Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news.


And see my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings.


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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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au: New Transfers (Change of Registrant) Policy takes effect today
http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/11/10/new-transfers-change-of-registrant-policy-takes-effect-today/

Why lodge a claim under the auDRP?
http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/11/08/why-lodge-a-claim-under-the-audrp/

Registration of .au domains by foreigners
http://www.coopermills.com.au/wordpress/index.php/2011/11/registration-of-au-domains-by-foreigners/

87 Major Assns. and Businesses Join with ANA to Form Coalition to Oppose ICANN?s TLD Expansion Program
http://www.ana.net/content/show/id/22351

Advertisers, Business, Opposing New gTLDs Get Desperate And Form Coalition To Oppose
http://www.domainpulse.com/2011/11/11/advertisers-business-opposing-new-gtlds/

How the most massive botnet scam ever made millions for Estonian hackers
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/how-the-most-massive-botnet-scam-ever-made-millions-for-estonian-hackers.ars

au: Companies not investing enough in IT security
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/cloud/companies-not-investing-enough-in-it-security-20111109-1n6v0.html

Hollywood's New War on Software Freedom and Internet Innovation
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/hollywood-new-war-on-software-freedom-and-internet-innovation


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 - ICANN
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US puts ICANN contract up for rebid
The US government has put the IANA contract, which currently gives ICANN its powers to create new TLDs, up for competitive bidding.
http://domainincite.com/us-puts-icann-contract-up-for-rebid/

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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au: New Transfers (Change of Registrant) Policy takes effect today
Earlier this year auDA set up a Secondary Market Working Group (SMWG) of industry and consumer representatives to examine the operation of the .au secondary market and recommend actions that should be taken to address any identified market failures. The SMWG handed its final recommendations to auDA in September, all of which were accepted.
http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/11/10/new-transfers-change-of-registrant-policy-takes-effect-today/

Why lodge a claim under the auDRP?
Imagine this dilemma ? your competitor Rob the builder has taken bobthefriendlybuilder.com.au, a domain name you want to register for your business.
http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/11/08/why-lodge-a-claim-under-the-audrp/

Registration of .au domains by foreigners
We are often asked, is it possible for someone who isn?t Australian to register .au domains names. The simple answer is yes absolutely!
http://www.coopermills.com.au/wordpress/index.php/2011/11/registration-of-au-domains-by-foreigners/

Canadians stumped to identify challenges or opportunities to the Internet in Canada
According to a report from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), 40 per cent of Canadians cannot identify a challenge to the success of the Internet in Canada.
http://www.cira.ca/news/news-releases/canadians-stumped-to-identify-challenges-or-opportunities-to-the-internet-in-canada/

fr: Special information day for Registrars organised by AFNIC on 21/11
To bolster registrar support for the major changes that are quickly approaching, AFNIC is organising a special information day on 21 November in Paris.
http://www.afnic.fr/en/about-afnic/news/general-news/5286/show/special-information-day-for-registrars-organised-by-afnic-on-21-11.html

Afilias launches 2011 .INFO Awards to select this year's best websites
The fifth annual .INFO Awards celebrate the tenth anniversary of the .INFO domain with larger-than-ever cash prizes.
http://www.afilias.info/news/2011/11/08/afilias-launches-2011-info-awards-select-year's-best-websites
http://info.info/content/afilias-launches-2011-info-awards-select-year's-best-websites

nz: Takedown of domain names - the rule of law and due process by Debbie Monahan, Domain Name Commissioner
There is a concerning trend where domain names used, or alleged to be used, by miscreants to facilitate fraud and theft over the Internet are becoming the target of law enforcement agencies which seek the immediate removal of the name from the DNS without following due process.
http://internetnz.net.nz/news/blog/2011/Takedown-domain-names---rule-law-and-due-process

Cyrillic Domain Names .?? (.RF) Are Now Officially Available for Non-residents
>From 11.11.2011 registration rules for Cyrillic TLD .?? (.RF) permit registrations made by non-Russian residents. Although domain name transfers are now possible.
http://www.nic.ru/news/en/2011/rf_for_nr.html

