Cloudflare launches 1.1.1.1 DNS service with privacy, TLS and more
There was an important development this month with the launch of Cloudflare’s new 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver service. This is a significant development for several reasons, but in particular it supports the new DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS protocols that allow for confidential DNS querying and response.
Why 1.1.1.1?
Before we get to that though, Cloudflare joins Google’s Public DNS that uses 8.8.8.8 and Quad9 DNS that uses 9.9.9.9, by implementing 1.1.1.1 as a memorable IP address for accessing its new DNS service. IP addresses are generally not as memorable as domain names, but you need access to a DNS server before you can resolve domain names to IP addresses, so configuring numbers is a necessity. And whilst a memorable IP address might be cool, it’s also proved important recently when DNS resolvers have been blocked or taken down, requiring devices to be pointed elsewhere.
The 1.1.1.1 address is part of the 1.1.1.0 – 1.1.1.255 public IP address range actually allocated to APNIC, one of the five Regional Internet Registries, but it has been randomly used as an address for Continue reading
Piloting “White Space” to connect the underserved of rural Tanzania
Beyond the Net Journal
As economies develop in Tanzania, rural residents have growing needs for communication and broadband access. However, mobile operators are reluctant to invest in remote areas due to the elevated infrastructure cost and the high percentage of people that can’t afford the payment of the services.
The Internet Society Tanzania Chapter, supported by Beyond the Net Funding Programme in partnership with The University of Dodoma will target the remote areas of Dodoma Region, where conventional deployments are not available. Together, they will build a pilot project using TV White Space equipment as a community network solution.
White Space Internet is not widely adopted so far, but has the potential to transform the way we use wireless Internet. Being a free form of broadband, it is as a good alternative to provide underserved communities with Internet access that is similar to that of 4G mobile. White Space power stations can be charged with solar panels and broadband can travel up to 10 kilometers through vegetation, buildings and other obstacles.
“It’s amazing how life has changed in Tanzania thanks to the Internet”, explains Jabhera Matogoro, project manager and coordinator of Microsoft Innovation Center at the University of Continue reading
The Larger Facebook/Cambridge Analytica Question: Is this really what we signed up for?
Mark Zuckerburg’s testimony before the US Congress today and the flood of news about the privacy breach at Facebook and revelations that the company mishandled the data of millions of people has me asking:
Is this really what we signed up for?
It is clear that we are not in control of our online information nor do we really have any idea how it is bought, sold, or used.
For some of us, signing up for a social network like Facebook was about staying in touch with our kids and friends. For others, it was an easy way to reach new customers, or gather a community behind a social project. Yes, many of us figured out that our information was being used to serve up ‘relevant’ ads: as a matter of fact, that seems pretty standard in today’s online world. But that’s only a small part of a much bigger picture.
In the past few weeks we have found out – yet again – that information about ourselves, and our friends and contacts was used far beyond what we intended. We have been profiled, pigeon-holed, politically manipulated, and played like pawns in someone else’s chess game. I’d challenge you to Continue reading
Internet Shutdowns cannot be a solution to political challenges in Chad
The Internet Society is concerned with the continuous disruptions of Internet and social media services in Chad in the month of April, 2018.
Internet shutdowns are not a solution to political and economic challenges.
Government ordered disruptions have been reported from 2nd of April 2018, in the context of political protests and unrest across the country. This is not the first time Internet access has been suspended in Chad. In January 2018, the Internet was disrupted following demonstrations organized by civil society organizations. Again in 2016, Chad experienced an eight-month social media cutoff following controversial elections in 2016.
While we recognize that the Chadian government has a duty to maintain public order, there is little evidence on the benefits of shutdowns in preventing any sort of violent protests. On the other hand, there is growing evidence on the collateral damages resulting from taking people off the network.
One of these damages is economic. These disruptions have been estimated to have costed the country €18 million (approximately 13 billion CFA francs), according to Internet Without Borders. These are extremely conservative numbers that do not even take into account a set of cumulative economic factors.
Shutdowns also affect thousands of local entrepreneurs Continue reading
Fake News, Loss of Privacy are Hurting the Internet, Mozilla says
The Internet has a case of the sniffles, with several symptoms keeping it from being as robust as it could be, according to a new Internet Health Report from Mozilla.
Major challenges facing the Internet include a collapse of privacy protections, the unabated spread of fake news, and the consolidation of power at giant tech companies, said Mozilla, the nonprofit creator of the Firefox browser and other open-source software.
Many people “have started to argue that technology companies are becoming too dominant; social media has been weaponized as a tool of harassment; our personal information has been stolen; and democratic processes have been undermined by the manipulation of online media and ads,” the report says.
The software maker called on Internet users to take action by learning how to better protect their privacy and to identify misinformation. “We believe the only way to keep the Internet in the hands of all of us is to ask for it, build it, and demand it,” Mark Surman, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, said by email. “Consumers, governments and technologists need to push for fair competition, open innovation, interoperability and standards so the Internet can evolve in more healthy and humane ways. Continue reading
The Week in Internet News: AI Can Give Workers a Creative Boost, But Many Aren’t Ready
Mixed messages on AI: Artificial intelligence promises to make workers more creative in many fields, according to a story in Inc. AI is already writing scripts and music and designing websites, the story notes. Many workers aren’t quite ready for this assistance, however. About 60 percent of workers in the Washington, D.C., area say their jobs are not preparing them for collaboration with machine intelligence, a story in Washington Business Journal says.
AI inspects your roof: If you’re a homeowner, you know it’s expensive to replace your roof. A startup seeks to take some of the guesswork out of roof replacement decisions by using AI to examine the condition of a house’s roof, according to Forbes.com. The service could be particularly useful for people looking to buy a new home without a spending more money to repair the roof.
Blockchain and AI team up: Here’s a story combining two of our favorite topics: Blockchain and AI. Blockchain could help make AI smarter by ensuring the privacy and security of the data that it collects, according to a story in VentureBeat. Small retailers could get customers to tell them their preferences by using Blockchain technologies to build personalized Continue reading
Muhammad Shabbbir Awan: Reflections on the WTDC17
It’s been 5 months since WTDC17 concluded and I had time to reflect on the outcomes of the conference and the experience itself. WTDC sets the ITU’s development agenda and in Argentina last October over 1000 government delegates from close to 135 countries gathered during the two-week period. They were there to discuss a range of issues and shape the development sector’s priorities for the next four years. For me, it was a trip of many firsts: my first experience as an observer participating in a multilateral conference; my first trip to South America; and, as a visually impaired person, the eighteen hours flight duration was my first such experience.
To recall, I was a member of the Internet Society delegation as a Fellow. For me, the two motivators to apply for the fellowship opportunity were: first, the theme for WTDC17 (“ICTs for Sustainable Development Goals”) and possibility to make a difference. Second, my quest to learn even more about Internet Governance processes and to participate in the discussions.
WTDC17 had a packed agenda that included ceremonial events marking the 25th Anniversary of the Development Sector and side events on a range of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) topics.
New RFC 8360 – RPKI Validation Reconsidered – Offers Alternative Validation Procedures to Improve Routing Security
RFC 8360, Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) Validation Reconsidered, is now published in the RFC libraries.
What is RPKI?
Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) aims to improve the security of the Internet routing system, specifically the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), by establishing a hierarchy of trust for BGP routes. Today, most organizations simply trust that routing updates they get are sent by authorized senders. This is how bad actors and misconfigurations can cause massive routing issues. With RPKI, the receiving organization can verify that the sending organization is authorized to send the routing update.
RPKI works by issuing X.509-based resource certificates to holders of IP addresses and AS numbers to prove assignment of these resources. These certificates are issued to Local Internet Registries (LIRs) by one of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) who allocate and assign these resources in their service regions.
What Does This RFC Do?
In the IETF, participants have been discussing issues that may arise when resources move across registries. The problem happens when a subordinate certificate “over-claims” resources compared to its parent. According to the standard validation procedure specified in RFC 6487, the whole branch beneath would be invalidated. The closer to Continue reading
How the Lenca are Restoring the Past to Build their Future
The Internet has the potential to enable Indigenous communities to continue living on remote traditional lands without diminishing their access to services and information. The potential can go a long way towards closing the digital divide and offers new opportunities while preserving Indigenous culture.
In the ongoing debate about what difference the digital makes to the concept of Indigeneity itself, the voices of Indigenous people are what has been missing. It should be left up to community members to be caught up in this age of information and build the future on their own terms.
This is the story of Lenca people of Azacualpa, an Indigenous community of Yamaranguila in Intibucá, Honduras. In June 2017 they decided to start their relationship with technology by creating Radio Azacualpa, a radio station run by women, with the support of Cultural Survival’s Community Media Grants Project. It was a dream come true.
The radio tagline “La voz de las Mujeres” – the voice of women – says it all. “One of our goals as a radio station is to achieve recognition of our rights as women and to achieve equality,” explains Maria Santos, leader of the Azacualpa community.
In 2018, the Lenca decided Continue reading
Countries Consider Penalties for Spreading ‘Fake News’
A handful of countries have recently considered passing new laws or regulations to combat so-called fake news, with Malaysia adding penalties of up to six years in jail for distributors.
Malaysia’s controversial Anti-Fake News 2018 bill, which passed this week, also includes a fine of US$123,000. An earlier draft of the legislation included jail time of up to 10 years. Under the new law, fake news is “news, information, data and reports which is or are wholly or partly false,” as determined by Malaysian courts.
The new Malaysian law covers digital news outlets, including video and audio, and social media, and it applies to anyone who maliciously spreads fake news inside and outside the country, including foreigners, as long as Malaysia or its citizens are affected.
Eric Paulsen, cofounder and executive director of Malaysian civil rights group Lawyers for Liberty, called the new law “shocking.” “Freedom of speech, info & press will be as good as dead in Malaysia,” he tweeted in late March.
The law will create a chilling effect on free speech, Malaysia lawyer Syahredzan Johan wrote in TheStar.com. “While we may hope that the implementation of the bill will be transparent and fair, the Continue reading
CEO Succession at Internet Society – Friday Deadline for Open Call for Candidates
As I informed our community in my last note, we launched the Open Call for CEO Candidates on Friday, 9 March 2018.
The deadline for applications is 23:59 UTC on Friday, 6 April 2018
This means that potential candidates interested in applying still have a few more days to do so. Candidates can apply for the position by visiting the Perrett Laver (our search firm for this process) web site using the following link:
https://candidates.perrettlaver.com/vacancies/726/ceo/
While the Candidate Pack (information about the CEO position) has been available for download on the link above during the whole open call, we have received input from our community asking us to make the Candidate Pack available also on a regular URL outside the search firm’s portal. Accordingly, for your convenience, we have now made it available on the following link as well:
https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Internet-Society-CEO-Succession.pdf
Please, distribute this call to potential candidates who may be interested so that they can apply before the upcoming deadline.
The ongoing open call for candidates will result in a long list of candidates. Taking the long list as a starting point, the whole board (at this point the search committee has already done Continue reading
Team ISOC @ APRICOT 2018
Last month in Kathmandu, Nepal, 750 delegates participated in APRICOT 2018 – Asia-Pacific’s largest Internet conference. It was led by Internet Exchange Nepal (npIX) with support from several organizations including the Internet Society (ISOC) Nepal Chapter.
The Internet Society, through its Asia-Pacific Bureau, is a long-term partner of the APRICOT conferences, sponsoring a competitive fellowship programme, as part of the Internet Society’s mission to support capacity building in developing countries. Read more about our fellows at APRICOT 2018:
Team ISOC @ APRICOT 2018 comprised of staff from Regional Bureaus and Internet Technology. This included Andrei Robachevsky, Aftab Siddiqui, Rajnesh Singh, Salam Yamout, and myself.
In line with the Internet Society’s 2018 Action Plan, our core message at APRICOT 2018 was to strengthen the global Internet routing system and mitigate many of the risks facing the Internet’s core today. This includes route hijacking, traffic detouring, and address spoofing – which is a root cause of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks. We promoted the Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS), a set of recommendations addressing these risks, already adopted by some network operators.
Team ISOC took on a wide variety of roles Continue reading
Digital Empowerment of Women in South Asia
The Internet Society Pakistan Islamabad Chapter (PK IBD) organised a webinar on “Digital Empowerment of Women in South Asia” on 15 March, 2018. ISOC Chapter leaders, members, and staff participated in the webinar where the regional and global women-centric initiatives were shared by the speakers.
