Namibia Chapter Launches in the “Land of the Brave”
Namibia becomes the 32nd Internet Society (ISOC) chartered chapter to launch in Africa. Namibia is a Southern Africa country just slightly bigger than Texas, and the 34th largest country in the world , with 2.3 million inhabitants according to the last census (2011). Popularly referred as the “Land Of The Brave,” Namibia is the only place on the continent of Africa where the Atlantic ocean meets the desert.
The new chapter sets itself to serve an important role: being at the centre of Internet development & policy in the country. The ISOC Namibia Chapter seeks to address the digital divide and emerging Internet issues in Namibia with some core objectives:
- To add value to the Internet ecosystem at its locality
- To advocate for a secure cyber environment
- To promote free & secured Internet access for all
The chapter’s key interests in the country include collaborating with strategic partners on community network projects, strengthening local IXPs, as well as issues related to security and furthering connectivity.
The colorful launch event was attended by 111 participants and was officiated by the Minister of ICT, Honourable Tjekero Tweya. An additional government delegation of members of the Parliamentary Committee on ICTs, led by the Continue reading
Help Make the Internet Open to All: Join SIG Women!
When we talk about women and technology, we need to talk data. In the United States, a recent report by the National Center for Women and Information Technology highlighted that only 26% of the workforce in the computer field is made up of women. In addition, a survey by Silicon Valley Bank revealed that 68% of startups do not have women on their board. In India, women make up just 30% of the workforce in the technology industry. In many European countries, the wage gap between men and women is present in technological positions. In Latin America, the proportion of women studying in computer careers is low. In addition, shortcomings in Internet access makes it difficult for women of all ages to use the technology in Africa.
Increasing access, skills, and leadership of women and girls in ICT has enormous potential for improving their health and emancipating them through access to information, education and trade opportunities, strengthening not only families and communities, but also national economies and global society as a whole.
In order to speak on a daily basis and to make the problem visible, we considered it necessary to create a Special Interest Group to help change those statistics Continue reading
Together We Can Reduce Barriers
Accessibility is human right.
People with disabilities want and need to use the Internet just like everyone else, but what can we do to reduce barriers? Especially when one billion people globally have a disability, with 80% living in developing countries.
But accessibility doesn’t just happen. Policymakers, program managers, and technical experts need to incorporate it into their work right from the start – and we need champions for accessibility to make it happen.
Everyone in the Internet community can contribute to reducing barriers! People working with policy, programs, communications, and education can incorporate accessibility.
It doesn’t just start with websites. While this type of access is crucial, we can go even further – accessible interfaces for the Internet of Things or phone apps are just two examples.
In addition, organizations can offer a more inclusive approach with:
- Learning programs and packages (content and delivery)
- Communications programs – websites, online conferencing, discussion forums, printed material
- Policy development – has a policy position been considered in terms of its effects on people with disability?
Want to learn more about what you can do to make the Internet accessible for all? Read the W3C Introduction to Web Accessibility, and learn about the Continue reading
The Internet is at a crossroads: we have a choice to make
As we look around at a rapidly changing world that is shaped more and more by the digital domain, we see an Internet that faces many challenges. We see an Internet at a crossroads, where we have critical choices to make about its evolution in the years to come.
Those choices will determine whether we continue to benefit from an Internet that opens up a world of opportunity for everyone online, or whether we grow more fearful of it as a negative influence on our lives. People’s hopes and fears about the Internet today are dividing us and its future.
The notion of hope and progress has defined our view of the Internet since its inception. Its own growth has taken it from obscure computer-to-computer connections to a social and economic powerhouse. It is the platform on which young people and an ever-growing number of women can invent their own futures. Small enterprises and communities all over the world are using digital tools to mobilize and empower themselves to access new markets, grow their economies and provide vital services to their citizens.
Of course, we must see the adoption of the Internet for what it is: a reflection of everything in society itself.