Amendments to be introduced in the draft Technical Policy of domains .RU and .??
On 9 November the Coordination Center hosted a task meeting on the rules of procedure and technical aspects of the new Terms and conditions of domain names registration in domains .RU and .?? with the accredited registrars, As many as 36 representatives of 24 Russian registrars attended the meeting.
http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=2000

uk: views from our management team
Yesterday at our annual .uk registrar conference we launched the Domain Business, our new site which takes the place of our annual Domain Name Industry Report. It brings you all the latest domain name statistics and trends. The report shows that .uk registrations grew by 10.5% over the past 12 months, bringing the total number of domains to 9.7 million by the end of September 2011. .uk also maintains its position as the world?s second largest country code registry after Germany?s .de.
http://blog.nominet.org.uk/insight/2011/11/the-domain-business/

Nominet reveals .uk domain registration growth
Nominet have revealed that .uk domain registrations grew by 10.5% over the past twelve months, bringing the total to 9.7 million and keeping the UK in the number two spot for worldwide registrations.
http://www.techwatch.co.uk/2011/11/10/nominet-reveals-uk-domain-registration-growth/

uk: Multi-year registration available from 1 May 2012
The new multi-year registration periods will offer greater choice for registrants, who can secure their domain for a longer term without worrying about regular renewals. It also gives registrars the opportunity to offer a more flexible package for .uk domain names.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=8854

uk: Nominet to roll out multi-year registration periods for .uk domain names
The current 2 year registration period for .uk domain names will change in 2012 to offer flexible registrations of up to 10 years, following a policy process and stakeholder consultation conducted by Nominet.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/releases/?contentId=8855

Lawley quits as .xxx sponsor chairman
ICM Registry president Stuart Lawley has stepped down as chairman of IFFOR, the sponsoring organization for .xxx, after ongoing criticism over potential conflicts of interest.
http://domainincite.com/lawley-quits-as-xxx-sponsor-chairman/

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 - NEW TLDS
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87 Major Assns. and Businesses Join with ANA to Form Coalition to Oppose ICANN?s TLD Expansion Program
Eighty-seven major national and international business associations and companies have joined forces with the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), forming the Coalition for Responsible Internet Domain Oversight (CRIDO) to oppose the rollout of ICANN's TLD expansion program.
http://www.ana.net/content/show/id/22351

Advertisers, Business, Opposing New gTLDs Get Desperate And Form Coalition To Oppose
It seems like a plethora of American advertising agency associations in recent weeks have just woken up to the fact that new generic TLDs are coming. Individually groups such as American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers have been complaining to ICANN with letters strewn with errors.
http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=16328
http://www.domainpulse.com/2011/11/11/advertisers-business-opposing-new-gtlds/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/advertisers-business-opposing-new-gtlds-get-desperate-and-form-coalition-to-oppose.html

Coalition To Fight ICANN's New Domain Name Plan
If you can't beat 'em, form a coalition! Nearly 90 industry groups and companies announced Thursday they have formed a new coalition to try to block a plan, to allow for the introduction of an unlimited number of new Internet addresses.
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2011/11/coalition-to-fight-icanns-new.php

Massive group forms to kill off new gTLDs
Eighty-seven companies and trade groups have formed the Coalition for Responsible Internet Domain Oversight, a lobby group set up to kill ICANN?s ?deeply flawed? TLDs program.
http://domainincite.com/massive-group-forms-to-kill-off-new-gtlds/

ICANN's IDN snubs not winning it any Bulgarian friends
Taking part in the Domain Forum in Bulgaria is turning out to be an extremely interesting experience providing a unique insight into other communities' concerns and issues with Internet governance in general, and ICANN in particular.
http://stephanevangelder.com/archives/381-ICANNs-IDN-snubs-not-winning-it-any-Bulgarian-friends.html

Will ?dot Bharat? help make the Internet more accessible to Indians?
The authority governing the internet in India will soon allow registration of domain names ending in ?dot Bharat? ? that?s dot India in Hindi ? and says that more Indian-language domain names, such as those in Gujarati and Tamil, will follow.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/will-dot-bharat-help-make-the-internet-more-accessible-to-indians/article2231739/

DomainForum in Sofia Focuses On NewTLDs
DomainForum is being held today in Sofia, Bulgaria with a firm focus on newTLDs.
http://www.internetnews.me/2011/11/07/domainforum-in-sofia-focuses-on-newtlds/

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 - DNS SECURITY
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How the most massive botnet scam ever made millions for Estonian hackers
More details have emerged about how the seven alleged Estonian and Russian hackers indicted by the US Wednesday managed to hijack over 4 million computers worldwide?many of them at government agencies and large companies?and rake in over $14 million from legitimate businesses.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/how-the-most-massive-botnet-scam-ever-made-millions-for-estonian-hackers.ars

Hackers may have spent years crafting Duqu
The hacker group behind Duqu may have been working on its attack code for more than four years, new analysis of the Trojan revealed Friday.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221760/Hackers_may_have_spent_years_crafting_Duqu
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/111111-hackers-may-have-spent-years-253035.html

au: Companies not investing enough in IT security
Chief information officers are aware of the increasingly dangerous cyber security environment but ignore this and instead have placed their trust in cloud computing providers, according to a study.
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/cloud/companies-not-investing-enough-in-it-security-20111109-1n6v0.html

MarkMonitor Q3 2011 Fraud Intelligence Report
The MarkMonitor Fraud Intelligence Report for the third quarter of 2011 is now available. The findings are:
https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/q3-2011-fraud-intelligence-report/

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Michael Geist: Internet belongs to us, U.S. argues
The U.S. Congress is currently embroiled in a heated debated over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), proposed legislation that supporters argue is needed to combat online infringement, but critics fear would create the ?great firewall of the United States.? ... The long arm of U.S. law manifests itself in at least five ways in the proposed legislation. First, it defines a ?domestic domain name? as a domain name ?that is registered or assigned by a domain name registrar, domain name registry, or other domain name registration authority, that is located within a judicial district of the United States.?
http://www.thestar.com/article/1085475--geist-internet-belongs-to-us-u-s-argues

Legal Brief - November 2011 Does the Registration of a Domain Constitute Trademark Infringement? by Chase Marshall :: Sedo.com Legal Intern
A recent decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has cleared up some confusion as to whether the registration of a domain name constitutes trademark infringement.
https://sedo.com/links/showlinks.php3?tracked=&partnerid=&language=us&Id=2932

au: Pelican Products, Inc. v. Terri Curyer - Case No. DAU2011-0021
1. The Parties: The Complainant is Pelican Products, Inc. of Miami, Florida, United States of America, represented by Fisher Adams Kelly Patent and Trademark Attorneys, Australia. The Respondent is Terri Curyer of Neutral Bay, New South Wales, Australia, represented per se. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar: The disputed domain name <pelican.com.au> is registered with NetRegistry Pty Ltd. ... 7. Decision: For the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the disputed domain name, <pelican.com.au>, be transferred to the Complainant.
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=DAU2011-0021

ru: Court to hear appeal against prohibition to use "rado.ru" domain name
RAPSI, Dmitry Shchitov. An appellate court will hear on November 23 an appeal against the judgment against Rado Uhren AG's lawsuit to prohibit Holmrook Limited from using its trademarks in the domain names, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Friday.
http://en.infosud.ru/judicial_news/20111111/257258642.html

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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Boost for move to new net addressing scheme
Efforts to shift the internet to a new addressing system have been boosted by US ISP Comcast. The firm has begun switching some customers over to a system built around the net's new addressing scheme, called IP Version 6 (IPv6).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15691319

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Hollywood's New War on Software Freedom and Internet Innovation
This is the third in our series breaking down the potential effects of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), an outrageous and grievously misguided bill now working its way through the House of Representatives. This post discusses dangerous software censorship provisions that are new in this bill, as well as the DNS censorship provisions it inherited from the Senate's COICA and PIPA bills. Please help us fight this misguided legislation by contacting Congress today. In this new bill, Hollywood has expanded its censorship ambitions. No longer content to just blacklist entries in the Domain Name System, this version targets software developers and distributors as well. It allows the Attorney General (doing Hollywood or trademark holders' bidding) to go after more or less anyone who provides or offers a product or service that could be used to get around DNS blacklisting orders. This language is clearly aimed at Mozilla, which took a principled stand in refusing to assist the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to censor the domain name system, but we are also concerned that it could affect the open source community, internet innovation, and software freedom more broadly:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/hollywood-new-war-on-software-freedom-and-internet-innovation

RIPE NCC Blocks Registration in RIPE Registry Following Order from Dutch Police
The RIPE NCC received a temporary order from the Dutch police to prevent any changes from being made to a registration of four specific blocks of IPv4 address space in the RIPE Registry.
http://www.ripe.net/internet-coordination/news/about-ripe-ncc-and-ripe/ripe-ncc-blocks-registration-in-ripe-registry-following-order-from-dutch-police

RIPE Membership and Stakeholder Survey 2011 - Results
The results of the Membership and Stakeholder Survey 2011 were presented at the RIPE 63 Meeting, which took place in Vienna, Austria from 31 October-4 November 2011.
http://www.ripe.net/internet-coordination/news/about-ripe-ncc-and-ripe/membership-and-stakeholder-survey-2011-results

Will Google Search Replace Domain Names? by Naseem Javed
The growing notion among big advertising agencies and brand marketers is that as search engines find answers instantly, there's no real need to enter a domain name in the browser and therefore domain names are far less important. They're absolutely right. Why would you type www.rolex.com when you can simply enter 'Rolex' and be there before you blink? But where they are seriously wrong is when you enter anything like 'Interlink', 'Pronet', 'National Trust', 'Premier Traders' or 'United Manufacturing', uncontrollable citations will gush out from every corners of the world.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/will_google_search_replace_domain_names/

O, No! Overstock Backs Off O.co Name Change
Overstock.com officially rebranded itself as O.co about six months ago. It changed the sign on the NFL stadium to which it owns the naming rights, revamped its website with O.co signage, and began an aggressive run of TV commercials that declared, "Overstock.com is now O.co." Except that now it's not. The company is returning to Overstock.com on the website, in online ads, and in new TV ads for holiday.
http://adage.com/article/news/o-overstock-backs-o-change/230983/

APNIC EC Endorses Policy Decisions from APNIC 32
A consensus policy decision from the APNIC 32 Policy SIG Meeting was endorsed by the Executive Council (EC) on Thursday, 3 November 2011.
http://www.apnic.net/publications/news/2011/prop-096

Wilfried Woeber Appointed to the NRO NC
Wilfried Woeber was appointed by the RIPE NCC Executive Board to take the vacant seat on the Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC).
http://www.nro.net/news/wilfried-woeber-appointed-to-nro-nc

Netcraft November 2011 Web Server Survey
In the November 2011 survey, we received responses from 525,998,433 sites, giving a rise of 22 million (+4.3%) since last month.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2011/11/07/november-2011-web-server-survey.html

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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One of the Year's Ten Biggest Domain Sales Leads a Quartet of 6-Figure Deals to the Top of This Week's Chart
The big boys came out to play this week giving the domain aftermarket four six-figure sales, including one that ranks among the ten biggest reported so far this year. That is Look.com, a domain that Banks.com sold to Quidsi Inc. for a cool $400,000 in a private transaction. The sale was made public in an SEC Form 8-K filing.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2011/20111109.htm

Is It Too Late to Make Money in the Domain Business? Ask the Guys Who Just Sold Meet.me for $450,000 
One of the questions I am most frequently asked is whether or not it is too late to make money in the domain business? Obviously, I thought the answer was "no, it's not too late" when I entered the field in 2002 (a time when a lot of others were getting out).
http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20111110.htm

Biz Stone, Co-Founder of Twitter, Will Keynote 2012 DOMAINfest Global Conference
DomainSponsor?, the domain traffic monetization division of Oversee.net? and organizer of the critically acclaimed DOMAINfest series of conferences, announced today that Biz Stone, Co-Founder of Twitter will keynote the 2012 DOMAINfest Global? Conference to be held from January 31 to February 2, 2012 at the luxurious Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif.
http://oversee.net/news/482

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INTERNET USE
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Aussie kids early adopters online
Australian children are among the earliest in the world to use the internet, but three in 10 report having been bothered by something online. This is more than twice as many as the 12 per cent average for 25 other countries.
http://www.ecu.edu.au/news/latest-news/2011/11/aussie-kids-early-adopters-online

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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nz: Search for child pornography becoming 'normalised'
3 News can reveal that a controversial internet filter has blocked more than 13 million New Zealand based attempts to access hardcore child pornography.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Search-for-child-pornography-becoming-normalised/tabid/423/articleID/232604/Default.aspx

Strengthening laws to combat online child sexual exploitation [news release]
Countries wishing to enhance their online child protection laws will now have the opportunity, following the acceptance of a legislative global engagement strategy presented at the INTERPOL General Assembly last week.
http://ceop.police.uk/Media-Centre/Press-releases/2011/Strengthening-laws-to-combat-online-child-sexual-exploitation/

us: Operator of Social Networking Website for Kids Settles FTC Charges Site Collected Kids? Personal Information Without Parental Consent [news release]
The operator of skidekids.com, a website that advertises itself as the ?Facebook and Myspace for Kids,? has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he collected personally information from approximately 5,600 children without obtaining prior parental consent, in violation of the Commission?s Children?s Online Privacy Protection Act (?COPPA?) Rule.
http://ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/skidekids.shtm

uk: Cyberbullying victims speak out: 'they were anonymous so they thought they could get away with it'
Two young victims of cyberbullying have spoken out against the anonymity of their tormentors, as a new study shows that ?cyberbullying? has now affected a third of teenagers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8885876/Cyberbullying-victims-speak-out-they-were-anonymous-so-they-thought-they-could-get-away-with-it.html

Mobbing erreicht neue Dimensionen
Je brisanter das Thema, desto sp?rlicher der Besuch? Eher entt?uschend fiel der Auftakt f?r die Mobbing-Pr?ventionstage am Donnerstag aus. Das bezieht sich aber nur auf die erschienene Besucherzahl, denn geboten wurde wirklich jede Menge zum diesj?hrigen Schwerpunktthema: Der Arbeitskreis "Zusammenarbeit Polizei, Schule, Jugendhilfe" stand als Ansprechpartner zur Verf?gung und hielt reichlich Informationsmaterial zur Mitnahme bereit.
http://www.cn-online.de/lokales/news/mobbing-erreicht-neue-dimensionen.html?tx_ttnewsextender[imgIndex]=0&cHash=277f7bc849072168b8903b66e792dcfb

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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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Illegally downloaded games 'up 20% in five years'
The number of illegally downloaded video games has gone up nearly 20% in the last five years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/15627247

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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London becomes 4G high speed internet hotspot
London will begin to switch on 4G high-speed mobile internet with the launch of the first large-scale public trial in Britain.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/13/4g-high-speed-mobile-internet-trial-in-london

Telstra to counter Android malware
Telstra has partnered with a mobile security provider to counter malware on Android smartphones and tablets.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/telstra-moves-to-counter-android-malware/story-e6frgakx-1226194113106

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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The Last Person by Thomas L. Friedman
There is a concept in telecommunications called ?the last mile,? that part of any phone system that is the most difficult to connect ? the part that goes from the main lines into people?s homes. Prem Kalra, the director of the new Indian Institute of Technology in Rajasthan, one of the elite M.I.T.?s of India, has dedicated his school to overcoming a different challenge: connecting ?the last person.?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/friedman-the-last-person.html

in: Internet?s last-mile challenges by Osama Manzar
The situation of Internet connectivity in India is like our roads. It is not about how much Internet is available in India, but the quality of its bandwidth
http://www.livemint.com/2011/11/13225841/Internet8217s-lastmile-cha.html

in: Putting the pieces together
Bringing affordable web access and applications to the masses is the crux of Nokia?s new strategy.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/puttingpieces-together/455337/

