In The News

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf File Cybersquatting Claims

Courthouse News Service, May 13, 2009: The pro tennis players say companies are using their names and trademarks on websites without permission. Agassi and Graf seek ownership of the domain names and have filed cybersquatting claims in Federal Court. An innovator in the industry, the National Arbitration Forum has received over 10,000 domain name disputes filed worldwide through its state-of-the-art case management system. Link to Full Story

Spammers exploit "swine" flu fears in phishing scams

Cnet News, April 28, 2009: Spammers are using e-mails purportedly about the "swine" flu outbreak to phish for personal information. E-mails typically either have a subject line such as "Suspected Mexican flu toll hits 81," offer to sell Internet users bogus medication, or drop spyware on the user's computer. E-mail recipients are asked to respond with information about anyone they know infected with "swine" flu, and spammers then use the responses to gather confidential personal information. Security experts estimate that approximately 4% of all spam currently circulated uses the "swine" flu to catch recipient's attention. Link to Full Story

Internet Crime Up 33% in 2008

SiliconValley.com, March 30, 2009: The Internet Crime Complaint Center ("ICCC") released statistics indicating that reported Internet crime cases rose by 33% in 2008. The ICCC, a nonprofit group that tracks white collar crime, is a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center , and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. In the ICCC's annual report, around 275,000 complaints were filed last year, which is up from about 207,000 the year before. The ICCC also reported that the estimated dollar loss from such scams was at $265 million, or about $25 million more than 2007. In addition, the annual report showed that men were more likely to be struck by Internet crimes, likely due to the type of shopping that men do online compared to women. Link to Full Story

A Bill to Shift Cybersecurity to White House

Cnet.com, March 20, 2009: A bill authored by Senators Jan Rockefeller (D-W.V.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) would take responsibility for cybersecurity from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and give it to the White House. The bill would create an Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor and a Cybersecurity Advisory Panel to advise the President and address national and international cybersecurity issues. Industry groups are expected to oppose a provision of the bill that would give the National Cybersecurity Advisor the power to disconnect "critical" federal networks from the Internet in the event of a cyberattack. Link to full story

Economic Stimulus Plan Spurs Spam

Cnet.com, March 4, 2009: Since President Obama's economic stimulus plan was launched, the Federal Trade Commission has reported a large uptick in spam related to the stimulus plan. According to the FTC, "[d]eceptive Web sites, advertisements, and e-mail campaigns have cropped up across the Web in recent weeks, luring consumers into scams by promising them federal grant money from the stimulus package." Both Google and Facebook have joined with the FTC to pull fraudulent advertisements related to the stimulus plan. Many of the advertisements use President Obama's photo and offer funds through the stimulus plan. The FTC believes that these fraudulent advertisements and spam usually lead consumers to giving out sensitive information, which is then used by the recipient for identity theft. Link to Full Story

Number of 2008 Cybersquatting Cases Consist with 2007

CBCNews, March 17, 2009: Canadian Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa Michael Geist downplayed the recent report on cybersquatting. He noted in his blog that overall, the number of domain name disputes grew by only three per cent last year, even though the number of domain names on the internet grew by 12 percent in 2008, according to the internet infrastructure company Verisign. Link to Full Story

National Arbitration Forum Handles 1,770 Domain Name Disputes in 2008

PRNewswire, March 11, 2009: The National Arbitration Forum announced that a total of 1,770 cases were filed in its domain name dispute resolution program in 2008. The National Arbitration Forum is approved by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to provide domain name dispute resolution services under policies like the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Notable 2008 decisions involved trademarks such as American Girl, Canadian Television, and YouTube. National Arbitration Forum domain name dispute proceedings and decisions are available online in a searchable case database. See Press Release

Web Inventor Warns about Internet Snooping

Guardian.co.uk, March 11, 2009: Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web, warned that third parties, including commercial companies shouldn't be allowed to view consumers' Internet browsing. Knowing what a consumer is browsing through can be very helpful to a third-party because it shows exactly what the consumer is looking for at that moment in time. This sensitive information can be very powerful to companies looking to sell goods or services. Sir Tim Berners-Lee believes that Internet users browse the worldwide web in a particular fashion right now and their Internet activities would change greatly if they knew a third-party was watching their every move. He maintains that third-party possession of this information about Internet usage could contribute to activities detrimental to the interests of Internet users, like selling confidential personal information, affecting job application considerations, and determining insurance premiums. Link to Full Story

Domain Name Victory for Trademark Holder American Automobile Association (AAA)

Intellectual Property Today, February 18, 2009: The IP magazine reports that a panel of the National Arbitration Forum has ruled that "proxy" services that register domain names for others and keep private the true owners' identities may be arbitrated directly in trademark disputes under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The ruling came in response to a proceeding initiated by trademark holder The American Automobile Association, Inc. (AAA), which recovered 55 domain names in the dispute. Link to Full Story

President Obama Initiates Review of Online Security

WashingtonPost.com, February 10, 2009: On February 9, 2009, President Obama ordered Melissa Hathaway, a leading expert on cyber security issues and Bush administration appointee, to conduct a 60-day review of the nation's cyber security infrastructure. Obama's top counterterrorism and homeland security advisor, John Brennan, stressed the importance of cyber security while also stating he was confident legal and privacy-protecting safeguards would be found. The Obama Administration entered office critical of Bush's cyber security policy, but it is still unclear if the Obama Administration will create a permanent cyber security post reporting directly to the President. Link to Full Story