In light of growing sentiment that the Internet is fueling Continue reading
Another BGP Routing Incident Highlights an Internet Without Checkpoints
Yesterday, there were two BGP routing incidents in which several high-profile sites (Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitch, NTT Communications and Riot Games) were rerouted to a previously unused Russian AS. The incidents only lasted about three minutes each, but demonstrated once again the lack of routing controls like those called for in MANRS that could have prevented this from happening.
As reported in BGPmon’s blog post on 12 December 12,
“…our systems detected a suspicious event where many prefixes for high profile destinations were being announced by an unused Russian Autonomous System.
Starting at 04:43 (UTC) 80 prefixes normally announced by organizations such Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitch, NTT Communications and Riot Games were now detected in the global BGP routing tables with an Origin AS of 39523 (DV-LINK-AS), out of Russia.”
Either a configuration mistake or a malicious attack, it propagated quickly through the Internet without visible obstacles. This was one of almost 5000 route leaks and hijacks in 11 months of 2017. For comparison, network outages during the same period caused almost 8000 incidents (source: https://bgpstream.com/):
In practice, the efficacy of corrective actions strongly depends on the reliability and completeness of information related to Continue reading
Reflections from the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace
Two weeks ago, a small delegation from the Internet Society was in Delhi for a series of meetings. (See yesterday’s post about GCCS and GFCE.) In this post, I’ll pick up with the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC).
The international community has been trying to develop cybernorms for international behaviour for over a decade. This has been happening through UN processes, through the GCCS, through international law discourse, and other fora. And, some progress has been made. For instance, the Tallin manuals provide some insights on how international law applies to cyber war and cyber operations, while the UN GGE, among others, recognized the applicability of international law on the digital space and has provided some protection to cybersecurity incident response teams (CIRTs) and critical infrastructure.
However, these processes are slow, and certainly not without roadblocks. The 5th UN Group of Governmental Experts on Information Security (GGE), for example, failed to reach consensus on whether certain aspects of international law, in particular the right to self-defence, apply to cyberspace as well as issues related to attribution. During a panel at GCCS, five participants in the 5th UN GGE shared their perspectives. To me Continue reading
Let’s Mobilize for Better Data Stewardship
If we want organizations like Equifax to be good data stewards, we, the users and consumers, must mobilize.
In October, the Internet Society explored why the dominant approach to data handling, based around the concepts of risk and compliance, does not work. To recap: “…data handlers try to adhere to regulatory requirements and minimize the risk to themselves – not necessarily to the individuals whose data they handle. For some data handlers, the risk that poor security creates may not extend to them.”
Euphemistically put, Equifax has not been an example of forthcomingness, transparency, and accountability. Users can change this paradigm. Users can shift the cost of a data breach onto the data handler by holding the accountable for their action or lack of action.
The key is to organize. For example, Consumer Reports is organizing a campaign calling on Equifax to take the next steps to address the fallout from the data breach. Their first step was to deliver a petition signed by over 180,000 individuals to Equifax’s headquarters.
The Internet Society just pledged $10k to this cause, to help Consumer Reports make sure Equifax does everything in its power to make things right for consumers in Continue reading
Continuing David Vyorst’s Legacy: Recognizing the Next Generation of Open Internet Advocates
Last week we shared the sad news that David Vyorst, the Executive Director of the ISOC-DC chapter and an instrumental part of the North American Internet community, passed away.
The DC Chapter and the Internet Society are jointly establishing a fellowship award in David’s name. The fellowship will be awarded to a young person in a US-based chapter who has an innovative project or initiative for making a chapter more effective in advancing the values of a free and open Internet accessible by everyone.
You can visit the DC Chapter’s website to make a donation in David’s memory.
Photo credit: Glenn McKnight
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Reflections on a Global and Cyber heavy week at GCCS and GFCE
Two weeks ago, a small Internet Society delegation was in Delhi to participate in a number of events that contained the word ‘Global’ and ‘Cyber’. In this post, I’ll share some of our perspectives on the first two events – the GCCS and the GFCE.
GCCS – The Global Conference on Cyberspace
The first meeting of the week was the Global Conference on Cyberspace. This was originally a government-initiated conference series and is also commonly known as the London Process.
Part of the strength of these meetings is that they create a trusted environment for governments to discuss global issues that are usually state-centric, such as international aspects of security and stability. Over time, these meetings have opened up to other stakeholders, with the 2015 meeting in The Hague being the most inclusive so far. However, inclusive participation is not a given. Inclusion is important because these types of meetings ultimately are where norms for inter-state behaviour emerge, not necessarily in writing but through the development of a common narrative. But such narratives are only strong and impactful if those who implement and are impacted by those norms have a seat at the table. Although inclusive, multi-stakeholder participation has historically Continue reading
Building a World Free of Barriers: Vashkar Bhattacharjee’s Story
We recently shared Part One and Part Two of Vashkar Bhattacharjee’s story. Vashkar is the National Consultant, Accessibility, A2i, Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh, and the Program Manager, Young Power in Social Action (YPSA). Here is Part Three.
Our research at Young People in Social Action (YPSA), Bangladesh revealed that developing multimedia talking books would not be enough to ensure proper learning among students. For that to happen, the students required access to rich vocabulary libraries for proper understanding of language. (We have been supported by a2i program’s Service Innovation Fund to develop Bangladesh’s first accessible dictionaries in English and Bangla available in both online and offline modes.)
People are amazed to see persons with visual impairment using computers and smartphones. This has been made easy thanks to the open-source screen-reading software that can convert text to speech. People with visual impairment can also use the standard QWERTY keyboard just like everybody else as it has become second nature. Among the 50 people working at YPSA, 32 have a disability. ICTs have helped them overcome physical barriers.
In the role of a2i’s national consultant for disability, I am working on making different websites accessible for all following W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Continue reading
Net Neutrality and the FCC’s December 14 Vote
Net neutrality is defined differently in different circles. For the Internet Society, it means that an Internet service provider should not block, filter, throttle a users’ Internet usage, or give preferential treatment to one end user or content provider over another. Fundamentally, everyone should be able to access the content and services they choose without corporate or government interference. We believe this will ensure the Internet remains an engine for innovation, free expression, and economic growth. In some jurisdictions, this may require policy, regulatory, and technical measures.
On December 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is likely to vote to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order, which classified broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. Under FCC Chairman Pai’s proposal, the FCC would yield authority over broadband providers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Since the announcement of that vote, many American Internet users have been anxious that their Internet service provider may undo their commitments to provide open access to the Internet for their customers. They are right to be anxious. We are already seeing signs that ISPs may change their net neutrality commitments in light of the upcoming ruling.
American users have Continue reading
MANRS, Routing Security, and the Brazilian ISP Community
Last week, I presented MANRS to the IX.BR community. My presentation was part of a bigger theme – the launch of an ambitious program in Brazil to make the Internet safer.
While there are many threats to the Internet that must be mitigated, one common point and a challenge for many of them is that the efficacy of the approaches relies on collaboration between independent and sometimes competing parties. And, therefore, finding ways to incentivize and reward such collaboration is at the core of the solutions.
MANRS tries to do that by increasing the transparency of a network operator’s security posture and its commitment to a more secure and resilient Internet. Subsequently, the operator can leverage its increased security posture, signaling it to potential customers and thus differentiating from their competitors.
MANRS also helps build a community of security-minded operators with a common purpose – an important factor that improves accountability, facilitates better peering relationships, and improves coordination in preventing and mitigating incidents.
So, what does the Brazilian ISP community think about routing security and MANRS?