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
**********************
Cyber criminals 'should get tough sentences' say police
The head of Scotland Yard's e-crime unit has made a veiled attack on judges over the sentencing of cyber criminals.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15680466

Russian men 'posed as women' in online scam
Russian prosecutors have charged a group of 35 men with posing online as women to scam dozens of foreigners out of cash.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/10/russian-men-posed-women-online

Spam Researchers Help Bust Global Cybercrime Ring
When law enforcement authorities took down this week an international ring of Internet grifters who allegedly scammed more than $14 million from their victims, a key element of their crackdown was a spam database maintained by the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/243748/spam_researchers_help_bust_global_cybercrime_ring.html

**********************
SECURITY
**********************
How the most massive botnet scam ever made millions for Estonian hackers
More details have emerged about how the seven alleged Estonian and Russian hackers indicted by the US Wednesday managed to hijack over 4 million computers worldwide?many of them at government agencies and large companies?and rake in over $14 million from legitimate businesses.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/how-the-most-massive-botnet-scam-ever-made-millions-for-estonian-hackers.ars

Hackers may have spent years crafting Duqu
The hacker group behind Duqu may have been working on its attack code for more than four years, new analysis of the Trojan revealed Friday.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221760/Hackers_may_have_spent_years_crafting_Duqu
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/111111-hackers-may-have-spent-years-253035.html

au: Companies not investing enough in IT security
Chief information officers are aware of the increasingly dangerous cyber security environment but ignore this and instead have placed their trust in cloud computing providers, according to a study.
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/cloud/companies-not-investing-enough-in-it-security-20111109-1n6v0.html

MarkMonitor Q3 2011 Fraud Intelligence Report
The MarkMonitor Fraud Intelligence Report for the third quarter of 2011 is now available. The findings are:
https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/q3-2011-fraud-intelligence-report/

**********************
PRIVACY
**********************
Germany prepares to sue Facebook over facial recognition feature [IDG]
The Hamburg Data Protection Authority (DPA) is starting preliminary procedures to bring legal action against Facebook over the facial recognition feature used for photo tagging on the social network. The authority decided that further negotiation is futile after the social networking giant didn't agree to obtain consent from users retroactively.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221747/Germany_prepares_to_sue_Facebook_over_facial_recognition_feature
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/111111-germany-prepares-to-sue-facebook-253012.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/243612/germany_prepares_to_sue_facebook_over_facial_recognition_feature.html

Facebook faces lawsuit over facial-recognition feature
The state data protection authority in Hamburg is preparing to sue the social-networking giant over the feature, which automatically recognizes and tags photos in Facebook users' networks, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57322815-93/facebook-faces-lawsuit-over-facial-recognition-feature/
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/regulation/2011/11/11/facebook-faces-german-lawsuit-over-facial-recognition-40094396/

F.T.C. Said to Be Near Facebook Privacy Deal
Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission are nearing a settlement over deceptive practices related to several Facebook features, including its privacy settings, according to two people briefed on the settlement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/technology/facebook-is-said-to-be-near-ftc-settlement-on-privacy.html

Facebook 'to seek consent for privacy changes'
Privacy campaigners have welcomed a report that Facebook is to ask users to opt into any changes in the way it uses their personal information.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15692542

Privacy Loses in Twitter/Wikileaks Records Battle - Ruling Allows U.S. Government Warrantless Access to Users' Data
A district court judge in Virginia ruled against online privacy today, allowing U.S federal investigators to collect private records of three Twitter users as part of its investigation related to Wikileaks. The judge also blocked the users' attempt to discover whether other Internet companies have been ordered to turn their data over to the government.
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/privacy-loses-twitterwikileaks-records-battle

**********************
CENSORSHIP
**********************
US court verdict 'huge blow' to privacy, says former WikiLeaks aide
Icelandic MP and former WikiLeaks volunteer Birgitta Jonsdottir has slammed the decision by US courts to open her Twitter account to the US authorities and is taking her case to the Council of Europe.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/11/us-verdict-privacy-wikileaks-twitter

