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Study on Whois Privacy & Proxy Service Abuse
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/whois-pp-abuse-study-24sep13-en.htm>

ICANN Makes Major Infrastructure Donation to DNS-OARC in Support of High-Risks Strings Collisions Study
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/icann-makes-major-infrastructure-donation-to-dns-oarc-in-support-of-high-risks-strings-collisions-study/>

ICANN Opens GNSO Whois Study on Privacy/Proxy Abuse for Comment
<https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/icann-opens-gnso-whois-study-on-privacyproxy-abuse-for-comment/>

ICANN and Your Internet Abuse by Garth Bruen
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130924_icann_and_your_internet_abuse/>

European ccTLD Growth Slowing But Still Higher Than gTLDs
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/26/european-cctld-growth-slowing/>

au: Pig site sparks debate
<http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/livestock/other/pig-site-sparks-debate/2672466.aspx>

DENIC CEO Sabine Dolderer to Step Down in February 2014
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/23/denic-ceo-step-down-february-2014/>

ICANN to publish new gTLD contract changes
<http://domainincite.com/14550-icann-to-publish-new-gtld-contract-changes>

Donuts? trademark block list goes live, pricing revealed
<http://domainincite.com/14546-donuts-trademark-block-list-goes-live-pricing-revealed>

Phishers Take Advantage Of Lax Domain Sellers With .COM, .TK And .INFO Accounting For 82% Of Phishing Domains
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/24/com-tk-and-info-phishing-domains/>

Australia lags rest of world as malware, phishing, Bitcoin mining target: F-Secure [CSO]
<http://www.cso.com.au/article/527442/australia_lags_rest_world_malware_phishing_bitcoin_mining_target_f-secure/>


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GOVERNANCE
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ICT stakeholders discuss emerging issues on African cyber security
Workshop panelists at the African Internet Governance Forum (AFIGF) discussed cyber security when the Nairobi conference kicked off today.
<http://www.humanipo.com/news/32773/ict-stakeholders-discuss-emerging-issues-on-cyber-security/>

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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Study on Whois Privacy & Proxy Service Abuse
Purpose (Brief): This study, conducted by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the United Kingdom, analyzes gTLD domain names to measure whether the percentage of privacy/proxy use among domains engaged in illegal or harmful Internet activities is significantly greater than among domain names used for lawful Internet activities. Furthermore, this study compares these privacy/proxy percentages to other methods used to obscure identity ? notably, Whois phone numbers that are invalid.
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/whois-pp-abuse-study-24sep13-en.htm>

ICANN Makes Major Infrastructure Donation to DNS-OARC in Support of High-Risks Strings Collisions Study
The DNS?s Operations, Analysis and Research Center (DNS-OARC) was created nearly a decade ago in recognition that the DNS?s key position in the Internet?s architecture made it at significant risk of being both a victim and vehicle for various types of misuse. DNS-OARC was however inspired by a vision that co-operation, together with data gathering, sharing and analysis between the operator and research communities could both protect against such misuse, and lead to a deeper understanding of the DNS and Internet operations.
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/icann-makes-major-infrastructure-donation-to-dns-oarc-in-support-of-high-risks-strings-collisions-study/>

Pre-Delegation Testing Resources Updated
ICANN has updated the Pre-Delegation Testing (PDT) Resources. The changes are considered minor and affect a small number of the test cases in the Domain Name System (DNS), Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) and Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) sections.
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-2-24sep13-en>

New Contracting Statistics and Information on Registry Agreement Redlines
During the New gTLD Program Applicant Update webinar held on 19 September 2013, a participant asked whether ICANN would publish redline versions of executed Registry Agreements. ICANN responded, stating that it did not intend to publish such redlines.
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-24sep13-en>

Shweta Sahjwani and Jay Westerdal, Radix Registry; Fegistry, LLC, to Cherine Chalaby, Fadi Chehad?, and Christine Willett
Concerns Relating to the Community Objection Process
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/sahjwani-westerdal-to-chalaby-et-al-24sep13-en>

Building on APAC Engagement by Kuek Yu-Chuang
After opening ICANN?s new engagement office in Singapore, my first opportunity to attend a regional conference and engage with stakeholders was constructive and inspiring.
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/09/building-on-apac-engagement/>

Shweta Sahjwani, Reg Levy, and Jay Westerdal, Radix Registry; Top Level Domain Holdings / Minds & Machines; Fegistry, LLC, to Cherine Chalaby, Fadi Chehad?, and Christine Willett
Concerns Relating to the Community Objection Process
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/sahjwani-et-al-to-chalaby-et-al-23sep13-en>

Christine Willett, Vice President, gTLD Operations | ICANN, to Craig Schwartz
Rights Protection Mechanisms for New gTLDs
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/willett-to-schwartz-24sep13-en>

ICANN Opens GNSO Whois Study on Privacy/Proxy Abuse for Comment
ICANN has opened the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Whois study on privacy/proxy abuse for public comment. Performed by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), this study is one of many commissioned by the GNSO to examine the current, disparate, and often maligned registration directory service, and aims to measure the hypothesis that ?a significant percentage of the domain names used to conduct illegal or harmful Internet activities are registered via privacy and proxy services to obscure the perpetrator?s identity.?
<https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/icann-opens-gnso-whois-study-on-privacyproxy-abuse-for-comment/>

ICANN and Your Internet Abuse by Garth Bruen
In spite of the material we were presented with in Durban something has gone very wrong inside of ICANN Compliance. KnujOn has published a report which demonstrates that ICANN Compliance appears to completely collapse between September 2012 and December 2012. Following December 2012, ICANN seems to stop responding to or processing any complaints. It is around this time certain compliance employees start disappearing. This was not limited to the Sydney office as some would have us believe.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130924_icann_and_your_internet_abuse/>

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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European ccTLD Growth Slowing But Still Higher Than gTLDs
It may have a reputation for being one of the TLDs with the most phishing domains, but the number of .tk (Tokelau) domain names under management continues to soar. Registrations grew by 13.9 percent in the quarter ending August, according to the latest Centr DomainWire StatReport, with total registrations reaching 19.1 million for the ccTLD whose domain names are given away for free.
<http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=21068>
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/26/european-cctld-growth-slowing/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/european-cctld-growth-slowing-but-still-higher-than-gtlds.html>

au: Pig site sparks debate
AUSTRALIAN Pork Limited (APL) has taken action against a website run by Animal Liberation which claims to expose the "inside story" on intensive livestock management practices. APL filed a complaint with Domain Administration (auDA), the policy authority and industry self-regulatory body for the .au domain space, citing concerns about the spread of misinformation on industry practices. 
<http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/livestock/other/pig-site-sparks-debate/2672466.aspx>

DENIC Chief Executive Officer Sabine Dolderer to Step Down in February 2014
DENIC CEO Sabine Dolderer announced today that she will not extend her standing contract at DENIC eG, the managing organization and central registry of the .DE domain, but leave DENIC?s Executive Board at the end of February, 2014.
<http://www.denic.de/en/denic-in-dialogue/press-releases/press/3741.html>

DENIC CEO Sabine Dolderer to Step Down in February 2014
DENIC CEO Sabine Dolderer announced Monday she will be stepping down from her position of CEO of DENIC, the German ccTLD manager, as well as leaving DENIC?s Executive Board at the end of February 2014.
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/23/denic-ceo-step-down-february-2014/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/denic-ceo-sabine-dolderer-to-step-down-in-february-2014.html>

Denic CEO to step down in February 2014
Germany-based domain name registrar Denic CEO Sabine Dolderer will not extend her standing contract at Denic eG, the managing organisation and central registry of the .DE domain, but leave Denic's executive board at the end of February 2014.
<http://www.telecompaper.com/news/denic-ceo-to-step-down-in-february-2014--968678>

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 - NEW TLDS
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ICANN to publish new gTLD contract changes
ICANN has decided to start publishing red-lined versions of its new gTLD Registry Agreements, so applicants can see what special terms ICANN is willing to accept.
<http://domainincite.com/14550-icann-to-publish-new-gtld-contract-changes>

Donuts? trademark block list goes live, pricing revealed
Donuts? Domain Protected Marks List, which gives trademark owners the ability to defensively block their marks across the company?s whole portfolio of gTLDs, has gone live.
<http://domainincite.com/14546-donuts-trademark-block-list-goes-live-pricing-revealed>

Calculators at the ready? Donuts' gTLDs Domain Protected Marks List launches, likely costs emerge
Last week WTR reported on Donuts? plans to operate a Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) in the new gTLD strings it runs. The largest investor applicant in new gTLDs, having initially bid for 307 strings, the company has now officially launched its offering, which is designed to enable mark owners to block trademarks across multiple strings for one fee.
<http://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/daily/detail.aspx?g=a027239e-252e-4d6c-b999-37b6a9bdb131>

Donuts Launches Trademark Protection Service Across All Its gTLDs
Donuts have launched a service to protect trademarks in new gTLDs. The service is being touted as a cost-effective means of protecting trademarks ?at a fraction of the cost of ?defensive? domain name registrations.?
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/26/donuts-trademark-protection/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/donuts-launches-trademark-protection-service-across-all-its-gtlds.html>

Block your trademark on 200+ top level domains for $600 a year
Donuts, applicant for over 300 TLDs, has launched its ?Domains Protected Marks List? offering to trademark holders.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/25/block-your-trademark-on-200-top-level-domains-for-600-a-year/>

Companies flocking to .africa domain
The world?s largest brands have been among the first to acquire domain names ending with the new extension .africa.com. ?In the first few weeks since we started offering domains, trademark and brand owners have quickly picked up their domains including twitter.africa.com, starbucks.africa.com, ibm.africa.com, evian.africa.com, standardbank.africa.com, lego.africa.com, marksandspencer.africa.com, emirates.africa.com, philips.africa.com, miele.africa.com, and the list goes on and on,? says Ope Odusan, Managing Director, Africa.com Domains.
<http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2013/09/companies-flocking-to-africa-domain/>

Comparing private vs. last resort new TLD auctions
There have been two rounds of private auctions (that we know about) to settle TLD contention sets.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/23/comparing-private-vs-last-resort-new-tld-auctions/>

GTLD Applicants Combine To Voice Criticisms Of Community Objection Process
A number of applicants for new gTLDs have written to ICANN expressing their ?grave concerns relating to the Community Objection process?, saying they believe the Expert Panels ?do not have any prior experience with the new gTLD programme or a deep understanding of the Applicant Guidebook (AGB).?
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/24/gtld-applicants-criticisms-community-objection-process/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/gtld-applicants-combine-to-voice-criticisms-of-community-objection-process.html>

OpenRegistry gets ?2m financing
New gTLD registry services provider OpenRegistry has secured ?2 million ($2.7 million) in financing, the company announced yesterday.
<http://domainincite.com/14538-openregistry-gets-e2m-financing>

Authentic Web wants to be dot-brands? pocket registrar
Toronto-based start-up Authentic Web launched today with a set of workflow automation tools for dot-brand gTLD registries.
<http://domainincite.com/14552-authentic-web-wants-to-be-dot-brands-pocket-registrar>

Authentic Web Launches Platform For Brands To Manage Their New gTLDs
Authentic Web is today launching the first domain name registry platform for internal use to help give brand owners the control and visibility to efficiently manage a global closed domain portfolio. The goal of the platform is to remove the complexity from closed domain management and enabling stakeholders to take control of their registry.
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/25/authentic-web/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/authentic-web-launches-platform-for-brands-to-manage-their-new-gtlds.html>

Authentic Web wants to make .brand domains easier for corporations
Most large companies have a process in place for registering new domain names. This may get more complex when brands secure their own TLDs, such as .ford and .deloitte.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/25/authentic-web-wants-to-make-brand-domains-easier-for-corporations/>

Google beats Donuts in .Games top level domain name dispute
Donuts has lost another string confusion objection for a plural domain name, this time .games.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/24/google-beats-donuts-in-games-top-level-domain-name-dispute/>

With .Sex, more proof the ICDR doesn?t have its act together
So I?m going through the updated list of string confusion objection decisions when I think I?ve hit a great story: SX Registry SA has prevailed in its string confusion objection against the .sex domain name!
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/24/with-sex-more-proof-the-icdr-doesnt-have-its-act-together/>

.Axis TLD appears dead after WIPO decision
World Intellectual Property Organization has made a determination that it will not accept a late response to a Legal Rights Objection against .axis, thereby effectively killing off Saudi Telecom Company?s bid for the TLD.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/24/axis-tld-appears-dead-after-wipo-decision/>

Nine more new gTLD contracts signed
ICANN signed nine more new gTLD Registry Agreements yesterday.
<http://domainincite.com/14536-nine-more-new-gtld-contracts-signed>

dotShabaka Diary ? Day 14, Writing an RRA
The fourteenth installment of dotShabaka Registry?s journal, charting its progress towards becoming one of the first new gTLDs to go live, written by general manager Yasmin Omer.
<http://domainincite.com/14534-dotshabaka-diary-day-14-writing-an-rra>