I ran an interactive poll with four questions to provide a more quantitative answer. More than 100 people participated, which makes the results Continue reading
Making Education Accessible for All: Vashkar Bhattacharjee’s Story
We recently shared the first part of Vashkar Bhattacharjee’s story. Vashkar is the National Consultant, Accessibility, A2i, Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh, and the Program Manager, Young Power in Social Action (YPSA). Here is Part Two.
Setting up an accessible digital talking book system (DAISY) in Bangladesh
After training in Japan, I was armed with knowledge in leadership and technology and wanted to create digital access for people with disabilities in Bangladesh. I wanted to prove that people with disabilities like me can work in our job market, but nobody wanted to believe me. With Young People in Social Action (YPSA), a social development organization in my home district of Chittagong, I worked as a volunteer on creating computerized braille production, which allows for printing to be in done in Braille, thus creating the tools for education for people with visual impairment. Very soon, we obtained funding to establish a digital lab, called ICT and Resource Center on Disability (IRCD), to develop assistive technologies and content for persons with disabilities.
In 2005, I was introduced to the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium, where I received inspiration from international experts to work harder and smarter, and make better use Continue reading
Communities Can Own Their Internet Destiny
Imagine you wanted to have an Internet connection and someone decided that you had to wait an undefined amount of time (maybe a year, maybe 10 years) to get access. Would you find it fair? I wouldn’t!
Unfortunately, this is the situation that millions of people in remote communities around the world have to accept. They will have Internet access only when operators decide to give them access which can be in a decade or more. These people won’t enjoy all the benefits we are enjoying today for a long time. And as more and more services go online – and exclusively online – they will not get the services they used to have since the services have moved to a new place where they are not allowed to be.
This is happening because operators can’t expand everywhere at the same time; they have to choose where they go this year, then next year, etc. There are some places where they will never go because those places are not going to bring them money. Among those regions that operators will never choose to go, we find, sadly, are the poorest rural areas that desperately need the economic and development opportunities Continue reading
The First Albanian Network Operators Forum
On Tuesday, 14 November 2017, Albanian Internet Service Providers gathered in central Tirana for the first Albanian Network Operators Forum (ALNOF). The event was organized by RASH, the Albanian Academic Network, and NaMeX, the Internet Exchange Point based in Rome, Italy, with the goal of bringing Albanian ISPs together to discuss their common issues. The Internet Society sponsored the event.
The main topics on the agenda were Interconnection and Networking Community. Albania is one of the only countries in Europe that doesn’t have a neutral Internet Exchange Point: Internet traffic from one Albanian ISP to another sometimes crosses many borders and reaches Amsterdam, London, or Copenhagen before returning to Albania. RASH and NaMeX presented their partnership to create ANIX, the first neutral Internet Exchange Point in Albania, and MIXP presented its experience of the Internet Exchange Point in Montenegro. The session was completed by presentations on PeeringDB, the Facebook network, and IPv6.
As for the Networking Community topic, Albania is a small country where many people running network infrastructure operations know each other, but there is no actual “community” of ISPs. This session included presentations by two organizations that are committed to develop networking communities: Continue reading
Technology with Purpose: Vashkar Bhattacharjee’s Story
In honor of today’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we are sharing part one of Vashkar Bhattacharjee’s story. He is the National Consultant, Accessibility, A2i, Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh, and the Program Manager, Young Power in Social Action (YPSA).
I am Vashkar Bhattacharjee, a visually impaired person from Bangladesh. And this is the story of how I have excelled in life and career, not through sympathy and charity, but through inspiration and assistance.
In Bangladesh, every 1 in 10 persons experience at least one kind of disability. I am one of approximately 4 million Bangladeshis who are visually impaired.