Regimes Use U.S. Tech to Censor Citizens, Study Finds
A company whose Internet-filtering servers were recently found to have been used by Syria's regime for censorship is facing a new research report that Myanmar, too, uses its technology?and that the Syrian use is wider than acknowledged.
http://www.technologyreview.com/web/39113/

China restricts local media from sourcing info from Internet [IDG]
China has released new rules limiting the nation's media outlets from sourcing unverified information from the Internet, in its continuing bid to crack down on online rumors.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/111111-china-restricts-local-media-from-253001.html

China cracks down on media use of the internet for stories [AP]
China's censors are trying to keep online criticism and rumours from reaching a broader audience, issuing new orders prohibiting the media from reporting internet postings before they have been verified.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/11/china-crackdown-media-internet-stories

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Internet keeps governments honest: Google chief [AFP]
Broader adoption of the internet will keep governments on their toes as wired-up citizens exercise their newfound power to check rights abuses, Google chief Eric Schmidt said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10765965

Hollywood's New War on Software Freedom and Internet Innovation
This is the third in our series breaking down the potential effects of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), an outrageous and grievously misguided bill now working its way through the House of Representatives. This post discusses dangerous software censorship provisions that are new in this bill, as well as the DNS censorship provisions it inherited from the Senate's COICA and PIPA bills. Please help us fight this misguided legislation by contacting Congress today.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/hollywood-new-war-on-software-freedom-and-internet-innovation

Michael Geist: Internet belongs to us, U.S. argues
The U.S. Congress is currently embroiled in a heated debated over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), proposed legislation that supporters argue is needed to combat online infringement, but critics fear would create the ?great firewall of the United States.?
http://www.thestar.com/article/1085475--geist-internet-belongs-to-us-u-s-argues
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1085475--geist-internet-belongs-to-us-u-s-argues

House hearing on Stop Online Piracy Act scheduled
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will conduct a hearing on the controversial copyright enforcement bill, the Stop Online Piracy Act, on Wednesday, the committee has announced.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/internet/3317835/house-hearing-on-stop-online-piracy-act-scheduled/

us: Senate blocks resolution to overturn net-neutrality rules
The Senate voted, 46-52, against moving forward with a resolution that would overturn federal regulations that govern anticompetitive behavior online.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111111_4704.php

U.S. Senate defeats effort to block Internet rules
New U.S. Internet traffic rules cleared a hurdle on Thursday, surviving an attempt by the U.S. Senate to block them from taking effect later in the month.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/10/idINIndia-60455120111110

us: Piracy legislation needed to battle huge problem, experts say [IDG]
Legislation in the U.S. Congress that would allow federal law enforcement officials to block websites accused of copyright piracy is necessary because of the vast number of foreign sites trading in infringing music and movies and counterfeit products, two supporters of the bills said.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/111011-piracy-legislation-needed-to-battle-252993.html

InternetNZ warns for trading away digital future in TPP
New Zealand internet promotion society InternetNZ has issued a warning that, in the absence of independently verifiable and comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, there is a risk that the intellectual property rights chapter (IPR chapter) will become an easy trade-off for the government when negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/internetnz-warns-for-trading-away-digital-future-in-tpp

nz: Skynet notices a shot across the bow
Last month, about 100 copyright infringement notices - issued under the two-month old Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act - were sent to local internet users alleging that they illegally downloaded and shared copyright material.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/5958076/Skynet-notices-a-shot-across-the-bow

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MISCELLANEOUS
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HTML5: A Look Behind the Technology Changing the Web
... The technology allows Internet browsers to display jazzed-up images and effects that react to users' actions, delivering game-like interactivity without installing additional software. Developers can use HTML5 to get their creations on a variety of smartphones, tablets and PCs without tailoring apps for specific hardware or the online stores that have become gatekeepers to mobile commerce.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203537304577030033160849296.html

nz: Free internet for Porirua homes
Hundreds of homes in Cannons Creek will have free wi-fi next year in an attempt to narrow the growing digital divide in Porirua.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/innovation/5950642/Free-wi-fi-for-Porirua-homes
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/innovation/5950642/Free-internet-for-Porirua-homes

nz: Free internet roll-out in Porirua
Free wi-fi will be rolled out to hundreds of Cannons Creek homes next year in a bid to narrow the digital divide as many families cannot afford another bill.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5953693/Free-internet-roll-out-in-Cannons-Creek/

InternetNZ awards NZD 45,000 in grants
New Zealand internet advocacy group InternetNZ has awarded more than NZD 45,000 of grants funding in its Community Projects Funding Round.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/internetnz-awards-nzd-45000-in-grants

InternetNZ offers funding for Christchurch
InternetNZ is ?dipping into its reserves? to provide $435,000 in funding for initiatives contributing to the Christchurch rebuild, according to the advocacy group?s chief executive.
http://www.techday.co.nz/itbrief/news/internetnz-offers-funding-for-christchurch/21497/

InternetNZ Christchurch Funding Round
Earthquake-damaged Cathedral SquareInternetNZ has launched a funding round as part of its contribution to helping rebuild the earthquake-ravaged Canterbury region. If you or your organisation are seeking funding for an Internet/ICT-related project that will contribute to the rebuild then we would love to hear from you.
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/juha/7861

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Internet Architects Warn of Risks in Ultrafast Networks
If nothing else, Arista Networks proves that two people can make more than $1 billion each building the Internet and still be worried about its reliability.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/technology/arista-networks-founders-aim-to-alter-how-computers-connect.html

Putting the Brakes on Web-Surfing Speeds
State-of-the-art Web surfing, for all of its breathtaking speed, can be baffling. A favorite page gets hung up. A data-intensive application, like playing a video or downloading large files, stutters or stops. Is it the telecommunications operator? Is it the Web site? Is it the smartphone or the computer? Or just a sign of Internet thrombosis?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/technology/putting-the-brakes-on-web-surfing-speeds.html

au: Citi prices Turnbull broadband plan at $17b
Although Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been mum on definite costs, Citigroup Global Markets estimates that the coalition's broadband plan would set Australian taxpayers back approximately $16.7 billion, and could be completed by the end of 2018.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/citi-prices-turnbull-broadband-plan-at-17b-339325988.htm

nz: Telecom confirms November 30 demerger date
Telecom has confirmed receipt of the final court orders from the High Court, which allows the demerger of Chorus to proceed as planned, on 30 November 2011.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/telecom-confirms-november-30-demerger-date

nz: Internet group urges caution over spectrum
Internet New Zealand wants the Government to delay dividing the old analogue television spectrum so it can see what other countries are doing with their frequencies.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/90939/internet-group-urges-caution-over-spectrum

nz: FORUM: Fixed internet vs mobile internet
How will telcos and players such as Apple and Google operate when mobile broadband subscribers vastly outnumber fixed line subscribers?
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/fixed-internet-vs-mobile-internet

UK faces superfast digital divide say network providers
Broadband firms have warned that a new digital divide is emerging. Speakers at the Westminster eForum said that around 10% of the UK will not be able to get superfast broadband in the next decade.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15679101

India telecoms corruption trial under way
The trial in India's biggest corruption scandal has begun in Delhi with the questioning of the first witnesses.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15688352

India's $40bn telecoms corruption scandal
The trial in India's biggest corruption scandal has begun in Delhi with the questioning of the first witnesses.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15690994

Trai repeats call to scrap 69 licences for rollout delays
Telecom regulator Trai has reiterated its stand of November 18, 2010 that 69 licences awarded since 2008 should be cancelled for failure to roll out networks in time.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/-Trai-repeats-call-to-scrap-69-licences-for-rollout-delays/articleshow/10698120.cms

uk: Metal thieves cut off coastguard communications
Lives were put at risk when coastguards? communications were cut off for a 36-hour period in the latest example of the disruption caused by a spate of metal thefts.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8885654/Metal-thieves-cut-off-coastguard-communications.html


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(c) David Goldstein 2011

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David Goldstein

 email: david at goldsteinreport.com

 web:   http://goldsteinreport.com/
         http://davidgoldstein.tel/
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/home

"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery