Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! Headlines from the 15 October edition of the news include: Russian plans for development of Information Society by Veni Markovski | The problems of viewing IDNs by Kim Davies | Thoughts on the Domain Name Price Increases by Tucows' Elliot Noss | .Asia registry to crack down on phishy domains | U.S. Government Seeks to deny the Internet to its enemies | Shadowy Russian Firm Seen as Conduit for Cybercrime | eBay most common brand in phishing scams | The Golden Keys of E-Commerce: Opinion by Naseem Javed | Report from the TRAFFIC Domain Name Conference | How much is that premium domain name worth? | 'Porn.com' Keeps Title as 'WallStreet' Fails to Sell And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Researchers Map the Internet [AP] http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696034588.html On Its Way: One of the Biggest Changes to the Internet http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-09oct07.htm A Script for Every Surfer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/10/AR2007101002642.html New Delhi Chosen as Site of ICANN?s 31st Public Meeting http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-09oct07.htm We [ICANN] *are* listening to you - the proof! by Kieren McCarthy http://blog.icann.org/?p=207 The Launch of .ASIA - a free web seminar http://mediazone.brighttalk.com/event/Euromoney/84f7e69969-846-intro Bidding starts for .asia domain rights [AFP] http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/09/2055213.htm NSA's Lucky Break: How the U.S. Became Switchboard to the World http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/domestic_taps ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Researchers Map the Internet [AP] It took two months and nearly 3 billion electronic probes for researchers to create a map of the Internet. Now comes the task of making sense of their data - and figuring out what they missed. The Internet census comes from the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey, Calif. Over two months, ISI computers sent queries to about 2.8 billion numeric "Internet Protocol," or IP, addresses that identify individual computers on the Internet. Replies came from about 187 million of the IP addresses, and researchers used that data to map out where computers exist on the Internet. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696034588.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696034588.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** On Its Way: One of the Biggest Changes to the Internet ICANN will launch an evaluation of Internationalized Domain Names next week that will allow Internet users to test top-level domains in 11 languages. ?This evaluation represents ICANN?s most important step so far towards the full implementation of Internationalized Domain Names. This will be one of the biggest changes to the Internet since it was created,? said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN?s President and CEO. ?ICANN needs the assistance of users and application developers to make this evaluation a success. When the evaluation pages come online next week, we need everyone to get in there and see how the addresses display and see how links to IDNs work in their programs. In short, we need them to get in and push it to its limits.? http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-09oct07.htm A Script for Every Surfer Is the World Wide Web truly worldwide? Depends whom you ask. Since the Internet began, the 70 percent of the world that doesn't speak English has argued that the Web is inaccessible. So next week the nonprofit group contracted by the U.S. government to run the Internet will begin testing domain names in other languages. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/10/AR2007101002642.html The Internet Goes Polyglot You won't have noticed, but yesterday the internet's plumbing underwent one of its most fundamental changes in 20 years. The domain name system now supports 11 non-English languages, for the first time in their native non-Roman scripts. ICANN on Tuesday morning added the TLD ?.test? in Arabic, Persian, Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese, Tamil and two flavors of Chinese, to the DNS's root servers. http://computerwire.com/industries/research/?pid=E52C0196%2D22E1%2D45AF%2D9CC0%2D4CCDAD698805 ICANN trials domain names in 11 languages ICANN is about to trial non-Latin language domain names in what it says is one of the biggest changes ever to the Net. http://www.telecomasia.net/article.php?type=article&id_article=5973 http://americasnetwork.com/americasnetwork//article/articleDetail.jsp?id=464207&ref=25 Icann to test domains in 11 languages [sub req'd] http://telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=187553 Internet Language Barriers Broken ICANN has made an important step towards true internationalisation of the Internet by launching a program testing the reality of making domain names available for the characters of non-Latin derived languages. http://idm.net.au/story.asp?id=8893 ICANN to Test "One of the Biggest Changes to the Internet" ICANN will launch an evaluation of Internationalized Domain Names next week that will allow Internet users to test top-level domains in 11 languages. http://www.govtech.com/gt/155041?topic=117673 Domains to go non-English: will it cause internet havoc? A plan to allow non-Roman characters in domain names will make the Internet more international than ever, but Australians look set to play a major role in determining its success. http://apcmag.com/7332/domains_to_go_non_english_will_it_cause_internet_havoc New Delhi Chosen as Site of ICANN?s 31st Public Meeting New Delhi, India will host ICANN?s 31st International Public Meeting from 10-15 February 2008. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-09oct07.htm We *are* listening to you - the proof! by Kieren McCarthy One of the most important ways for ICANN to be both transparent and accountable is the public comment period. ICANN is very unusual as an organisation in that all of its work - even when in draft form - is put out for public review. Unfortunately that review system has been under-used for years. And so we have been trying for several months to make the process simpler, easier and more effective. We produced a set of Consulting Principles to make it clear what the system is, and a single public comment webpage to make it extremely easy to see what was going on at any given time. This has, we are very pleased to note, caused a jump in the quantity and quality of comments. http://blog.icann.org/?p=207 ICANN Opens Media Registration for Los Angeles Meeting ICANN has launched its media registration service for journalists planning on covering the 30th International Public Meeting being held in Los Angeles, California, from 29 October to 2 November 2007. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-10oct07.htm ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** The Launch of .ASIA - a free web seminar MIP will host a free web seminar on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 (Time: 12 noon (EDT)/9am (PDT) (USA)) covering the upcoming .ASIA domain launch. The first applications for domains ending in .ASIA can be made this month, with the sunrise period for trademark owners, which started on October 9th. Find out more about .ASIA, including whether you should apply, what can be applied for during the sunrise period, what the validation system is, and how the .ASIA auction and dispute resolution procedures work. Their panel will include Edmon Chung from the DotAsia Registry and other domain name specialists from VeriSign, Deloitte and others for a lively and highly topical seminar. Panelists will also answer your questions about the opportunities and challenges of the new .ASIA domain. Participants include: James Nurton, Editor, MIP; Bart Lieben, Lawyer, Laga, Belgium and verification agent for .ASIA; Edmon Chung, CEO, DotAsia registry and Jennifer Gore, Product Manager, Corporate Domain Services, VeriSign. To register for this web seminar, see: http://mediazone.brighttalk.com/event/Euromoney/84f7e69969-846-intro Bidding starts for .asia domain rights [AFP] Bidding has started for prized new pieces of internet real estate with the launch of the .asia domain name. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/09/2055213.htm http://www.todayonline.com/articles/215747.asp http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D1C68452-6D11-40E6-B1CD-7F3274444544.htm http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2891&iArticleId=5021444 http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22562114-15306,00.html http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2007/10/10/2003382554 .Asia domains are go The new .asia domain registry opens for business today, triggering the familiar landgrab by brand owners. Carpet baggers will have to wait for their chance to hoover up potentially valuable names. DotAsia is available only to governments, trademark owners, and official bodies until the end of February. It'll then give everyone else a crack of the whip. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/09/dot_asia_launch/ http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2007/10/09/asia_gets_its_own_top_level_domain/1 Asia gets own address in cyberworld Asia finally got its own domain name on Monday when the .asia regional domain officially opened for business. http://gulf-news.com/technology/internet/10159107.html After .eu, Asia gets its own address in cyberworld .com, .org, .net and a host of other domains, Asia is next in line to get its own domain name. Due for its ?sunrise? launch tomorrow for trademark owners, ?.asia? is aimed at providing another option to domain-name seekers. http://digital.agencyfaqs.com/perl/digital/news/index.html?sid=19327 Registration for '.asia' begins [UPI] Companies and legal entities in the Asia-Pacific region started to register their Internet domain names Tuesday with the .asia extension. http://upi.com/NewsTrack/Business/2007/10/09/registration_for_asia_begins/8518/ http://earthtimes.org/articles/show/121424.html Asia domain names for sale New internet real estate became available Tuesday with the launch of the .asia domain name. As the newest so-called top-level website suffix, on par with .com and .net, the domain is expected to become highly sought after as businesses seek to lock up Asia-specific internet addresses. http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/10/09/tech-asia.html .Asia domains start sale Tuesday [IDG] Registration for .asia TLD names began Tuesday for companies and other legal entities, giving corporations an opportunity to secure trademarked domain names without having to contend with cybersquatters. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/138216/registration_for_asia_web_domains_begins.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/09/.Asia-domains-start-sale-Tuesday_1.html http://www.computerworld.com.sg/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=2&articleid=6654&pubid=3&tab=Home&issueid=119 The .asia Domain Hits Sunrise Beginning 9 October, companies and governments can register with the .asia suffix, which will go live next March. http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/14414/the_asia_domain_hits_sunrise Asia-specific domain names up for grabs [vnunet.com] The DotAsia organisation will begin selling Asia-specific domain names to companies around the world from today. http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2200769/asia-gets-own-url Internet names for Asia launched The .asia regional internet domain has officially opened for business, with big firms expected to grab addresses. http://news.trend.az/cgi-bin/readnews2.pl?newsId=1041060?=EN http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=155834 Business Owner? Register .asia ASAP Businesses dealing with or have a presence in Asia, are being advised to purchase the .asia domain names to protect their trademarks and to prevent cybersqatters. http://webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=22551 Internationalised Domain Names (IDN) in .nz - Consultation [news release] Currently, domain names in the .nz space only allow the 26 basic English (Latin) alphabet characters a-z, digits and the '-' hyphen. The Maori alphabet has an additional five characters, the macronised vowels a, e, i, o, and u, which are currently not allowed in .nz domain names. http://dnc.org.nz/story/30294.html InternetNZ's The Browser - September edition The September edition of InternetNZ's monthly publication The Browser is now available. Issues covered include the government announcement Telecom will be operationally separated; .nz registrations hit 300,000; the Digital Future Summit 2.0 planned for 28 and 29 November 2007 and a report on broadband in NZ titled "Defining a Broadband Aspiration: How much does broadband matter and what does New Zealand need?? http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/browser/September Higher .com and .net domain prices VeriSign announced that it will raise the wholesale rates of .com and .net domain names this 15th of October 2007. Domain names ending in .com, from $6.00, will be increased to $6.42; and .net domains, from $3.50 to $3.85. http://sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2007/10/10/bus/robillo.higher..com.and..net.domain.prices.html ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** Phishing Education Called Inadequate Researchers say that current methods of teaching users about phishing are inadequate, but some efforts are effective. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138243-c,scamshoaxes/article.html ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** The politics of cyber-crime As the presidential race of 2008 nears, there appear to be very few certainties that can be applied to the political runoff. ... Friedrichs also took the opportunity to plug a new book he has contributed to dubbed "Crimeware" -- due out in Feb. 2008 -- which will touch on the political-security issue, among many others apparently. Symantec, which will publish the book, has been kind enough to pass along the chapter on this topic free-of-charge to anyone interested in reading it. Some highlights: -The existing candidates have not done a thorough job of snapping-up domain names that could be easily associated with their campaigns by attackers looking to ensnare end users. http://weblog.infoworld.com/zeroday/archives/2007/10/the_politics_of.html Critic to release domain names A critic of county Supervisor Dennis Hansberger has agreed to turn over control of Web sites he used to criticize Hansberger. http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_7132477 ca: B.C. Securities Commission gives lifetime ban to former stock picker A former B.C. stock picker who admitted to defrauding investors after raising $1.4 million from 49 clients has been banned for life from the province's capital markets. ... Budai also confessed to buying Internet domain names he later sold to StockDepot at inflated prices without proper disclosure. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b1010137A Sony Wins UDRP by Michele Neylon The only UDRP decision that caught my attention this morning concerned Sony. http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2007/10/10/sony-wins-udrp/ ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** NSA's Lucky Break: How the U.S. Became Switchboard to the World A lucky coincidence of economics is responsible for routing much of the world's internet and telephone traffic through switching points in the United States, where, under legislation introduced this week, the U.S. National Security Agency will be free to continue tapping it. Leading House Democrats introduced the so-called RESTORE Act Tuesday that allows the nation's spies to maintain permanent eavesdropping stations inside United States switching centers. Telecom and internet experts interviewed by Wired News say the bill will give the NSA legal access to a torrent of foreign phone calls and internet traffic that travels through American soil on its way someplace else. But contrary to recent assertions by Bush administration officials, the amount of international traffic entering the United States is dropping, not increasing, experts say. http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/domestic_taps Google recruits registrars to push apps Domain name registrars are being recruited by Google to market the Google Apps suite of web software to their customers. http://cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=666F35B5-966E-4444-95D5-B235E6977160 http://www.circleid.com/posts/google_apps_domain_name_registrars/ Domain Name Book Canceled An upcoming book about the domain name industry is on hold. Writer David Kesmodel, who currently writes for The Wall Street Journal, has worked hard over the past year or so on the book, but the original publisher involved with the project canceled the book. Kesmodel?s agent is currently shopping the book to other publishers. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/10/08/domain-name-book-canceled/ ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** SoldNames.com: Resource for Premium Domain Sales Values Domain investors looking for a little inspiration should visit SoldNames.com, a web site that lists the top domain name sales of all time by top level domain. The site is backed by Cybertonic, the same company behind PremiumDomains.com. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/10/10/soldnamescom-resource-for-premium-domain-sales-values/ ********************** - DOMAIN SALES ********************** Highly Successful dotMobi Online Auction Confirms Strong Demand for .mobi Domains [news release] dotMobi successfully closed its first-ever online auction on October 3. dotMobi auctioned 100 domain names through Sedo.com, and is the first domain company to offer selected names directly to the market via an online auction process rather than a traditional "first come, first served" process. http://mtld.mobi/node/834 dotMobi cashes in on domain name auction The registrar of the new .mobi internet domain has hailed the success of the first online auction of the new web destination. dotMobi auctioned 100 domain names, the first time that selected addresses have been offered via auction rather than on a "first come, first served" basis. As a result, the company was able to raise a healthy $850,000. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/127826/dotmobi-cashes-in-on-domain-name-auction.html Dot-mobi domains go to highest bidders The first dot-mobi auction has closed on a high, with domain name marketplace Sedo.com selling 100 mobile web addresses to the highest bidder. http://www.electricnews.net/article/136993.html PressReleases.com and eReleases.com to Be Auctioned at the Upcoming T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East [news release] eReleases.com, an online press release distribution service targeted at small businesses, today announced that it has granted Moniker.com the exclusive right to broker the sale of e-commerce company eReleases.com along with the premium domain PressReleases.com and additional associated trademarks and assets. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/10/10/pressreleasescom-and-ereleasescom-to-be-auctioned-at-the-upcoming-traffic-east/ ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Repression continues in China, one year before Olympic Games When the International Olympic Committee assigned the 2008 summer Olympic Games to Beijing on 13 July 2001, the Chinese police were intensifying a crackdown on subversive elements, including Internet users and journalists. Six years later, nothing has changed. But despite the absence of any significant progress in free speech and human rights in China, the IOC?s members continue to turn a deaf ear to repeated appeals from international organisations that condemn the scale of the repression. http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=174 Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators in a Changing World: Responding to Policy Needs [purchase required] As the world interconnects, science, technology and innovation policies cannot be seen as standing alone. There is a growing interest from central banks and ministries of finance in improving the understanding of how science, technology and innovation create value in the form of increased productivity and profits, and contribute to the valuation of enterprises, and ultimately stimulate the growth and competitiveness of economies. This conference proceedings of the OECD Blue Sky II Forum describes some of the policy needs, measurement issues, and challenges in describing cross-cutting and emerging topics in science, technology and innovation (STI). It also presents ideas to exploit existing data and develop new frameworks of measurement in order to guide future development of STI indicators at the OECD and beyond. http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers?=EN&st1=922007121p1 OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: South Africa [purchase required] A comprehensive assessment of the innovation system of South Africa, focusing on the role of government, and providing concrete recommendations on how to improve policies which impact on innovation performance, including R&D policies. Post-apartheid South Africa has succeeded in swiftly opening its economy to international trade and capital flows, and in stabilising the economy while achieving reasonably good growth performance, mainly driven by productivity gains. However, important socio-economic problems persist, especially unemployment, poverty and the exclusion of a large fraction of the population from the formal economy. The country is now in the middle of two more specifically economic transitions: i) responding to globalisation and ii) transforming the structure of the economy away from its former heavy dependence on primary resource production and associated commodity-based industries. In this context, enhancing innovation capabilities is key to a sustained improvement of living standards based on productivity-driven growth.This review assesses the national innovation system of South Africa from this perspective, identifying areas and means for improvement with an emphasis on the role of public research organisations and policies. http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers?=EN&st1=922007091p1 ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** China tightens control of net Censorship of the internet in China is becoming more draconian, according to new details of Beijing's online restrictions published by human rights organisations. The claims come in a report from international journalism watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres and the China Human Rights Defenders group, which examines the way the Chinese government reacts to free speech on the internet. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/10/china.internet China's censors tighten grip on Net [Reuters] Internet censors in China are becoming more systematic and sophisticated in how they monitor the Web and eradicate content, according to a Chinese technician working for an Internet firm. In a report published Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders and the group China Human Rights Defenders, the unnamed author details the secret workings of a censorship machine that spans the information ministry, the State Council, or cabinet, the Communist Party's propaganda department and the police. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6212736.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKHKG27897020071010 http://www.news.com/2100-1028_3-6212736.html Rights Group Condemns China Net Controls [AP] An international media rights group called on China to loosen controls on news and personal expression on the Internet, saying the country's system of censorship is an insult to the spirit of online freedom. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/10/1191695993302.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/10/1191695993302.html Beijing's Olympian censorship machine laid bare A democracy activist working undercover at a Chinese internet company has exposed how the Beijing government is strangling online dissent ahead of next year's Olympics. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/10/china_rwb_mr_tao_censorship/ Jordan jails royal critic over e-mails [Reuters] A critic of Jordan's royal family was sentenced to two years in jail on Tuesday for sending e-mails abroad that the court ruled to be carrying "false news" and harmful to the dignity of the state. The verdict against Ahmad Oweidi al-Abbadi, after a two-month trial, comes at a time that human rights groups are voicing concern about what they call an official clampdown on the media. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL095910320071009 http://www.news.com/2100-1028_3-6212485.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: Web porn and video games review launched The clinical psychologist Dr Tanya Byron today launched a review of the risks to children and young people exposed to potentially harmful material on screen. Dr Byron, the parenting expert and Times columnist best known for her BBC series House of Tiny Tearaways, was appointed by the Government last month to head an inquiry into the impact of violent video games and internet pornography on children. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2621650.ece uk: New technology undermining childhood Parents are "ill-equipped" to keep their children safe from violent and damaging influences on the internet, the British Government said on Tuesday. Few families are aware of the extreme images in many video games and websites used by thousands of young people every day, it is claimed Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary, said only one-in-20 parents knew that many children gave out personal details online, raising fresh fears that uncontrolled access to new technology may be undermining childhood. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/10/ninternet110.xml uk: Games violence study is launched The government is asking for evidence for a new study of the effect of violent computer games on children. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7034179.stm au: Conference told of AFP action against sex predator Australian Federal Police (AFP) say they are aware of cases of sexual predators using the internet to gain the trust of parents to get access to their children. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/09/2054954.htm au: Is NetAlert looking out for kids or looking for votes? commentary: Time for a quick poll. Hands up if you've downloaded one of those NetAlert family-friendly Internet filters the federal government has been spruiking. Anyone? I'm curious. Curious because when the federal government dishes out AU$189 million to "protect our children" from the bad ol' Internet, it smells of electioneering. Curious because when ZDNet Australia asked the Department for Communications, IT and the Arts how many Australians have downloaded the filters since the campaign started a month ago, we've been given short shrift. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Is-NetAlert-looking-out-for-kids-or-looking-for-votes-/0,130061733,339282683,00.htm YouTube guide to hacking Australian Government's porn filter The 16-year-old school boy who cracked the Government's $80 million porn filter in August, declaring it a waste of money, has done it again. This time he has posted a YouTube video handbook on his blog site instructing kids on how to hack around "all" the Federal Government's filters. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22565604-421,00.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** nz: Cyber crims have swag of tricks A New Zealand internet safety watchdog believes more needs to be done to catch cyber criminals. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318360/1396982 Associated Press sues VeriSign over news Web site [Reuters] The Associated Press is suing VeriSign Inc to stop its online subsidiary Moreover Technologies Inc from publishing AP news reports without permission. http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0944029720071009 AP sues VeriSign's Moreover news aggregator [IDG] The Associated Press filed a lawsuit against VeriSign Inc. over its Moreover news aggregation services in a case reminiscent of a dispute between news services and Google News. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9041779 http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/10/AP-sues-VeriSign-Moreover-news-aggregator_1.html Nigerian "419" e-mail scammers targeted in 80 arrests around the world An international crackdown on e-mail scammers and telephone fraudsters has led to at least 80 arrests and the seizure of almost ?8 million worth of fake cheques and postal orders heading for the UK. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2589039.ece Cybercriminals Could Steal Elections, Security Researcher Warns Cybercriminals could imperil the 2008 presidential election and the U.S political process, according to a forthcoming book. Titled Crimeware and edited by Markus Jakobsson, a professor at the Indiana University School of Informatics, and Zulfikar Ramzan, senior principal security researcher with Symantec, the book details various forms of cybercrime. It is scheduled for publication in February. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202401113 Qaeda Goes Dark After a U.S. Slip: Enemy Vanishes From Its Web Sites Al Qaeda's Internet communications system has suddenly gone dark to American intelligence after the leak of Osama bin Laden's September 11 speech inadvertently disclosed the fact that we had penetrated the enemy's system. The intelligence blunder started with what appeared at the time as an American intelligence victory, namely that the federal government had intercepted, a full four days before it was to be aired, a video of Osama bin Laden's first appearance in three years in a video address marking the sixth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. On the morning of September 7, the Web site of ABC News posted excerpts from the speech. http://nysun.com/article/64163 ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** EU privacy body to take months on Google probe [Reuters] The European Union's data watchdog will take another few months to decide whether Google or other Web search engines may be violating EU privacy laws, a participant in the watchdog's meeting said on Wednesday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL1024493820071010 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6212794.html http://www.news.com/2100-1029_3-6212794.html Google-DoubleClick deal seen winning approval [Reuters] Antitrust experts predict that Google's purchase of advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1 billion will be approved by U.S. regulators despite vehement opposition from competitors Microsoft and Yahoo. http://www.news.com/2100-1024_3-6212726.html Clinton: Internet Access Key to Economy [AP] Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday called for a national broadband Internet system and permanent research tax credits, while also quoting comedian Stephen Colbert for the second time in a week in a swipe at the Bush administration. Clinton said that if elected she would invest in high-tech fields in order to sustain the high-tech jobs that are critical to economic prosperity and strengthening the middle class. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/10/AR2007101001261.html Telcos, Spying and the Internet: A Bad Mix It seems as if the only time Republican policymakers care about our poor telephone companies is when they want to protect the companies from liability from illegal spying or when they want to allow the companies to strengthen their hold over the economy. Neither approach is particularly helpful, although anytime telecom issues get into the news, well, that's news. If the Republican presidential debate last night showed anything, it was that both the moderators and the contestants are woefully ignorant about the trends and issues in the industry that makes a lot of this economy go. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-brodsky/telcos-spying-and-the-in_b_67936.html US Democrats Seem Ready to Extend Wiretap Powers Two months after insisting that they would roll back broad eavesdropping powers won by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress appear ready to make concessions that could extend some crucial powers given to the National Security Agency. Administration officials say they are confident they will win approval of the broadened authority that they secured temporarily in August as Congress rushed toward recess. Some Democratic officials concede that they may not come up with enough votes to stop approval. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/09/washington/09nsa.html us: Wiretap laws face new static A political debate about how to craft U.S. wiretapping laws has run aground on what might seem to be a minor point: should telecommunications companies that may have illegally opened their networks to intelligence agencies be immunized from lawsuits? http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6212777.html NSA's Lucky Break: How the U.S. Became Switchboard to the World A lucky coincidence of economics is responsible for routing much of the world's internet and telephone traffic through switching points in the United States, where, under legislation introduced this week, the U.S. National Security Agency will be free to continue tapping it. http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/domestic_taps California state site can't shake porn problems [IDG] The Web site blamed for last week's Internet problems within the State of California has been taken offline after links to pornographic material reappeared on the site. The Transportation Authority of Marin's tam.ca.gov Web site was offline Wednesday, its front page replaced with a placeholder page saying it is down for maintenance. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/10/California-state-site-cant-shake-porn-problems_1.html ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Getting online a mission for Cuba's bloggers [Reuters] When 32-year-old Yoani Sanchez wants to update her blog about daily life in Cuba, she dresses like a tourist and strides confidently into a Havana hotel, greeting the staff in German. That is because Cubans like Sanchez are not authorised to use hotel internet connections, which are reserved for foreigners. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2428363120071010 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10469025 http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/11/2056401.htm http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/10/business/cubablog.php China jails woman for posing as teenage rape victim on the Internet [AP] Police in central China have jailed a 50-year-old woman for posing as a teenage rape victim on the Internet, an official and state media said Wednesday. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/10/1191695983290.html Britain's '11 minutes a day' Facebook habit Britons spend an average of 5.8 hours a month on social networking sites ? nearly twice that of any other European country http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2629995.ece Koreans Resort to Internet to Buy Sex [AP] South Koreans are increasingly turning to the Internet and mobile phones to buy sex following a tougher anti-prostitution law in 2004 targeting brothels. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696000412.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696000412.html Toyota Ad Shows How Game Is Changing Advertisers are increasingly looking to reach into the game world -- to win the attention of people who spend more time with a game controller than with a TV remote. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/09/AR2007100901970.html ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** U.K. Social Networking Site Usage Highest in Europe comScore released a report into the online habits of the U.K.?s social networking community, based on data collected through the comScore Segment Metrix H/M/L analytical tool, released last month. Social networking sites such as Bebo.com, Facebook.com and MySpace.com facilitate informal communications and information sharing across the Internet. The European social networking community stood at 127.3 million unique visitors in August ? reaching 56 percent of the European online population. U.K. participation in social networking usage proved to be the highest in Europe, with 24.9 million unique visitors ? 78 percent of the total U.K. online population ? now belonging to the country?s social networking community. http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1801 Experts: Security Flaws Vary on Social Networking Sites Individuals are more insulated from spam or worms on LinkedIn than you would be on MySpace -- but your organization may be more susceptible to a targeted attack via the business-oriented social networking site. This is just one example of the differences in vulnerabilities found in the three most popular social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Although the three sites have previously been painted with a broad security brush, each carries its own unique risks, experts say. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=136035 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Nobel prize for men who made iPod possible Two scientists whose work made possible the development of the iPod and powerful laptop computers were rewarded yesterday with the Nobel Prize for Physics. Albert Fert, a Frenchman, and Peter Gr?nberg, a German, have been jointly honoured for creating the technology used to read data on hard disks. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2622998.ece German, French Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Physics If you're reading this article or own anything with a hard drive, chances are good that you owe a debt of gratitude to the two men -- France's Albert Fert and Germany's Peter Gr?nberg -- awarded this year's Nobel Prize in physics. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,510425,00.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/10/1191695978295.html [AFP] Ultrahigh-speed Internet2 gets 10x boost in anticipation of particle collider for physicists [AP] The ultrahigh-speed Internet2 network just got 10 times faster, partly in anticipation of rising demand for capacity after the world's largest particle collider opens near Geneva next year. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696027623.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696027623.html us: 100Gbps Internet2 is ready New improvements to the high speed Internet2 network infrastructure are completed and primed with 100Gbps capacity for US research and education communities. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/10/internet2_100gbps_completed/ http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071009/netu139.html au: New TVs may soon be relics Most current plasma TV models would be banned from sale in Australia as early as October next year under onerous mandatory energy requirements recommended in a report. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/10/1191695979285.html ********************** SPAM ********************** FTC Comes Down Hard on Spammers In the past two days, the Federal Trade Commission has filed two cases that could make spammers think twice about the lists they use and the claims they make. Earlier today, the FTC slapped a complaint against eHealthylife.com, an international group of companies and individuals that has been using email to market Hoodia as a means of weight loss and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) as a method of reversing the aging process. In both cases, the FTC said the claims are unsubstantiated and ordered the company to stop making them. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=136032 FTC targets spammers hawking weight-loss products [IDG] An international enterprise must stop sending unsolicited e-mail advertising human growth hormone (HGH) and weight-loss products using the hoodia gordonii plant under a court order obtained by the Federal Trade Commission. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9042061 http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/10/FTC-targets-spammers-hawking-weight-loss_1.html FTC Stops International Spamming Enterprise that Sold Bogus Hoodia and Human Growth Hormone Pills [news release] Spammers must stop sending unwanted and illegal e-mail messages about hoodia weight-loss products and human growth hormone anti-aging products that the Federal Trade Commission alleges don?t work. At the FTC?s request, a district court judge ordered a halt to the e-mails and to product claims that the FTC charges are false and unsubstantiated. The law enforcement action, announced today at an international meeting of government authorities and private industry about spam, spyware, and other online threats, is the first brought by the agency using the U.S. SAFE WEB Act to share information with foreign partners. http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/hoodia.shtm FTC Charges Seven Online Sellers of Alternative Hormone Replacement Therapy with Failing to Substantiate Products? Health Claims [news release] The Federal Trade Commission today announced complaints against seven online sellers of alternative hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products, alleging that they made health claims for their natural progesterone creams without supporting scientific evidence. Six of the sellers have signed consent orders barring them from making such unsubstantiated claims in the future. The seventh did not respond to staff?s repeated contacts, and the case will now be heard by an administrative law judge. http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/hormonethrpy.shtm ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Internet revolution reaches India's poor Manohar Lakshmipathi does not own a computer. In fact, workmen like Manohar, a house painter, are usually forbidden to touch clients' computers on the job here. So you can imagine Manohar's wonder as he sat dictating his date of birth, phone number and work history to a secretary who entered them into a computer. Afterward, a man took his photo. Then, with a click of a mouse, Manohar's very own social-networking page popped onto the World Wide Web, the newest profile on Babajob.com. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/10/asia/jobs.php ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Google to Put YouTube Videos on Its Ad Network The new service represents Google?s first steps toward turning its powerful ad network, which places ads on Internet sites, into a system for distributing content. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/09/technology/09google.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/09/business/google.php us: 'Old fuddy-duddy' fights back over Google sacking Google's reputation as a hip and happening employer was cemented earlier this year when Fortune magazine anointed the Silicon Valley outfit as America's Best Company to Work For. ... But not everyone considers the Googleplex to be a workers' paradise - especially not Brian Reid, an experienced computer scientist on the north side of 50. Google's former director of operations and engineering has been locked in a legal battle with his erstwhile employer for the past three years over a case of wrongful dismissal. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/09/1191695903315.html What future has the Thunderbird email program got? by Jack Schofield At the moment, it looks increasingly like "not much", because the only two paid programmers on this open source project have just quit. As the email companion to the Firefox browser, Thunderbird should have flown to success, if only on joint promotion. Instead, Mozilla seems to have neglected it and another companion program, the Sunbird calendar. The latter has been discontinued. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/11/news.guardianweeklytechnologysection ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** The Myth of Infinite Bandwidth by Allan Leinwand Back in the late 1990s I was often asked what I thought would happen if Internet bandwidth was infinite -- what would that change about the Internet itself? Level 3's (LVLT) recent decision to slash prices on its content distribution network and rumors of new multi-terabit cables across the Pacific have me wondering if we are actually getting closer to having infinite bandwidth. But when replying to the infinite bandwidth question I was prone to posing a return question -- what does infinite bandwidth actually mean? http://www.circleid.com/posts/7101011_myth_of_infinite_bandwidth/ uk: ISPs criticised for overstating broadband speeds The Ofcom Consumer Panel has written to the country's largest ISPs to demand changes to their broadband sales practices http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39289926,00.htm uk: Net firms quizzed on speed limits Top British net firms are asked to explain why broadband speeds often fall short of what is advertised. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7037278.stm ISP bosses told to get real on broadband speeds Ofcom's independent consumer quango has called on ISP bosses to ensure people feel less cheated by the broadband packages they advertise. Dissent has been mounting over "up to" advertising of broadband speeds. For most consumers, an "up to 8Mbit/s" line will crawl to about half that speed because of contention, poor quality wiring and distance from the telephone exchange. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/10/ocp_isp_speeds/ ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** Interpol in appeal to find prolific child abuser Interpol has launched its first ever appeal for help from the public to boost an international hunt for a prolific paedophile pictured on the internet abusing boys as young as six. http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3041128.ece Interpol decodes picture to get help in paedophile hunt An international hunt is under way for a prolific paedophile after police experts unscrambled internet images of him that had been digitally altered to disguise his identity. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2617606.ece +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.htmlReceived on Mon Oct 15 2007 - 05:06:05 UTC
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