Are These The 107 New gTLD Extensions Donuts Partnered With Demand Media On?
Donuts.co which applied for 307 new gTLD strings has stated all along that they were in partnership with Demand Media (DMD) on 107 of the applications.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/24/are-these-the-107-new-gtld-extensions-donuts-partnered-with-demand-media-on/>

Domain name registry OpenRegistry picks up 2M EUR financing
OpenRegistryDomain name registry OpenRegistry announced today that it is raising 2M euro.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/23/domain-name-registry-openregistry-picks-up-2m-eur-financing/>

Radix, TLDH & Westerdal Asks ICANN To Suspend All Pending Expert Panels In New gTLD Process
Three large applicants to the new gTLD program sent a letter to ICANN yesterday to complaint about the Experts appointed by The Dispute Resolution Service Providers relating to the Community Objection process especially those at the ICC and asked ICANN to ?ask all contracted arbitrators to temporarily suspend their decision making until ICANN can conduct a basic level of training for the actual Expert Panels on the AGB guidelines and their interpretations.?
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/24/radix-tldh-westerdal-asks-icann-to-suspend-all-pending-expert-panels-in-new-gtld-process/>

Microsoft, Verisign & Yahoo! Sends Joint Letter To ICANN: We Want An Update On Name Collision Mitigation Plan
In a joint letter Microsoft, Verisign and Yahoo! urged ICANN to study the Collission Mitigation Plan before allowing any.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/23/microsoft-verisign-and-yahoo-send-joint-letter-to-icann-on-name-collision-mitigation-plan/>

Wow, United Domains is all in with New TLDs
We know that new TLDs are a growth opportunity for domain name registrars. But should domain name registrars forgo current registrations in favor of promoting future registrations of new domains like order.pizza and play.games?
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/25/united-domains-new-tlds/>

New gTLD .XYZ Rolls Out Site Out In German
Citing a ?great response from the German market? the new gTLD .XYZ has launched their site in German as well.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/25/xyz-rolls-site-out-in-german/>

Registrars Where You Can Place Pre-Reservations On New gTLD Domain Names
After I wrote the post that 1and1.com topped over 2 Million new gTLD domain name pre-reservations (actually now over 2.15) I got a few emails of people asking me what other registrars are and are not taking pre-reservations.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/09/25/registrars-where-you-can-place-pre-reservations-on-new-gtld-domain-names/>

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Phishers Take Advantage Of Lax Domain Sellers With .COM, .TK And .INFO Accounting For 82% Of Phishing Domains
Inattentive or indifferent domain name registries, registrars and resellers are contributing to the problem of phishing according to the latest Domain Name Use and Trends 1H2013 report from the Anti Phishing Working Group.
<http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=21063>
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/09/24/com-tk-and-info-phishing-domains/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/phishers-take-advantage-of-lax-domain-sellers-with-com-tk-and-info-accounting-for-4-in-5-phishing-domains.html>

NIST's updates guidelines for securing the DNS
The Domain Name System provides a global system for translating user-friendly Internet domain names to machine-friendly numeric IP addresses. Securing this service is essential to the integrity of the Internet, as the Syrian Electronic Army?s recent attacks on the New York Times and Twitter have shown. The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently updated its guidance for securing DNS in the government enterprise.
<http://gcn.com/articles/2013/09/23/nist-dns-guidelines.aspx>

Destructive Attacks On Oil And Gas Industry A Wake-Up Call
Some 30,000 or so hard drives were scrapped and replaced with new ones last year on Saudi Aramco's internal corporate network after a massive cyberattack destroyed data on the oil and natural gas company's Windows machines. While the massive attack didn't directly affect Saudi Aramco's oil production and exploration systems, it raised the stakes for the increasingly targeted oil and gas industry and also raised concerns of possible market fallout from attacks.
<http://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/destructive-attacks-on-oil-and-gas-indus/240161700>

Encryption is still the best defense, despite NSA code-cracking
Though the National Security Agency spends billions of dollars to crack encryption codes, security experts maintain that, properly implemented, encryption is still the best way to secure data.
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242524/Encryption_is_still_the_best_defense_despite_NSA_code_cracking>

White House Wades into Piracy Legislation Debate
Officials with the Obama administration said the White House will not support anti-piracy bills that endanger cybersecurity or freedom of expression on the Web.
<http://threatpost.com/white-house-wades-piracy-legislation-debate-011512/76099>

U.S. officials woo tech companies in new push for cybersecurity law
Senior U.S. officials on Wednesday sought to mend fences with the technology industry as they renewed their pleas for legislation to increase the flow of information about cyber attacks between federal agencies and private companies.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/09/25/cybersecurity-law-idINDEE98O0CS20130925>
<http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/09/25/uk-cybersecurity-law-idUKBRE98O14R20130925>

UK businesses express concerns about mandatory reporting of cyber security incidents
UK businesses have expressed "significant concern" about draft new EU rules which would force them to report some cyber security incidents they experience.
<http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2013/september/uk-businesses-express-concerns-about-mandatory-reporting-of-cyber-security-incidents/>

Google to Block Many Plug-Ins Starting in 2014
Google is planning a major changes in the way that Chrome handles many plug-ins. Beginning early next year, Chrome will no longer support the old Netscape Plug-In API and will block plug-ins that use it.
<http://threatpost.com/google-to-block-many-plug-ins-starting-in-2014/102393>

Dropbox Argues to Publish Number of National Security Letter Requests
Dropbox filed an amicus brief with the FISA court, looking for permission to publish the number of National Security Letter requests it receives.
<http://threatpost.com/dropbox-argues-to-publish-number-of-national-security-letter-requests/102400>

How Google could have made the Web secure and failed -- again
Google confirmed this week it has made a change to better protect the privacy of how people search. However, it left loopholes in that protection and once again failed to seize an opportunity to encourage all sites to go secure.
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-33620_3-57604604-278/how-google-could-have-made-the-web-secure-and-failed-again/>

Australia lags rest of world as malware, phishing, Bitcoin mining target: F-Secure [CSO]
An F-Secure Response Labs analysis found Australia and the Asia-Pacific region are well below European metrics in areas such as phishing, penetration by a diversity of exploit kits, targeting by advanced persistent threats (APTs) and exploitation of systems for Bitcoin mining.
<http://www.cso.com.au/article/527442/australia_lags_rest_world_malware_phishing_bitcoin_mining_target_f-secure/>

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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JetGo guilty of RDNH after filing ?seriously misleading? case against Frank Schilling
Frank Schilling?s Name Administration has successfully defended another UDRP filed against one of its domain names. The three person UDRP panel also found the complainant guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. JetGo Australia, an airplane charter company, filed the complaint over the domain name JetGo.com.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/25/jetgo-domain-hijacking/>

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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UK lag in IPv6 readiness is threat to business innovation and growth [news release]
The UK?s slow progress in preparing for IPv6, the new internet addressing protocol, could threaten UK-based organisations? ability to compete on the international stage, particularly in vital fast-growing economies, according to IT provider Logicalis and the University of Southampton.
<http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/news/4319>

2% of All Traffic to Google Now Over IPv6! (Doubling in Past Year) by Dan York
This weekend brought the great news that Google's IPv6 statistics have shown that connections over IPv6 to Google's web sites hit the 2% threshold for the first time. (You can see for yourself.) While 2% sounds tiny, as I wrote in a Deploy360 post today, the important fact here is that this represents a doubling of IPv6 traffic to Google over the past year!
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130924_2_percent_to_google_now_over_ipv6_doubling_in_past_year/>

Valuing IP Addresses by Geoff Huston
In the emerging IP address broker world it seems that one of the most widely cited address transactions was that of a US bankruptcy proceedings in 2011, where Microsoft successfully tendered $7.5M to purchase a block of 666,624 addresses from the liquidators of Nortel, which is equivalent to a price of $11.25 per address. Was that a "fair" price for IP addresses then, and is it a "fair" price now?
<http://www.potaroo.net/ispcol/2013-09/valuation.html>

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Vignes joins Artemis
Former OpenRegistry CEO Jean-Christophe Vignes has joined new gTLD applicant Artemis as director of domain operations, according to Artemis.
<http://domainincite.com/14540-vignes-joins-artemis>

Infographic: How to choose a domain name for your business
The importance of holding a strong domain name for a company will become even more important with ICANN revamping the gTLD system.
<http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/09/24/infographic-how-choose-domain-name-your-business>

TechStars buys NameLayer to save its startups from awful domain names
TechStars is investing in its future startups in an interesting way: by buying a whole bunch of web domains.
<http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/24/techstars-buys-namelayer-to-save-its-startups-from-awful-domain-names/>

CentralNic reports profitable first half
CentralNic today issued its first financial statements since floating on London?s Alternative Investment Market earlier this month.
<http://domainincite.com/14544-centralnic-reports-profitable-first-half>

CentralNic reports results: revenue up 16%
Domain name registry CentralNic, which went public last month, has released interim results for the first half of 2013.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/25/centralnic-reports-results-revenue-up-16/>

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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What GoDaddy?s acquisition of Afternic means for domainers
Domainers will see some immediate benefits and should keep a close eye on changes at the combined GoDaddy/Afternic.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/09/24/what-godaddys-acquisition-of-afternic-means-for-domainers/>

Six-Figure Sale of Intranet.com Helps Sedo Sweep 9 of the Week's 10 Biggest Sales
Sedo topped this week's all extension Top 20 Sales Chart after their Senior Broker Dave Evanson closed a $160,000 deal for Intranet.com. Sedo also nailed down the #2 slot with one of the year's five biggest ccTLD sales, Sale.co.uk at $60,000 (an interesting purchase by Christoph Grueneberg and Thomas Mueller that we detailed in a report in our Lowdown section Monday).
<http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2013/20130925.htm>

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INTERNET USE
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us: Not Online? That's Because the Internet is Irrelevant and Too Technical, Survey Says [IDG]
The information superhighway is not for everyone. Fifteen percent of adults still don't use the Internet, primarily because it's not relevant to them or it's too difficult to use, a recent Pew survey said.
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/092513-internet-usage-274194.html>
<http://www.cio.com/article/740392/Not_Online_That_39_s_Because_the_Internet_is_Irrelevant_and_Too_Technical_Survey_Says>

Study: 15% of U.S. adults are not online
Yes, they exist. And there might be more of them than you think. Fifteen percent of adults in the United States are not online, for reasons that range from lack of interest to fear of the unknown to not being able to afford a computer, says a new survey.
<http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/25/tech/web/pew-study-americans-online/index.html>

Pew: Who?s Not Online and Why
Overview: As of May 2013, 15% of American adults ages 18 and older do not use the internet or email.
<http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Non-internet-users.aspx>

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ONLINE TV, MUSIC & PIRACY
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Google attacked by MPs over failure to curb music and film piracy
Google will be criticised by MPs for making "derisory" attempts to curb music and film piracy and using its "perceived power and influence" at the heart of David Cameron's government to shore up its position.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/26/google-mps-music-film-piracy>

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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F.A.A. Nears New Rules on Devices
The rules on when to turn off electronic devices on airplanes have long been a sour, and sometimes contentious, point for travelers. But faced with a surge of electronics on airplanes and under pressure from a growing number of tech-savvy ? and increasingly tech-dependent ? passengers, the Federal Aviation Administration recognized that change was inevitable.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/technology/faa-nears-new-rules-on-devices.html>

Answers to Readers? Questions About Electronics on Planes
As Jad Mouawad and I reported, a Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel will meet this week to complete its recommendations to relax restrictions on electronic devices during flights.
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/answers-to-readers-questions-about-electronics-on-planes/>

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SPAM
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Apple is a tempting phishing target for scammers [IDG]
Spam volumes took a usual seasonal drop in August, but phishing spiked, including a noticeable interest in hijacking Apple accounts.
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/092413-apple-is-a-tempting-phishing-274112.html>

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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Tech Giants Fear Spread of Patent Wars to Europe
The technology industry is expanding its fight against patent trolls to Europe. In the United States, technology companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft have spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars to defend patent-infringement lawsuits by companies that make a business of buying technology patents primarily for suing software companies and makers of products like smartphones. Now they worry that Europe could soon become a broad battleground for similar court battles.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/technology/tech-giants-fear-spread-of-patent-wars-to-europe.html>

Victims Push Laws to End Online Revenge Posts
... The photos would never be shared with anyone else, she remembers him promising. And she believed him ? until last December, more than a year after the couple broke up, when a dozen nude images of her popped up on a Web site focusing on what has become known as revenge porn. She is suing the site and her ex-boyfriend.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/victims-push-laws-to-end-online-revenge-posts.html>

Give Yourself 5 Stars? Online, It Might Cost You
?I celebrate myself, and sing myself,? wrote Walt Whitman, America?s great bard of self-promotion. As the world goes ever more digital, quite a few businesses are adopting that philosophy ? hiring a veritable chorus of touts to sing their nonexistent praises and lure in customers.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/technology/give-yourself-4-stars-online-it-might-cost-you.html>

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PRIVACY & SURVEILLANCE
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UN's influence over online spying is limited
It's not everyday that the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War in mid-17th century Europe, is invoked when it comes to Internet policy.
<http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-09/25/un-influence-over-online-spying>

Brazilian president: US surveillance a 'breach of international law'
Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, has launched a blistering attack on US espionage at the UN general assembly, accusing the NSA of violating international law by its indiscriminate collection of personal information of Brazilian citizens and economic espionage targeted on the country's strategic industries.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/24/brazil-president-un-speech-nsa-surveillance>

Rather than walling off from NSA, Brazil should welcome whistleblowers
Rather than seal itself off from the U.S.-centric Internet, Brazil would more effectively fight spying by the National Security Agency by welcoming whistleblowers like former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, an expert says.
<http://www.csoonline.com/article/740136/Rather_than_walling_off_from_NSA,_Brazil_should_welcome_whistleblowers>

NSA surveillance goes beyond Orwell's imagination ? Alan Rusbridger
The potential of the surveillance state goes way beyond anything in George Orwell's 1984, Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian's editor-in-chief, told an audience in New York on Monday.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/23/orwell-nsa-surveillance-alan-rusbridger>

Stephen Fry joins demand to end NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance
Stephen Fry will join 40 free speech groups and other high-profile authors and artists on Tuesday to demand an end to the mass surveillance revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. They will urge European leaders to take a stand against industrial-scale spying by US and British intelligence agencies.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/24/stephen-fry-petition-nsa-gchq-surveillance>

Former U.S. Senators call on Congress to rein in NSA [IDG]
The U.S. Congress should appoint an independent committee to investigate possible surveillance abuses by the U.S. National Security Agency, two high-profile former senators said Tuesday.
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242627/Former_U.S._Senators_call_on_Congress_to_rein_in_NSA>

NSA?s Alexander Appeals For Threat Information Sharing
While Congress and the technology community are still debating and discussing the intelligence gathering capabilities of NSA revealed in recent months, the agency?s director, Gen. Keith Alexander, is not just defending the use of these existing tools, but is pitching the idea of sharing some of the vast amounts of threat and vulnerability data the NSA and other agencies possess with organizations in the private sector.
<http://threatpost.com/nsas-alexander-appeals-for-threat-information-sharing/102404>

?Internet Freedom? and Post-Snowden Global Internet Governance by Michael Gurstein
The big story for the 2012 Internet Governance Forum in Baku was the almost overwhelming (and overpowering) emphasis placed by the US government delegation and its corporate allies (primarily Google) and its associates in (primarily US based) Civil Society on what was termed ?Internet Freedom? and Multistakeholderism as its primary governance modality.
<http://gurstein.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/internet-freedom-and-post-snowden-global-internet-governance/>

EFA endorses international principles against Internet spying
Electronic Frontiers Australia has become a signatory of 13 privacy principles that protect the privacy and human rights of citizens when it comes to Internet spying and surveillance.
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/527318/efa_endorses_international_principles_against_internet_spying/>

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CENSORSHIP
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Sudan internet cut off as protests erupt against government in Khartoum
All internet connections to Sudan were cut off abruptly on Wednesday afternoon, after riots erupted in northern Khartoum over the ending of fuel subsidies.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/25/sudan-internet-cut-khartoum-protests>

Sudan Loses Internet Access, Government May Be to Blame
Connectivity to one of three major international ISPs in Sudan has been restored, following reports that the government may be responsible for cutting off the country's access amid riots over the lifting of fuel subsidies.
<http://www.cio.com/article/740386/Sudan_Loses_Internet_Access_Government_May_Be_to_Blame>
<http://www.computerworld.co.nz/article/527509/sudan_loses_internet_access_government_may_blame/>

Sudan drops off Internet amid internal strife
In what has become a familiar pattern in countries in crisis, the government in Sudan appears to have pulled the plug on Internet services there.
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242665/Sudan_drops_off_Internet_amid_internal_strife>
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/092513-sudan-drops-off-internet-amid-274182.html>

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Europe must not regulate the internet
The agenda should be to enable business creation and encourage innovation
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c3d6f4b6-2456-11e3-a8f7-00144feab7de.html