The undersigned welcomed the audience on behalf of the Internet Society Pakistan Islamabad Chapter followed by a round of introductions. Joyce Dogniez, the Internet Society’s Senior Director, Global Community Engagement, shared the importance and relevance of the UN-EQUALS partnership which is a unique collaboration between state and non-state actors to bridge the digital gender divide. Joyce shared that the Internet Society is an important part of this partnership that primarily emphasizes improving ICT access, imparting digital skills, and promoting leadership of women. Internet and digital literacy leads to economic empowerment of women that can have a profound community impact.
The next session featured updates from the Chapter Leaders of South Asia on the various initiatives being undertaken on the country and Chapter level. Sagarika Wickramasekera from the ISOC Sri Lanka Chapter informed about the initiatives of the Chapter including WomenIGF, IT trainings for girls at school level, Internet learning programmes for women entrepreneurship, etc. Sidra Jalil from Continue reading
Deadline TODAY (23:59 UTC) to submit comments to ICANN on 2018 DNSSEC Root KSK Rollover Plan
Do you believe ICANN should go ahead with the plan to roll the Root Key Signing Key (KSK) on 11 October 2018? If so (or if not), the deadline for public comment is TODAY, 2 April 2018, at 23:59 UTC. That’s about 9.5 hours from the time I’m publishing this post.
My colleague Kevin Meynell provided more info about this public comment process when it began in March. At the IETF 101 meeting in London, I spoke with ICANN staff who again stated that they would like to hear from many voices about whether they should go ahead with the Root KSK Rollover on 11 October 2018. It’s very simple to send in comments:
You can see the current list of comments at: https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/comments-ksk-rollover-restart-01feb18/2018q1/thread.html (All comments are public.)
I would encourage anyone interested to submit comments (even if they are simply “I support the plan.”).
And if you have want more information about how to get started with using DNSSEC, please see our Deploy360 Start page to begin.
Image credit: Bryce Barker on Unsplash
The post Deadline TODAY (23:59 UTC) to submit comments to ICANN Continue reading
The Week in Internet News: IT Pros Know IoT Security Needs Work, But They Aren’t There Yet
What IoT security problem? Most IT professionals realize the Internet of things poses some security risks, but less than a third of them actively monitor for third-party IoT security problems, according to a survey detailed at ZDNet. More than a third of those surveyed said that nobody in their organization is responsible for reviewing the risk-management policies of their IoT vendors.
Some security risks, only faster: Meanwhile, the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security is warning organizations that 5G mobile service may bring the same security risks as earlier mobile standards have. Known flaws in SS7 and Diameter, the signaling protocols used in 2G, 3G, and 4G, could end up in 5G, and allow traffic to be eavesdropped or spoofed, reports ARN.
Community broadband for net neutrality: The American Civil Liberties Union is urging U.S. cities to build their own broadband networks as a way to protect net neutrality principles, now that the Federal Communications Commission has repealed its related regulations. The Hill has a story. Many small U.S. cities are already building their own, in an effort to provide faster or cheaper service than commercial providers, Governing Magazine says.
Fake news in the news: Malaysia Continue reading
Connecting 500K Bolivians to a National Research and Education Network
As players in the development of the Internet in the world, the academic and scientific communities of the five continents have made important efforts to establish National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to interconnect universities and research centers to exchange information at a regional level. Examples of these networks are GÉANT in Europe, Internet 2 in the United States, and RedCLARA (Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks) in the Latin American region.
The Bolivian academic sector is made up of more than 60 universities with half a million students and 20,000 teachers. Unfortunately Bolivia is the only country that is not connected to RedCLARA. Bolivia not only lacks connection with any NREN, but also has not managed to constitute its own National Academic Scientific Network. Since 2002, several attempts have been made, involving more than 30 universities in the country. As a result, the statutes and regulations of the Bolivian Integration Academic Network (RIAB) have been drafted.
