Hi all, This is the second last scheduled news of the year, with one more later this week and, depending on the amount of news will determine if I send one out between Christmas and new year. And as usual, at the end of the year I ask for comments and suggestions on the news, such as any suggestions on how to make it better or are there any stories or sources I regularly miss. So if you have any comments, make sure that you include my email address when you reply. Don't forget to check out my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings. Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news. And see my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings. Cheers David *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** New gTLD Program ? ICANN Proposes Draft Expression of Interest / Pre-Registrations Model http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-18dec09-en.htm Domain Tasting Down 99.7% ? But It?s Coming Back http://domainnamewire.com/2009/12/17/domain-tasting-down-99-7-but-its-coming-back/ New gTLDs: EOI in 2010, first application round in 2011 http://stephanevangelder.com/archives/296-New-gTLDs-EOI-in-2010,-first-application-round-in-2011.html auDA: No govt request to kill Conroy site http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/auDA-No-govt-request-to-kill-Conroy-site/0,130061791,339300152,00.htm VeriSign Announces Increase in .com/.net Domain Name Fees https://press.verisign.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=AFC0FF0DB5C560D3&version=live&prid=570292&releasejsp=custom_97 VeriSign Increases Registry Fee for .COM and .NET Domains http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=9904 cn: 775 pornographic domain names shut down in five days http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/6845273.html The Anatomy Of The Twitter Attack http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/19/the-anatomy-of-the-twitter-attack/ The Anatomy of The Twitter Attack: Part II http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/18/anatomy-twitter-attack-2-dns-iran/ Chinese proposal to meter internet traffic http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8417680.stm ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** New gTLD Program ? ICANN Proposes Draft Expression of Interest / Pre-Registrations Model ICANN is publishing today for public comment a draft model for soliciting Expressions of Interest for new generic top-level domains (new gTLDs) [PDF, 192K]. According to this EOI / pre-registration model, entities interested in participating in the first round of the New gTLD Program are required to submit basic information about the participating entity and the requested top-level domain, also referred to as "string". http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-18dec09-en.htm Public Comment: One & Two-Character .CAT Domains ICANN is today opening a public comment forum on a proposed amendment from Fundacio puntCAT to Appendix 6 of the .CAT Registry Agreement. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-18dec09-en.htm Public Comment: STI Report on Trademark Protection in New gTLDs The Special Trademarks Issues Working Team (STI) has published its Report on its recommendations to create a Trademark Clearinghouse and Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure to protect trademarks in the New GTLD Program. The public comment period ends on 26 January 2010. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-17dec09-en.htm Fellowship Program Selection for ICANN Meeting 37 Announced Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 37th International Public Meeting of ICANN thanks to ICANN's on-going Fellowship program. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-18dec09-en.htm Domain Tasting Down 99.7% ? But It?s Coming Back ICANN is reporting that domain name tasting is down 99.7% since it implemented new policies to thwart it. Tasting is registering a domain name to test for traffic, and returning it within five days for a full refund if it doesn?t get enough traffic. http://domainnamewire.com/2009/12/17/domain-tasting-down-99-7-but-its-coming-back/ ICANN | Advisory Concerning Posting of Registrar Fees for Restoring Deleted Domain Names In the light of eNom following suite and increasing their redemption fee to $250 (as reported by DNN), ICANN has published the ?Advisory Concerning Posting of Registrar Fees for Restoring Deleted Domain Names? yesterday. http://www.domainnamenews.com/icann-policy/icann-advisory-concerning-posting-of-registrar-fees-for-restoring-deleted-domain-names/6839 New gTLDs: EOI in 2010, first application round in 2011 During the December 9 Board meeting, ICANN staff presented a revised project plan for completing the implementation of the new gTLD program. This is basically an updated roadmap leading up to the first application round, i.e. the start date when entities all over the world will be able to apply for their own Internet Top Level Domain. http://stephanevangelder.com/archives/296-New-gTLDs-EOI-in-2010,-first-application-round-in-2011.html ICA Implores ICANN to Halt CAC?s Proposed Perversion of UDRP Provider Supplemental Rules Following up on its November 30th letter to Chairman Thrush and President Beckstrom, on December 11th the ICA filed a formal comment requesting that ICANN block the CAC?s blatant attempt to encourage forum shopping and reverse domain hijacking by enticing complainants with a faster and cheaper UDRP that gives short shrift to registrant rights. http://www.internetcommerce.org/ICA_Implores_ICANN_to_Halt+CACs_Perversion_of_UDRP_Provider_Supplemental_Rules New TLD Hiatus Those involved with new TLD projects have been waiting "in the wings" for the last couple of months, as it was very unclear how ICANN intended to move forward http://www.newtldguide.com/2009/12/new-tld-hiatus.html ICANN Announces Fellowship Program Selection for Nairobi Meeting In an effort to include worldwide input and ideas to create a truly global forum, ICANN will be selecting a handful of bright minds from the developing world to attend its 37th International Public Meeting. http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/121809_ICANN_Announces_Fellowship_Program_Selection_for_Nairobi_Meeting 'Cyber Army' Attacks Twitter, Iran Green Movement Site What's This With DNS? ... Each domain or subdomain in the Internet has one or more DNS servers that publish information about the domain and the name servers of any domains that are subordinate to it. The right to use a domain name is allocated by domain name registrars. These registrars are accredited by the ICANN. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/68938.html You Don't Need to Hack Twitter.com to Control All Its Traffic and Email ... This is serious stuff, of course. The ICANN Security & Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) has been publishing advisories on this threat for years, most recently as SAC040 (available in 8 languages on the SSAC Web site), asking registrars and Web site owners to exercise care in their security practices. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20091218_you_dont_need_to_hack_twitter_site_to_control_traffic_email/ Online business in vernacular language There is an estimated 900 million non-English speaking population in India who converse, read and write in their regional language and also look out for content in vernacular. http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Online+business+in+vernacular+language&artid=SRnK1gBKZnk=&SectionID=XT7e3Zkr/lw=&MainSectionID=XT7e3Zkr/lw=&SectionName=HFdYSiSIflu29kcfsoAfeg==&SEO= ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** auDA: No govt request to kill Conroy site Australian Domain Name Administrator (auDA) decided to place newly registered domain www.stephenconroy.com.au on the pending deletion list using its own procedures, not because of a request from the Communications Minister, the administrator said today. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/auDA-No-govt-request-to-kill-Conroy-site/0,130061791,339300152,00.htm Fake Stephen Conroy web site comes and goes in just two days Reports surfaced yesterday of a phony Stephen Conroy website; which on the face of things was less of the tongue-in-cheek of Leslie Nassar's fake §StephenConroy Twitter account and more of a knife between the ribs at the whole Internet Filtering debacle. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/30169/53/ Censorship: Don?t Stop Worrying Because Of Christmas It?s difficult not to assume that the timing of last week?s Internet censorship announcement was deliberate: who?s going to notice in the run-up to Christmas? But that?s no reason to ignore the issue. http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/12/censorship-dont-stop-worrying-because-of-christmas/ StephenConroy.com.au open letter to auDA Representatives of the 'fake' stephenconroy website have written an open letter to auDA's Chris Dispain, requesting an urgent reexamination of the site termination enacted on Friday last week. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/30177/53/ The swift takedown of stephenconroy.com.au The Fake Stephen Conroy website at stephenconroy.com.au that Crikey mentioned on Friday lasted just two days. At 5pm AEDT Friday it was taken offline by .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA), the industry self-regulatory body for Australian internet domains, who deleted the domain with less than three hours notice. http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/12/21/the-swift-takedown-of-stephenconroy-com-au/ VeriSign Announces Increase in .com/.net Domain Name Fees VeriSign, Inc., the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, today announced, effective July 1, 2010, an increase in registry domain name fees for .com and .net, per its agreements with ICANN. https://press.verisign.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=AFC0FF0DB5C560D3&version=live&prid=570292&releasejsp=custom_97 VeriSign Increases Registry Fee for .COM and .NET Domains VeriSign, the registry operator for .COM and .NET domain names announced this week that effective 1 July 2010 there will be an increase in registry domain name fees, effectively the wholesale price to registrars, for the Top Level Domains as per its agreements with ICANN. http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=9904 http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/12/18/verisign-increases-registry-fee-for-com-and-net-domains/ VeriSign Isn?t Stupid. That?s Why It?s Raising .Com Prices There has been a collective whine from the domainer community over the past 12 hours after news broke that VeriSign is increasing .com prices again. http://domainnamewire.com/2009/12/18/verisign-isnt-stupid-thats-why-its-raising-com-prices/ VeriSign Sends You An Early Christmas Present: .Com and .Net Fees To Increase 7% I Guess VeriSign just sent all of us an early Christmas present. My registrar just informed me that they received a notice today from VeriSign today that they were raising their fees by 7% on July 1, 2010. http://www.thedomains.com/2009/12/17/verisign-sends-you-an-early-christmas-present-com-and-net-fees-to-increase-7/comment-page-1/ VeriSign To Raise Fees For Internet Registry Domain Names [Dow Jones] VeriSign Inc. said it would raise fees for registry domain names, effective July 1, 2010. Shares jumped 9.3% to $24.25 in after-hours trading. The stock has gained 16% this year. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091217-714837.html China's Domain-Name Limits: Web Censorship? Two thousand and nine will not be remembered as the year Chinese censors decided to lighten up. This week, the Chinese agency that oversees the country's Internet domain name registry announced it will limit the system to use by businesses, effectively excluding private citizens from registering new domains. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1948283,00.html China Imposes New Internet Controls China?s government censors have taken fresh aim at the Internet, rolling out new measures that limit ordinary citizens? ability to set up personal Web sites and to view hundreds of other Web sites offering films, video games and other forms of entertainment. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/world/asia/18china.html http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_14028539 775 pornographic domain names shut down in five days Reporters learned from the national domain name complaint center of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) that since December 10, when the complaint hotline for pornographic domain names was made public, netizens have made quite a number of complaints. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/6845273.html EURid moving its mirror site to a ?green? data centre EURid is proud to announce that its operations will become a little ?greener?. In the spring of 2010, EURid?s mirror site will be hosted by the TelecityGroup in Amsterdam, at a data centre committed to energy efficiency. http://www.eurid.eu/en/content/eurid-moving-its-mirror-site-green-data-centre Global brands fail to get their .EU domains The dust has settled after EURid''s launch of IDN (Internationalized domain names - other characters than a-z) last Thursday Dec 10. 280 new characters were introduced such as Cyrillic characters and local Spanish, French and German characters. http://www.domainsdir.com/news/ShowItem.aspx?ID=21964 Black List of Latvian Spammers Did you know that nearly 90% of e-mails sent every day are spam? The largest part of those is blocked in the servers of your Internet and e-mail providers. These unwanted letters waste a notable part of server and Internet connection resources, as well as the time and resources of the user who receives many spam letters http://blw.cert.lv/?&lng=en_EN dotMobi announces unique mobile domain and keyword bundle for Chinese brands and businesses dotMobi, the company behind the .mobi top-level Internet domain, today announced the availability of its one-of-a-kind mobile keyword and .mobi domain bundle for Chinese brands and businesses, offered in partnership with China-based mobile keyword vendor Huarui. http://mtld.mobi/node/1618 .MX Domain Name Extension Now Available to Everyone The .MX domain name extension is no longer exclusive to Mexican government websites. Now any organization or business can take advantage of the shorter and more direct domain name to highlight their Mexican heritage or promote a Mexican themed business in marketing communications or company advertising. http://about.networksolutions.com/site/mx-domain-name-extension-now-available-to-everyone/ Registration of .nl domain names becomes faster and simpler Dot-nl domain names are registered using SIDN?s Domain Registration System (DRS). For several months, we have been working on a new version of the registration system, DRS5. The new system will enter use in February 2010. The switchover is significant mainly for SIDN?s registrars and for everything that goes on behind the scenes. Nevertheless, registrants may notice some changes as well. http://www.sidn.nl/ace.php/c,728,6220,,,,Registration_of_nl_domain_names_becomes_faster_and_simpler.html Parisian City TLD Project Public Launch The city of Paris has launched its online campaign for the .paris domain extension. http://www.newtldguide.com/2009/12/parisian-city-tld-project-public-launch.html ICANN grants UPU ?.post? top-level domain The Universal Postal Union (UPU) and ICANN have signed the contract that grants the UPU managing authority over the top-level domain name, .post (dot.post). http://postandparcel.info/30507/news/icann-grants-upu-?post?-top-level-domain/ ru: Attention for gTLD Registrants As requested by ICANN we are hereby informing you that in light of changing the RU-CENTER legal status, effective December 27, 2009 the party under ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RU-CENTER) will change its name from ANO "Regional Network Information Center" to JSC "Regional Network Information Center". http://www.nic.ru/news/en/2009/17.12.regl-ch.html .sg 10th-riskiest domain in the world THE next time you click on an unfamiliar website ending with .sg, think twice. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_468083.html http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20091218-186568.html ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** The Anatomy Of The Twitter Attack The Twitter document leak fiasco started with a simple story that personal accounts of Twitter employees were hacked. Twitter CEO Evan Williams commented on that story, saying that Twitter itself was mostly unaffected. No personal accounts were compromised, and ?most of the sensitive information was personal rather than company-related,? he said. The individual behind the attacks, known as Hacker Croll, wasn?t happy with that response. Lots of Twitter corporate information was compromised, and he wanted the world to know about it. So he sent us all of the documents that he obtained, some 310 of them, and the story developed from there. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/19/the-anatomy-of-the-twitter-attack/ The Anatomy of The Twitter Attack: Part II During and after Twittergate, when a hacker broke into a few hosted email accounts and obtained a number of internal documents, I had an opportunity to spend hours speaking to the actual attacker and document how he carried out the attack. The article was called The Anatomy of The Twitter Attack, and today we unfortunately find ourselves with a sequel to that post as the Twitter DNS servers were compromised last night and the site was redirected to a defacement page. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/18/anatomy-twitter-attack-2-dns-iran/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121802393.html Twitter hack by 'Iranian Cyber Army' is really just misdirection The "Twitter hack" by the "Iranian Cyber Army" turns out not to have been a hack of Twitter itself: instead they took aim at the DNS records for the site itself (though Twitter itself says in a blog post that API services - which contact the servers directly - were unaffected.) http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/dec/18/twitter-hack-iranian-cyber-army-dns-mowjcamp Web Attack on Twitter Is Third Assault This Year An online attack Friday morning on Twitter was the result of the simplest of security breaches: someone got the password to enter the master directory of Twitter?s Internet addresses and then redirected users to an alternate site instead. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/technology/internet/19twitter.html Twitter Disrupted by Web Attack Twitter was the target of a cyberattack Thursday that disrupted its microblogging service for many users, especially those accessing it directly through the company?s Web site. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/twitter-disrupted-by-web-attack/ Twitter hacked: 'Iranian Cyber Army' signs off with poem to Khamenei Hack attacks on Twitter and Iranian opposition websites are directing traffic to a web page created by the ?Iranian Cyber Army.? The page is all black with a green flag and red lettering that reads in English: ?This site has been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army." http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1218/Twitter-hacked-Iranian-Cyber-Army-signs-off-with-poem-to-Khamenei 'Iranian cyber army' hits Twitter Twitter has been hit by an embarrassing security breach. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8420233.stm Emerging Threats to Internet Security: Incentives, Externalities and Policy Implications by Brenden Kuerbis The Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management has published a new article by IGP's Michel van Eeten and Johnannes Bauer, Emerging Threats to Internet Security: Incentives, Externalities and Policy Implications. The paper, based in part on numerous interviews conducted with network operators, is particularly useful for cutting through the often analytically empty cybersecurity dialogue. Using a marginal security (law enforcement) vs. precluded-event security (national security) framework, the authors identify why the issue of botnets leads to such controversy when it comes to policy responses. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2009/12/15/4405318.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Chinese proposal to meter internet traffic China wants to meter all internet traffic that passes through its borders, it has emerged. The move would require international agreement - but it is being discussed by the United Nations body in charge of internet standards. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8417680.stm China plan to charge for cross-border internet traffic China has pitched a plan to the ITU that would allow operators to bill for cross-border internet traffic. http://www.telecomasia.net/content/china-plan-charge-cross-border-internet-traffic Centr: DNS Explained ... the movie! CENTR has produced an informative movie to explain the functioning of the Domain Name System (DNS). Within its first week on youtube the movie got more than 1,800 views. https://www.centr.org/main/news/5406-CTR.html Twitter?s DNS Compromised As per a tweet from Twitter?s Biz Stone last night followed by a blog post it appears that Twitter?s DNS servers have been compromised yesterday. The cracker redirected the DNS so it displayed a message from ?The Iranian Cyber Army?. http://www.domainnamenews.com/news/twitters-dns-compromised/6846 ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Made.com Manufactures 6-Figure Sale at Sedo to Sit Atop This Week's Domain Sales Leader Board Sedo.com posted the week's only reported six-figure sale to secure the pole position on our latest Top 20 Domain Sales chart. They did it with Made.com at a cool $130,000, a sale that helped Sedo pile up 12 of the 20 chart entries on the all-extension leader board. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2009/20091216.htm ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Chinese proposal to meter internet traffic China wants to meter all internet traffic that passes through its borders, it has emerged. The move would require international agreement - but it is being discussed by the United Nations body in charge of internet standards. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8417680.stm China plan to charge for cross-border internet traffic China has pitched a plan to the ITU that would allow operators to bill for cross-border internet traffic. http://www.telecomasia.net/content/china-plan-charge-cross-border-internet-traffic Google's subsidiaries allow company to avoid ?450m tax on UK advertising Google, which has an estimated 90% market share of UK internet searches, last year used a cross-border network of subsidiary companies to ensure it did not pay a penny in corporation tax on its ?1.6bn advertising revenues in Britain. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/20/google-avoids-450m-corporation-tax Google pays no tax on ?1.6bn in Britain Google, the internet giant whose informal corporate motto is ?don?t be evil?, did not pay any tax on its ?1.6 billion advertising revenues in Britain last year. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6962880.ece Newspapers and technology: How a new communications technology disrupted America?s newspaper industry-in 1845 Change is in the air. A new communications technology threatens a dramatic upheaval in America?s newspaper industry, overturning the status quo and disrupting the business model that has served the industry for years. This ?great revolution?, warns one editor, will mean that some publications ?must submit to destiny, and go out of existence.? With many American papers declaring bankruptcy in the past few months, their readers and advertisers lured away by cheaper alternatives on the internet, this doom-laden prediction sounds familiar. But it was in fact made in May 1845, when the revolutionary technology of the day was not the internet?but the electric telegraph. http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15108618 German newspaper publisher begins charging for online content Newspapers have been devastated by giving away their content online for free, according to the Axel Springer publishing company. Now it's adopting a new business model and charging for local news. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5019806,00.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2009 focuses on innovation What impact has the crisis had on innovation and spending on research and development? How can innovation help to solve environmental and social threats? The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2009 provides the data and analysis to answer these questions. http://www.oecd.org/document/0/0,3343,en_2649_37441_44267840_1_1_1_37441,00.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ nz: Tech to stop text bullying [The Dominion Post] Parents worried about text bullying can now download software that will let them control who can call and text their children. http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3179720/ Australia's cyber-predator threat An online sexual predator who flew to Westeran Australia and was caught climbing into a child's window is one of many disturbing cases recently revealed by Australian police. http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3176693/ au: Outcry on internet censorship The Federal Government's proposal for an internet filter faces a barrage of criticism, including from both sides of politics and a former High Court judge. http://www.theage.com.au/national/outcry-on-internet-censorship-20091216-kxhy.html IIA calls on ICT industry to help raise filter issues The Internet Industry Association (IIA) is calling on the ICT industry to submit information on any issues related to the Federal Government's controversial ISP-level Internet content filtering plan. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/330403/ Conroy's filter just the beginning commentary I used to believe that democracy was a process whereby the representatives we elect were there to represent the people. Stephen Conroy, the minister for Broadband and Communications, has taken this concept and trashed it in new and exciting ways. http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/security/soa/Conroy-s-filter-just-the-beginning/0,139023764,339300141,00.htm Open letter to Australia?s Prime Minister Dear Prime Minister, Reporters Without Borders, an organisation that defends free expression worldwide, would like to share with you its concern about your government?s plan to introduce a mandatory Internet filtering system. While it is essential to combat child sex abuse, pursuing this draconian filtering project is not the solution. If Australia were to introduce systematic online content filtering, with a relatively broad definition of the content targeted, it would be joining an Internet censors club that includes such countries as China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. http://www.rsf.org/Open-letter-to-Australia-s-Prime.html ISPs on the filter: Who's for, who's against ZDNet.com.au this week contacted all of Australia's largest ISPs regarding their stances on the government's internet filter. Almost every ISP supported the measure in some way, but iiNet and Internode were ambiguous in their responses. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/ISPs-on-the-filter-Who-s-for-who-s-against/0,130061791,339300109,00.htm Xenophon remains against filter As new Liberal shadow communications spokesperson Tony Smith ponders a clear stance on ISP filtering, while independent Nick Xenophon remains firmly against the plan. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Xenophon-remains-against-filter/0,130061791,339300097,00.htm auDA: No govt request to kill Conroy site Australian Domain Name Administrator (auDA) decided to place newly registered domain www.stephenconroy.com.au on the pending deletion list using its own procedures, not because of a request from the Communications Minister, the administrator said today. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/auDA-No-govt-request-to-kill-Conroy-site/0,130061791,339300152,00.htm Fake Stephen Conroy web site comes and goes in just two days Reports surfaced yesterday of a phony Stephen Conroy website; which on the face of things was less of the tongue-in-cheek of Leslie Nassar's fake §StephenConroy Twitter account and more of a knife between the ribs at the whole Internet Filtering debacle. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/30169/53/ Censorship: Don?t Stop Worrying Because Of Christmas It?s difficult not to assume that the timing of last week?s Internet censorship announcement was deliberate: who?s going to notice in the run-up to Christmas? But that?s no reason to ignore the issue. http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/12/censorship-dont-stop-worrying-because-of-christmas/ StephenConroy.com.au open letter to auDA Representatives of the 'fake' stephenconroy website have written an open letter to auDA's Chris Dispain, requesting an urgent reexamination of the site termination enacted on Friday last week. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/30177/53/ The swift takedown of stephenconroy.com.au The Fake Stephen Conroy website at stephenconroy.com.au that Crikey mentioned on Friday lasted just two days. At 5pm AEDT Friday it was taken offline by .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA), the industry self-regulatory body for Australian internet domains, who deleted the domain with less than three hours notice. http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/12/21/the-swift-takedown-of-stephenconroy-com-au/ Spoof Conroy website protests at internet filter plan He wants to censor the internet but what will Communications Minister Stephen Conroy do about a spoof website that uses his own name to protest against the Government's internet filtering policy? http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/spoof-conroy-website-protests-at-internet-filter-plan-20091218-l1bn.html http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/spoof-conroy-website-protests-at-internet-filter-plan-20091218-l1bn.html http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/spoof-conroy-website-protests-at-internet-filter-plan-20091218-l1bn.html Internet filtering: first step on the path to Burma? It?s a strange day indeed when retired Justice Michael Kirby and Fox News sing from the same hymn sheet. Senator Stephen Conroy?s internet censorship plans have created that day. http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/12/17/internet-filtering-first-step-on-the-path-to-burma/ Australia Internet filtering a test case for global clean-feed Implementation of the Federal Government?s ISP-level filtering could spark worldwide adoption of Internet content filtering, according to IDC head telecommunications analyst, David Cannon. http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/330013/ The Intenet filter, Human Services and probably Telstra Smells a little bit doesn't it? A bit off. A bit pungent. A bit too strategic. And that's being nice. This week, as the kiddies headed off on school holidays and the Christmas silly season really got into the swing, the Federal Government decided it was time to announce its intentions to go ahead with the controversial ISP-level Internet content filter. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/330342/ us: FTC Cybersafety Booklet for Parents and Kids Now Available A new booklet released today by the Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies helps parents and teachers steer kids safely through the online and mobile phone worlds. http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/netcetera.shtm FTC Chairman Joins Education Secretary and FCC Chairman to Introduce Online Safety Booklet for Parents Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will visit Jefferson Middle School in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Dec. 16 to introduce Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online. The booklet is a guide for parents as they teach and help children navigate the Internet. A Spanish-speaking representative will be available for media interviews. http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/netceterama.shtm Young People in a Digital World 2010 - Preparing, Supporting and Inspiring WISE KIDS is pleased to announce that we are organising two, one-day conferences in Wales together with the Wales Internet Safety Partnership (WISP) entitled Young People in a Digital World 2010 - Preparing, Supporting and Inspiring, on the 1st and 3rd of February at the Swansea DVLA Richard Ley Building and the Technium Cast Bangor respectively. These conferences are also held in part to support European Safer Internet Day which is on the 9th of February 2010. The conferences will have similar, though not identical programmes. Whilst covering some awareness issues, they will focus on implementation: what government, industry and professionals are doing to prepare, support and inspire young people as they live in an increasingly digitally connected world; to ensure that they are able to use these technologies effectively, innovatively and safely. http://www.wisekids.org.uk/conf2010/ Insafe launches back to school campaign Back to school campaign successfully targets issues of validity and bias online and provides schools with resources to kick start online safety education. http://www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/blog?p_p_id=homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1&_homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet_action=detail&_homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet_articleId=27972 Teachtoday website launched English and German sites are launched to help teachers protect themselves (and their pupils) online. Other language versions will be available soon. http://www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/blog?p_p_id=homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_pos=2&p_p_col_count=3&_homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet_action=detail&_homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet_articleId=27982 Greece promotes online safety within the school curriculum 99% of Greek educators believe that online safety should be taught in school, but say that digitally illiterate parents and teachers present a barrier. http://www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/blog?p_p_id=homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1&_homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet_action=detail&_homeBlog_WAR_insafeportlet_articleId=19156 ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** uk: No decrease in illegal downloading, says BPI The number of people downloading music illegally is not decreasing, despite the availability of new legal services, according to a music industry research. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8420484.stm Cyber criminals eye file sharing networks: Kaspersky Lab This year is on its way out and seemingly cybercriminals are also planning their year ahead. Secure content management solutions developer Kaspersky Lab has outlined the threats it expects to see in 2010 as a result of cybercriminal activity. http://mis-asia.com/news/articles/cyber-criminals-eye-file-sharing-networks-kaspersky-lab http://www.pcworld.com/article/185177/.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** us: Callers of all incomes ditching landlines for cell [AP] The number of households with cell phones but no landlines continues to grow, but the recession doesn't seem to be forcing poor cellular users to abandon their traditional wired phones any faster than higher-income people are. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121601790.html Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Device Sales on Pace for Flat Growth in 2009, End User Sales to Increase 9 Per Cent in 2010 [news release] Stronger than expected sales in Western Europe and an acceleration in the grey market in the third quarter of this year will drive worldwide mobile device sales to end users to 1.214 billion units, a 0.67 per cent decline from 2008, according to the latest outlook by Gartner, Inc. In September, Gartner had forecast sales to decline 3.7 per cent in 2009. Gartner now predicts sales in 2010 will show a 9 per cent increase from 2009. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1256113 Gartner Says Mobile Device Sales Flat in 2009 Worldwide mobile handset sales in 2009 will come in at about even with 2008 according to a report from Gartner, which is an improvement over earlier projections that sales would decline compared to last year. http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3853656/Gartner+Says+Mobile+Device+Sales+Flat+in+2009.htm ********************** SPAM ********************** au: Error opens spam floodgates SPAMMERS gained access to a Federal Government mailing list this morning after a blunder by a public servant overloaded email inboxes across the country. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,26502404-3102,00.html au: Anti-spam investigators eye more targets to prosecute ANTI-spam and cyber scam investigators are stepping up their caseload, with more than 20 investigations under way, after success in two major cases this week. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,26500071-952,00.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Google execs face prison over user-generated video in Italy The city state of Milan is prosecuting Google for defamation and breach of privacy after a video showing a down-syndrome boy being attacked by bullies was posted on the search engine's video site. Yesterday (16 December), four Google executives were in the stands protesting their innocence under EU laws on Internet freedom. http://euractiv.com/en/infosociety/google-execs-face-prison-user-generated-video/article-188420 nz: R v the Internet: video & audio available Video and audio recordings from the recently-held ?R v the Internet Seminar? are now available at http://www.r2.co.nz/20091203. The Seminar, co-hosted by InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc), the Law Commission and the Ministry of Justice, focused on issues around suppression orders, contempt of court and the Internet. http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/media-releases-2009/r-v-the-internet-video-audio-available Twitter hack by 'Iranian Cyber Army' is really just misdirection The "Twitter hack" by the "Iranian Cyber Army" turns out not to have been a hack of Twitter itself: instead they took aim at the DNS records for the site itself (though Twitter itself says in a blog post that API services - which contact the servers directly - were unaffected.) http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/dec/18/twitter-hack-iranian-cyber-army-dns-mowjcamp Web Attack on Twitter Is Third Assault This Year An online attack Friday morning on Twitter was the result of the simplest of security breaches: someone got the password to enter the master directory of Twitter?s Internet addresses and then redirected users to an alternate site instead. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/technology/internet/19twitter.html Twitter Disrupted by Web Attack Twitter was the target of a cyberattack Thursday that disrupted its microblogging service for many users, especially those accessing it directly through the company?s Web site. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/twitter-disrupted-by-web-attack/ Twitter hacked: 'Iranian Cyber Army' signs off with poem to Khamenei Hack attacks on Twitter and Iranian opposition websites are directing traffic to a web page created by the ?Iranian Cyber Army.? The page is all black with a green flag and red lettering that reads in English: ?This site has been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army." http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1218/Twitter-hacked-Iranian-Cyber-Army-signs-off-with-poem-to-Khamenei 'Iranian cyber army' hits Twitter Twitter has been hit by an embarrassing security breach. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8420233.stm The Anatomy Of The Twitter Attack The Twitter document leak fiasco started with a simple story that personal accounts of Twitter employees were hacked. Twitter CEO Evan Williams commented on that story, saying that Twitter itself was mostly unaffected. No personal accounts were compromised, and ?most of the sensitive information was personal rather than company-related,? he said. The individual behind the attacks, known as Hacker Croll, wasn?t happy with that response. Lots of Twitter corporate information was compromised, and he wanted the world to know about it. So he sent us all of the documents that he obtained, some 310 of them, and the story developed from there. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/19/the-anatomy-of-the-twitter-attack/ The Anatomy of The Twitter Attack: Part II During and after Twittergate, when a hacker broke into a few hosted email accounts and obtained a number of internal documents, I had an opportunity to spend hours speaking to the actual attacker and document how he carried out the attack. The article was called The Anatomy of The Twitter Attack, and today we unfortunately find ourselves with a sequel to that post as the Twitter DNS servers were compromised last night and the site was redirected to a defacement page. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/18/anatomy-twitter-attack-2-dns-iran/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121802393.html Emerging Threats to Internet Security: Incentives, Externalities and Policy Implications by Brenden Kuerbis The Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management has published a new article by IGP's Michel van Eeten and Johnannes Bauer, Emerging Threats to Internet Security: Incentives, Externalities and Policy Implications. The paper, based in part on numerous interviews conducted with network operators, is particularly useful for cutting through the often analytically empty cybersecurity dialogue. Using a marginal security (law enforcement) vs. precluded-event security (national security) framework, the authors identify why the issue of botnets leads to such controversy when it comes to policy responses. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2009/12/15/4405318.html ************************** PRIVACY ************************** US Privacy Group Files Complaint on Facebook Changes In a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday, a privacy organization is charging that Facebook?s recent changes to its privacy policies constitute ?unfair and deceptive trade practices.? http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/privacy-group-files-complaint-on-facebook-privacy-changes/ Privacy groups challenge Facebook on new settings Ten privacy groups in the US have filed a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission over Facebook's new privacy settings. They argue that privacy on the social networking site has been adversely affected as the firm encourages users to open up their profiles. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8420431.stm Facebook Target of FTC Privacy Complaint Ten privacy groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over recent changes to Facebook's privacy policy. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9142467/Facebook_Target_of_FTC_Privacy_Complaint Privacy Group Files Complaint To FTC About Facebook A group that advocates Internet privacy has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over Facebook's decision to open more of its members' information to public view unless they actively take steps to limit their data's exposure. http://www.darkreading.com/security/privacy/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002624 Swiss and Google reach privacy accord pending verdict [AFP] Google has agreed not to put pictures of Switzerland on its "Street View" picture map under a provisional accord to end a privacy battle with Swiss authorities, the government said Friday. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/swiss-and-google-reach-privacy-accord-pending-verdict-20091219-l61p.html http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/swiss-and-google-reach-privacy-accord-pending-verdict-20091219-l61p.html Have Yourself a Little Privacy this Holiday, says Privacy Commissioner of Canada As Canadians of all ages receive gifts this holiday season that will enable them to connect with each other and go online, they need to be smart about protecting their personal information, says Canada?s Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart. http://www.priv.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2009/nr-c_091218_e.cfm As Going Gets Tough, Nokia Brings Out Legal Guns When Nokia, the world?s largest mobile phone maker, sued Apple, Samsung, LG and eight other competitors within six weeks beginning in October, the Finnish technology giant said it was conducting a routine defense of its intellectual property. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/technology/companies/21iht-nokia.html ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** China Imposes New Internet Controls China?s government censors have taken fresh aim at the Internet, rolling out new measures that limit ordinary citizens? ability to set up personal Web sites and to view hundreds of other Web sites offering films, video games and other forms of entertainment. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/world/asia/18china.html http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_14028539 China's Domain-Name Limits: Web Censorship? Two thousand and nine will not be remembered as the year Chinese censors decided to lighten up. This week, the Chinese agency that oversees the country's Internet domain name registry announced it will limit the system to use by businesses, effectively excluding private citizens from registering new domains. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1948283,00.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** EU plans to make high-speed Internet compulsory The incoming Spanish EU Presidency wants to extend universal service requirements to broadband Internet, making it compulsory for member states to make the service available in every corner of their territory. The move is aimed at improving Web access in rural areas but has raised a number of concerns for the telecoms industry. http://euractiv.com/en/infosociety/eu-plans-high-speed-internet-compulsory/article-188448 European Commission urges German telecoms regulator to create better conditions for competition in the retail access market The European Commission has sent a letter to the German telecoms regulator, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), calling on it to make the provision of fixed subscriber lines more competitive. Today the market is still dominated by the incumbent operator, Deutsche Telekom (DT). http://www.broadband-europe.eu/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemID=676 InternetNZ welcomes improvements to Section 92A InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) has welcomed today's announcement by Hon Simon Power of proposed improvements to section 92A of the Copyright Act 1994. http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/media-releases-2009/internetnz-welcomes-improvements-to-section-92a New Zealand Releases Revamped Three Strikes Proposal The New Zealand government has released a revamped three strikes proposal that incorporates full court hearings and the possibility of financial penalties. A prior proposal, which would have resulted in subscriber access being terminated without court oversight, was dropped earlier this year following public protest. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4622/125/ Microsoft lets in rivals to end 10-year web browser war with EU regulators Microsoft has ended more than a decade of wrangling with European Union regulators by agreeing to let Windows users surf the web using rival applications. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/16/microsoft-browser-war-eu-regulators FCC issues proposals to meet national broadband plan The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday unveiled a laundry list of proposals to meet a congressional mandate to give every U.S. home access to high-speed Internet service. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121603916.html New European Telecoms Rules enter into force New EU telecoms rules will officially become EU law tomorrow following their publication in today's Official Journal of the European Union. The new rules composed of the Better Regulation Directive and the Citizens? Rights Directive will need to be transposed into national laws of the 27 EU Member States by June 2011. The new Regulation establishing the new European Telecoms Authority called "Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)" is directly applicable and will enter into force in 20 days. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1966 uk: Expert claims file-sharing Bill could give Government control of the internet The Digital Economy Bill would give the Government the power to control the internet access of UK citizens by ministerial order, bypassing Parliament and without an adequate right of appeal, according to one legal expert. http://out-law.com/page-10613 Three strikes for NZ pirates The New Zealand Government has announced a lighter plan to crackdown on internet piracy. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Three-strikes-for-NZ-pirates/0,130061791,339300112,00.htm ********************************* MISCELLANEOUS ********************************* Fine for Google over French books A Paris court has found Google guilty of copyright infringement in a ruling which could have ramifications for its plans to digitise the world's books. The search giant must pay 300,000 euros (?266,000) in damages and interest to French publisher La Martiniere. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8420876.stm Google Loses in French Copyright Case A French court ruled on Friday that Google infringed copyrights by digitizing books and putting extracts online without authorization, dealing a setback to its embattled book project. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/technology/companies/19google.html Google Book Search violates French copyright law Google's preferred way of indexing information?doing it without permission, relying on fair use or fair dealing laws?has run into yet another spot of trouble in Western Europe. A French court has just ruled that the advertising giant must pay ?300,000 in damages to a French publishing group for scanning, indexing, and displaying snippets of its work as part of Google Book Search. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/12/google-book-search-violates-french-copyright-law.ars ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Singapore cracks down on telecom contracts, termination fees [IDG] Telecommunication regulators in Singapore issued new guidelines governing contract terms and early termination fees for mobile and broadband services in a bid to make the city-state's telecommunications industry more competitive. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/121609-singapore-cracks-down-on-telecom.html Changes in the Australian VoIP market Changes in the Australian VoIP market examines the supply and demand of VoIP in Australia. This report also provides an update of the Australian Communications and Media Authority?s (the ACMA) The Australian VoIP Market report published in April 2008. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311987 ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION ********************************** nz: Repeat porn offender jailed A joint operation involving the Department of Internal Affairs and the Victoria police sexual crimes squad resulted in a Dunedin repeat porn offender being jailed for three and a half years today. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10616851 Dunedin man jailed for porn, sexual grooming A joint operation involving the Department of Internal Affairs and the Victoria police sexual crimes squad resulted in a Dunedin repeat porn offender being jailed for three and a half years today. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/86941/dunedin-man-jailed-porn-sexual-grooming +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2009 --------- David Goldstein email: goldstein_david§yahoo.com.au web: http://davidgoldstein.tel/ http://goldsteinreport.com/ phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/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 __________________________________________________________________________________ See what's on at the movies in your area. Find out now: http://au.movies.yahoo.com/session-times/Received on Mon Dec 21 2009 - 01:57:00 UTC
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