Slow start to new .anything names
Companies are not exactly beating down Icann’s door to get their hands on a new .anything domain name, it seems.
One month into the application process, just 100 companies have so far registered to apply for a new top level domain name such as .coke or .london. It is the first indication of what the uptake will be like of the controversial expansion of internet names by Icann.
UK heading for a fight over cookies
The rhetoric over cookie legislation ratcheted up a notch on Tuesday, as the Information Commissioner’s Office told companies they “must try harder” in working out how to comply with the new rules on online privacy.
Christopher Graham, the commissioner, suggested that very few companies had yet come up with ways to get permission from online users to collect their details, as required by the new law.
Lifeline for Iceland’s data centre hopes
Iceland’s hopes of becoming a global hub for data centres came a step closer on Thursday, when plans for a new transatlantic subsea cable were announced, that would link New York and London via Iceland and Ireland.
Iceland has long been trying to market itself as a prime location for data centres. Its plentiful, cheap geothermal energy is attractive to data centre operators who are becoming increasingly worried about electricity costs, and the cold climate means cooling the racks of servers is virtually free.
Why government should not touch the internet
The London Cyberspace conference is an elegant metaphor for why government involvement in the internet should be limited as much as possible.
Even its name is already out of date, as quaint as calling it the “information super-highway” these days. A roomful of young people, convened as a “Youth Forum” on the fringes of the conference, were asked if anyone used the word “cyber” any more. No one raised their hands.
Icann chairman urges patience
Repurposing Churchill quotes is popular among those involved with Icann. Those pushing for reform of the organisation that manages the world’s internet domain names call it the “worst system of internet governance, apart from all the others”.
Steve Crocker, Icann’s newly elected chairman, has his own favourite quote: “It is not the end, not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.”
A veteran computer scientist who help create the very foundations of the internet, Mr Crocker wants people to be patient with the Californian non-proft company, which is only 13 years old and just beginning to get into its stride in improving the structure of the internet.
Spam, spam and slightly less spam
At first this looks so promising. Volumes of spam are down nearly 70 per cent from last year according to a report from Symantec, the IT security company. In June, there were 39.2bn unsolicited, “spam” messages in circulation each day, compared with 121.5bn a day in June 2010. This echoes findings earlier this month from rival McAfee, which suggested spam levels had halved in the last year.
But sadly, this doesn’t mean we are winning the war on cybercriminals and botnets. Rather, it is a reflection on how use of the internet is evolving to become more centred around social networking sites and mobile phones. Spam on Twitter and Facebook is becoming a growing problem.
Summit has few answers on hacking crisis
It was appropriate that the day that Google was unveiling details of a new Gmail hacking attack, an august group of politicians and business leaders gathered in London, at a security summit organised by the EastWest Institute, to tell each other that, well, cyber security is a big problem.
Internet returns to Egypt
(Chart by Renesys)
Internet services returned to Egypt on Wednesday morning, with even previously blocked sites such as Twitter available.
Brussels is not going to eat all the cookies after all
“Don’t panic” – the words on the cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – should also be emblazoned on the front page of the EU telecoms package, which was voted through on Tuesday.
This update on European telecoms and internet legislation has been highly controversial. Profound division on issues, such as whether persistent illegal downloaders can have their internet access cut off, had already delayed its passage by several months.
Then, in the few weeks run-up to its approval, a new panic emerged: Would the new laws force companies to completely change the way they use internet cookies?
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