The project Red Academica Boliviana, led by the Internet Society Bolivia Chapter and supported by Beyond the Net Funding Programme, has a long-term goal: to lay the foundations that will strengthen the development of research and education in Bolivia through the Continue reading
SpaceX Gets US Approval to Launch Space-Based Broadband Service
If all goes as planned, Elon Musk’s SpaceX will eventually launch 4,425 satellites into orbit with the goal of delivering broadband service to all corners of the Earth.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, on Wednesday, approved SpaceX’s request to move forward with its space-based broadband proposal, on the condition that the aerospace company launch half of the satellites within six years.
Once deployed, the low-Earth orbit satellites will cover the entire United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eventually, provide “full-time coverage to virtually the entire planet,” the FCC said in its approval order.
SpaceX plans to begin launching the satellites in 2019. About 800 satellites will need to be deployed for the broadband service to be operational. The company, in the midst of launching 10 satellites on Friday, didn’t have an immediate comment on the FCC approval.
The company calls the proposed service “Starlink” and plans to offer wireless broadband speeds comparable to fiber-optic service.
The FCC imposed a number of conditions on SpaceX’s application. Several other satellite operators raised concerns about spectral interference from the SpaceX satellites, and others suggested the large number of satellites would eventually lead to orbital debris, or Continue reading
Juma Baldeh: Breaking Barriers to Access in Gambia
How do you shift the cultural stigma around technology and gender? As Juma Baldeh has proven in Gambia, you do it one girl at a time. Baldeh founded Hackathon Girls Banjul for girls ages 8 to 18 in her home country, in coordination with the Mozilla Foundation. As the first technology club of its kind there, members receive six months of free weekly classes on web literacy and basic computing skills. More importantly, the club gives more than 40 girls a safe space to collaborate and share experiences as they work together on projects for a tech-savvy Gambia.
“Too often I witness young girls, who are skilled in math and science, lose hope as they prepare for interviews and professional positions,” Baldeh said. “Right now, many girls in this field leave it because they think computer jobs are too difficult and they lose confidence at some point.”
The club started with a small space and just five girls, training to be proficient in basic computing skills, computer programing, online security and privacy, and research and networking. Through these skills the girls can then go on to civic participation, economic empowerment, and leadership roles. One of the many problems with Continue reading
Meet the APRICOT 2018 Fellows
The Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) is an annual event that brings together Internet engineers and networking experts, government representatives, Internet business leaders, and other interested parties from around the world to learn from training workshops and tutorials, attend technical presentations, discuss policies, and extend social and professional networks with like-minded peers. This year’s event was held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 19-28 February.
The Internet Society Asia-Pacific Bureau has a long-term partnership with APRICOT and proudly sponsors its fellowship program, providing financial support for individuals from developing economies to attend the event, and to contribute to discussions about Internet operations, technologies and development. This year the Internet Society sponsored a total of 13 fellows to APRICOT 2018, split between the technical workshops and the conference week, depending on their areas of interest. 75% of these fellows were females, endorsing our focus to inspire and facilitate the participation of women in the technology sector and to #ShineTheLight!
We had an opportunity to meet some of these fellows, to know more about them and their experience as a fellow.
Athirah Rosli is a Doctoral Researcher at Universiti Utara Malaysia, and also a committee member of the ISOC Malaysia Continue reading
Kathy Brown’s Op-Ed in the Hill Times: Canada’s Unique Opportunity to Lead the Future of the Internet
Kathy Brown, CEO of the Internet Society, recently penned an Op-Ed for Canada’s the Hill Times calling for a multistakeholder approach to Internet governance: “an approach that is collaborative, one that engages the entire Internet community.” According to Brown, “The time has come to expand this inclusive model of governance to more places around the world.”
“No one party, government, corporation, or non-profit controls the Internet and we are all better for it. Nor does any one party have the knowledge or the ability to identify the solutions to these complex policy challenges. It has been this approach—what we call the multistakeholder model—that has allowed humankind’s most advanced and powerful communications tool to spread so far and so fast.”
She cites the partnership between the Internet Society, Innovation, Science and Economic Development, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, CANARIE, and CIPPIC as an example of the multistakeholder approach working successfully. “[Canada] is addressing cybersecurity head-on by working with the Internet Society to engage the Canadian Internet community in a process to develop recommendations to secure the Internet of Things.”
Read the entire Op-Ed, then learn how you can participate in the Collaborative Governance Project, Continue reading