being transferred to a giant central database. The vision was outlined at a meeting between officials from the Home Office and Internet Service Providers earlier this week. It is further evidence of the Government's desire to have the capability to vet every telephone call, email and internet visit made in the UK, which has already provoked an outcry. more»

Defense Science Board Urges Obama to Take Immediate Cybersecurity Measures

According to a report by the Defense Science Board, the President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a cybersecurity infrastructure that is ill-prepared for advanced cyberattacks which will be of particular challenge for the new leaders... Reporting today on eWeek, Roy Mark writes: "The Bush administration has been widely criticized by security experts as de-emphasizing cyber-security and hamstringing the authority of officials in charge of government-wide cyber-security" said Roy Mark in a report eWeek." more»

ITU Secretary General: "ICANN and ITU a Difficult Marriage"

During the ICANN meeting in Cairo, discussions regarding the role of government within the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have taken a new turn after Hamadoun Touré, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), labeled the ICANN Government Advisory Committee as "cosmetic," reports Rebecca Wanjiku of the IDG News Service. "The GAC is merely advisory, and ICANN may choose to take the advice or not, Touré noted at a public meeting in Cairo... Touré equated the relationship between ICANN and ITU to a difficult marriage where the spouses must live together and raise a family." more»

Obama Selects Internet, High-Tech Veteran as Part of Transition Team

Julius Genachowski, a veteran of Internet business operations and Washington tech policy has been named to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, "a move that could signal the prominence of high-tech policy in the new administration," reports Cecilia Kang of the Washington Post today. According to Obama's transition headquarters in Chicago, Genachowski will be among the team that will help Obama choose members of his new administration. more»

Consumers Worldwide Getting Better Deals on Broadband Access, Says New Study

According to a report released today by market research company Point Topic, consumers worldwide are getting better deals on broadband. Out of the three main broadband technologies, DSL, Cable, and Fiber, DSL has seen the largest worldwide fall in average price for a subscription which dropped from $66.75 in first quarter of this year to $53.32 in third quarter. That is a 20% drop in the first 3 quarters of the year. In comparison average subscription prices for cable are down just over 12% and for different versions of fiber (often called FTTx) down by 6.5%. more»

FCC Approves White Space for Broadband in Unanimous Vote

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today approved, in a 5-0 unanimous vote, the plan to open up unused, unlicensed portions of TV white space spectrum for wireless applications and devices. However, to prevent interference, FCC has also placed some "rigorous certification process" which device offered by a technology company for use on the white spaces will have to go through. more»

UK ISP Terminating Customer Accounts with Open WiFi

Ernesto of Torrent Freak writes: Open wireless networks have served as a successful defense strategy for several alleged filesharers, as it is often impossible for content owners to prove that the person they accuse has actually distributed the files they claim they did. Unfortunately, for the customers of the UK ISP Karoo, running open WiFi might also get them disconnected -- even if it's unintentional. ...Not all ISPs are happy with customers who have open WiFi, however, and some even threaten to disconnect those who do. more»

Egyptian Minister Demands ICANN to Become an Independent Organization

At the start of the 33rd meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Cairo, Tarek Kamel, Egypt's Minister for Communications and Information Technology, has called for ICANN to become an independent organization. Referring to the imminent expiry of ICANN's contract with the US Government next September, he said he expected ICANN to become a genuinely-independent, transparent and stable organization. Kamel is considered to be an important advocate of ICANN in the Arab world. more»

Cyberspace is Man-Made and Its Laws Can Be Rewritten to Favor Defensive Forces, Says US Air Force

Air Force Research Laboratory's "Integrated Cyber Defense" program, has recently announced a project request for proposals based on the belief that "the 'laws' of cyberspace can be rewritten, and therefore the domain can be modified at any level to favor defensive forces." The objective of the program, according to the announcement issued last month, is to "avoid threats entirely by obviating the effects of adversary actions, deterring attacks, and anticipating threats," which is partly based on the following philosophy offered by the Air Force... more»