Time to get ready for IETF 99! Starting a week from today, on Sunday, 16 July, the Internet Engineering Task Force will be in Prague, Czech Republic, where about 1000 engineers will spend a week discussing the latest issues in open standards and protocols. As usual, the agenda is packed, and the Internet Society is providing a ‘Rough Guide’ to the IETF via a series of blog posts all this week on topics of mutual interest:
As these devastating global ransomware attacks illustrate, cybersecurity is not an issue that can be ignored. Any time a device or system is connected to the Internet, it is a potential target. What was once just another lucrative means of extorting money from Internet users, ransomware is emerging as a preferred tool for causing widespread disruption of vital services such as hospitals, banks, shipping, or airports. Attacks are growing more sophisticated and more enduring, with longer term damaging effects and wider impact. Ransomware exploits the slow pace of security patching, systems that are dependent on old software, and poor backup practices.
The debate on encryption in the EU has followed a familiar path in pitting national security against concerns about civil liberties and privacy. On the one hand, Governments and intelligence agencies have increasingly claimed that the widespread use of encryption could threaten national security.
This is a joint blog post by the Internet Society, Mozilla and the World Wide Web Foundation.
Home to two-thirds of the world’s population and 90 percent of its economic output, the G20 countries are a powerhouse that have yet to take on a coordinated digital agenda.
On 29 June 2017, Internet Society President and CEO Kathy Brown spoke on a panel on "Society and the Human Element" at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai event. These are her remarks as prepared.
See also:
Eighty-three organizations and individuals from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States are insisting governments support strong encryption.
The letter, which was sent to government representatives in each of the above countries, called for public participation in any future discussions. It comes on the heels of the “Five Eyes” ministerial meeting in Ottawa, Canada earlier this week.
The Internet Society supports the substance of the letter.
How do you build a multilingual website? What are the things you should be thinking about? In my last post in this series, I wrote about our need for a multilingual editor (and we now have some GREAT candidates!). But there's obviously much more to a site than just having a person on board. This week, Joly MacFie of our New York Chapter pointed me to this excellent video from the recent WordCamp Helsinki 2017 event titled "The User Experience Perspective of Multilingual and Multi-regional Websites":
In 2015 the world made one of the biggest promises to itself in the form of 17 Global Goals set out by the United Nations. These goals – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – are aimed at achieving extraordinary things in the next 15 years. They are dedicated to fighting injustice and inequalities, ending climate change, beating discrimination, bringing in sustainable energy, and making sure no one goes hungry.
Whenever there's a new attack on a global scale, the world trusts the Internet a little less. Today we are concerned with the many reports about this new ransomware attack called "Petyawrap", "Petrwrap" or an older name of "Petya."
The sad fact is: this new attack exploits the same vulnerabilities in Windows systems as last month's WannaCry attack.
Fixes have been available for most Windows systems since March 2017!
The same tips Niel Harper provided last month to protect against ransomware also apply here.
The second Applied Networking Research Workshop will take place on Saturday, 15 July, immediately prior to the IETF 99 meeting in Prague, Czech Republic.
Today, we released an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) Environment Assessment for Tajikistan. This report was carried out in the framework of Internet Society’s partnership agreement with GÉANT with a view to support regional Internet development in Central Asia.
Beyond the Net Funding Programme is pleased to announce the results of our June 2017 grant application cycle. A total of 102 applications were received and, after a thorough review process, 12 projects were selected.
The new grantees are a group of talented, diverse, and devoted people committed to work on critical issues in their home region using the Internet to bring innovation and empower their communities all across the globe.
Today the OTA released the 9th annual Online Trust Audit and Honor Roll. This year’s Audit is our most comprehensive ever, assessing more than 1000 consumer-facing sites for their adoption of best practices in consumer/brand protection, site security and responsible privacy practices. Each year the audit raises the bar, using criteria that reflect the latest regulatory environment, attack vectors and commonly accepted practices providing users with notice and control regarding their data. The goal is to provide practical advice to organizations to help them move beyond compliance to stewardship, thus protecting their customers and their brand while improving trust in the Internet itself.
Last year alone, the international digital rights advocacy organization Access Now recorded 56 Internet shutdowns worldwide. There's concern about this growing trend and worry that governments are blocking social media and communications tools, in particular.
Many private sector and civil society organizations have condemned the shutdowns, and there have been dialogues and campaigns held around the world to try and prevent this growing trend. But while most of these dialogues are filled with decision-makers, legislators, and civil society organizations, young voices have been left out.
Our current website is a multilingual embarrassment.
Have you looked at our French home page lately? Or Spanish? Or Russian? Chinese? Arabic?
You probably haven't, according to our website statistics, and for a good reason: those home pages have not changed much in 2 years!
Today, we released a report on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) because we know that this report can augment discussions at the WSIS Forum in Geneva and beyond!
Andranik, Sipan, Rudolf and Vahan have several things in common: they are young, they have dreams, they love music, and they love the Internet. The four of them are visual impaired.
They met through the Internet Availability Center at the Cultural House of the Armenian Society of Blinds (ASB).
I had the chance to visit the Center last year and Rudolf told me: “For me the Internet is everything. I cannot imagine what my life, my studies would be without it.”
On 13 June 2017, Internet Society Vice President, Global Engagement, Raúl Echeberría, and Senior Director, Global Internet Policy, Constance Bommelaer de Leusse, participated in the Opening Ceremony and the High-Level Policy Session on Bridging Digital Divides at the World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS) 2017. Here are their reflections.
Given that within the coming years, another billion people are going come online along with billions more devices thanks to the Internet of things (IoT), we recognize that the community of Internet professionals and organizations cannot legitimately discuss access without addressing sustainability, especially as it relates to energy.
In the early stages of our process to build a new Internet Society website, we developed a "vision" for what we wanted the new website to be. Last year we spoke with many people throughout the larger Internet Society community. We spoke with staff, with Chapter leaders, with partner organizations, with individual members and many more.
As we launch the "beta" of the new website this week, I want to share with you the vision that emerged out of all of those aspirations: