News Briefs

White House Taking Hands-Off Approach to Encryption Bill Debate

The White House will not publicly support a controversial bill that would give law enforcement guaranteed access to encrypted data, according to reports. more

Data on Nearly 200 Million Potential Voters in U.S. Found Fully Exposed

According to reports released today, databases containing information on close to 200 million potential U.S. voters were found unsecured and exposed to the Internet, allowing anyone to download it without a password. more

UK to Implement Broadband Tax

Millions of households in UK will be paying a "broadband tax" in order to fund increase and improvement of broadband access in the country according to the Digital Britain white paper launched yesterday. BBC today reports: "One of the biggest surprises in the Digital Britain report was the news that everyone with a fixed line telephone would pay a broadband tax. At 50p a month the amount is unlikely to break the bank but experts are already questioning what it will buy." more

Survey Finds “Complexity” as Most Common Challenge in Deploying DNSSEC

According to a recent survey conducted by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), 78% of service providers in Europe have plans to deploy DNSSEC within the next 3 years. On the other hand, the study also found 22% have no plans to deploy DNSSEC in the next 3 years. more

Sophisticated Maleware Found Aimed to Target Energy Companies

"The threat uses sophisticated techniques to evade detection and prepares the ground for more malware components," Lucian Constantin reporting in CIO: "Security researchers have discovered a new malware threat that goes to great lengths to remain undetected while targeting energy companies." more

Amazon Propels Into the Satellite Internet Race With New $120 Million Florida Facility

In an ambitious move, Amazon, in collaboration with state officials, has declared its plans to erect a high-tech satellite processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Backed by $120 million budget, this expansive 100,000-square-foot complex will be the keystone of Amazon's Kuiper initiative. more

Google Fiber Launches 5-Gig Service in 4 of Its 12 Existing Metro Markets

Google Fiber is boosting its internet speeds and availability by offering a new 5-gig tier in four of its existing markets. Nick Saporito, Head of Multi-gig and Commercial Product, made the announcement in a blog post on Valentine's day titled: Fall in love with fast -- 5 Gig is here! more

Energy Industry Number One Target by Cyber Criminals, According to New Study

Web security company, ScanSafe reports that, in the past quarter, companies in the Energy industry faced the greatest risk of Web-based malware exposure, at a 196% heightened risk compared to other verticals. The Pharmaceutical and Chemicals industry faced the second highest risk of exposure at 192% followed by the Construction & Engineering industry at 150%. The Media and Publishing industry were also among those at highest risk, with a 129% heightened risk compared to other verticals. more

Global Panel Releases Report on How to Evolve Internet Governance Ecosystem

The Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms - a global Panel of stakeholders from various organizations and governments - today released key recommendations on how to evolve the Internet governance (IG) ecosystem to accommodate global needs for collaboration, interconnectivity and Internet growth. The report also presents a roadmap and timeline for the future management of the Internet. more

How .eco Domain Was Won, Vancouver Team Behind the TLD

In the high-stakes world of internet domains, .eco was a dream green prize -- and is now finally going online, Lisa Johnson reporting in CBC News. more

Study Ranks Riskiest Online Cities in US

A recent study by Symantec Norton and Sperling's Best Places has ranked 50 cities in the United States by "Riskiest Online Cities". The study included investigation of a number of factors including... more

Google Releases a One-Stop Reference Source to Browser Security

Today via its Online Security Blog, Google announced the release of its Browser Security Handbook aimed at providing web application developers, browser engineers, and information security researchers a "one-stop reference" to critical security attributes of modern web browsers. "Insufficient understanding of these often poorly-documented characteristics is a major contributing factor to the prevalence of several classes of security vulnerabilities," says the introduction to the 60-page document. more

New Research Reveals Over 340 Million Accounts Compromised in the First Four Months of 2023

Recent research conducted by the Independent Advisor reveals that a significant number of accounts, exceeding 340 million, have been compromised due to business data breaches within the first four months of 2023. Notably, Twitter experienced the largest breach this year, impacting approximately 235 million user accounts. more

Facebook’s Chief Sympathetic to Apple’s Position in Clash with FBI

Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg made comments at the Mobile World Congress tech show in Barcelona today stating he is sympathetic to Apple's position in its clash with the FBI. more

German Police Force Shifts More Focus to Darknet After Mass Shooting

"German police will do more to fight crime committed on the dark net'," was the announcement days after mass shooting by a gunman with weapon bought from the darknet. "We see that the darknet is a growing trading place and therefore we need to prioritize our investigations here," said Holger Muench, head of Germany's Federal Police (BKA). more