In 1979, like most of the villages in Bangladesh, my village in the district of Chittagong did not have doctors or hospital facilities. On July 1st in the same year, in a small remote village called Bagdondi, I was born in my parental home without any medical supervision. Right after my birth, I was bleeding through my nose and mouth. My parents and relatives could not figure out what was wrong. After a while, the bleeding stopped and everything seemed to be normal. By the time I was two years old, my parents realized the heartbreaking truth that Continue reading
CEO Succession at the Internet Society
Yesterday, Kathy Brown, the Internet Society’s President & CEO, wrote that she has informed the Board of Trustees that she will not seek another extension of her contract, which will end at the end of 2018.
Before I discuss the search and selection process ahead of us, on behalf of the whole Board I want to express our gratitude to Kathy for the strong leadership and commitment she has shown in taking the Internet Society forward. Kathy has worked tirelessly in the interests of the organization, always putting her job before herself. The changes she has brought about have been both deep and wide-ranging, and she has succeeded in readying the organization for the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
While the Board would have been happy for Kathy to continue as CEO for a further term, we also understand and respect the decision that she has taken to dedicate time to her family. When the time comes, I hope you will all join me in wishing Kathy the very best in her life after ISOC.
During the process of searching for and selecting a new CEO, operational continuity in the organization will be a key priority. The Board Continue reading
ION Belgrade: So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, do tada!
Deploy360 organised its fifth ION Conference of the year on 23 November 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia. This was co-located with RSNOG 3, the Republic of Serbia Network Operators Group meeting, and attracted over 85 participants.
This was also the occasion of our 25th and last ION Conference, as after a run of seven years, we plan to focus more on targeted events with regions. The Internet ON (ION) series of conferences started in San Francisco back in 2010, subsequently taking in 22 countries in five continents to raise awareness and encourage deployment of IPv6, DNSSEC, DANE, TLS and routing security. More than 2,000 participants from network operators, governments, academia and commercial enterprises have attended the conferences, and during this time global IPv6 deployment has increased from barely registering in 2010 to well over 20% today.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our series sponsor Afilias for making all this possible.
Turning to the event though, Megan Kruse opened the proceedings with an overview of the Deploy360 programme, followed by ISOC Board Member Desiree Miloshevic providing an update on the activities of our ISOC Serbia Belgrade Chapter.
This Continue reading
Passing on the CEO Baton
The Internet Society has come far in its 25 years, and as its CEO for just some of that time I feel immense privilege in having been part of the organization’s continued growth and evolution.
Now, more than ever, I feel that the work we all do is the most consequential any of us will do in this challenging time. I continue to be inspired by the Internet Society, its staff and its loyal community every day.
So, it was with very mixed emotions that at the recent Internet Society Board of Trustees meeting in Singapore, I informed the Board that I will not be seeking an extension of my contract as CEO when it is due for renewal at the end of 2018.
With so many accomplishments behind us and at a time when the Internet itself is in the midst of rapid change, I firmly believe that the Internet Society is primed and ready to take on a stronger, more influential role in shaping the future of the Internet for the next generation of users. Knowing this, it also feels like the right time to pass on the CEO baton to the next generation of Internet Continue reading
The Future Is Limitless
In September 2017, the Internet Society celebrated its 25th anniversary in Los Angeles. Here are the stories of some who are using the Internet to shape tomorrow.
“I made my first computer program at 18 and it felt like I had a new superpower.”
To get to the buzzing banquet hall where Akah Harvey N stands, filled with Internet pioneers, visionaries, and trailblazers, requires navigating the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Athletics Hall of Fame. Glass cases featuring old sequined spirit uniforms and uniforms worn by Jackie Robinson (the first athlete to letter in four sports at the university) line the way to the room where people from around the world are seated at tables, excitedly chatting away.
Harvey N is at the front of the room, speaking into the microphone like he belongs there. And that’s because he does. The 25-year-old from Cameroon is in Los Angeles, California to be recognized as one of the Internet Society’s 25 Under 25 – young people who are using the Internet as a force for good. Harvey N and his team of engineers developed Traveler, an app that can predict and detect motor vehicle accidents. Along with providing Continue reading