Data scams have kicked into high gear as markets tumble

USA Today, January 30, 2009: In an effort to take advantage of the current economic uncertainty, cybercriminals have launched a new wave of Internet-based schemes to steal personal data and carry out financial scams, security specialists say. The number of scams which deliver malicious programs rose to 31,000 per day in September 2008. These new scams – often involving online promotions touting fake computer virus protection or get-rich-quick schemes – seem to have coincided with the collapse of the U.S. financial sector. The rise in scams has affected individuals through theft of private information and organizations through attacks on data storehouses. Rising unemployment among IT professionals has some security experts concerned that more will turn to cybercrime. Link to full story

Malaysia Mulls ‘ Cyber Court' to Handle Internet Crimes

AFP, January 5, 2009: Malaysia is considering establishing a ‘cyber court' to deal with the increasing number of crimes related to the Internet and blogging. Malaysia's mainstream media is tightly controlled by the government, which has express frustration over its inability to rein in blogs and Internet portals. Media watchdog Reporters Without Border has ranked Malaysia 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index. Link to full story

Kentucky cannot seize Internet domain names, court says

ComputerWorld, January 22, 2009: In a 2-1 opinion, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that the state does not have the right to seize 141 Internet domain names, all registered outside of Kentucky, that contravene state law. The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet sought to shut down the gambling websites to protect state residents from "illegal, unregulated and untaxed industry." The Court of Appeals decided that a domain name was not in and of itself a gambling device and as such was outside the scope of state law and therefore could not be seized. The state has appealed the decision to Kentucky's Supreme Court. Link to full story

ICANN Changes Causing Concern Among U.S. Businesses

PCworld.com, January 14, 2009: A number of Internet-based businesses have expressed their support of an agreement between the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") and the U.S. Government to continue joint governance over the Internet. The original ten-year agreement is set to expire in September, and many other countries have been calling for ICANN to be more international in its policies. Many U.S. businesses are worried that this increased interest by other countries will cause ICANN to be split into two domain name systems, each overseeing a different set of domain names. Link to Full Story

New Domain Welcomed as Significant Innovation

The Guardian, December 3, 2008: The launch of the new ".tel" domain allows companies and individuals to create a virtual address book that will store a variety of contact information online, and will offer it to users according to where they are and how they connect to the service. A number of people around the world have signaled that ".tel" will be the greatest innovation the Internet has seen since ".com" was created. December 3, 2008 marked the beginning of the two-month "sunrise" period, during which the owners of trademarks can apply for ".tel" domains for their brands, products and businesses. After that period ends on February 3, 2009, domains will go on general sale on a first-come, first-served basis. Link to Full Story

Verizon Awarded "Largest-Ever" Cybersquatting Judgment

CNET News, December 24, 2008: In what the company is calling the largest cybersquatting judgment ever, Verizon Communications was awarded $33.15 million by a federal court in Northern California. Verizon's trademark infringement claim was based on 663 domain names that could be easily confused with Verizon names. The default award was calculated based on a rate of $50,000 per domain name. Verizon may have difficulty collecting the money as the defendant, OnlineNIC, has not responded to any attempts at communication. Link to full story

ICANN's gTLD Proposal Hits a Wall: Now What?

Circle ID, December 23, 2008: ICANN's plan to begin accepting applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) in mid-2009 may have been forestalled by a surge of opposition from the global business community and the United States Government. In its comments of December 18th, the US Government questioned whether ICANN had adequately addressed the "threshold question of whether the consumer benefits outweigh the potential costs." It is unclear how ICANN will react to the criticism. Link to full story

Plans in Place to Allow Custom Domain Names

Forbes Magazine, November 17, 2008: Forbes reports that the Internet Association for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently announced that it will begin registering custom domain names, such as ".nuts," ".cellphones," or just about anything registrants want. This could potentially cause major problems for trademarks, as squatters can buy up trademarked domain names to sell at a high price or use trademarks to falsely lure site visitors. Cases such as these can be arbitrated by ICANN-approved arbitration providers like the National Arbitration Forum. There is no guarantee that the idea of custom domain names will be popular, in fact, this move to expand domain names has caused unease. View the Full Article

ICANN Drops Bad Domain Registrar on Technicality

PC World, November 13, 2008: An Estonian company that registers domain names will have its accreditation revoked, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) reported Wednesday. After EstDomains's president was convicted of credit card fraud, money laundering, and document forgery in Estonia in February, ICANN said it was revoking the company's accreditation because it had violated its contract, and not because of bad behavior. The registrar held domain name registrations for a trove of websites that hawked pharmaceutical products, sold bogus software, and tried to infect users' PCs with malicious software. Link to Full Story

Spam Volume Drops as Large Hosting Firm Goes Offline

Washingtonpost.com, November 12, 2008: The volume of junk e-mail sent worldwide plummeted after a Web-hosting firm identified by the computer security community as a major host of organizations engaged in spam activity was taken offline. Experts say the drop-off in spam comes from Internet providers unplugging McColo Corp., a hosting provider in Northern California that was the home base for machines responsible for coordinating the sending of roughly 75 percent of all spam each day. Link to Full Story

New Top-Level Domain, ".tel," to Discourage Cybersquatters

The Register, November 6, 2008: A new top-level domain ("TLD") to be launched in December will be the first to be incompatible with advertising, making it unattractive to most cybersquatters. The ".tel" domain will not host websites, only contact information that will be sent to computers and phones, such as blackberries or iPhones requesting the information. Most cybersquatting is done by companies who earn money in pay-per-click advertising, which will be impossible with the ".tel" TLD. The domain will begin to accept applications only from trademark holders for the first two months, beginning on December 3, 2008. Link to Full Story

Are Ad Providers Legitimately Profiting from Typosquatting? 

National Arbitration Forum Domain News, November 2008: Both sides present legitimate arguments. Whatever the outcome of this case, it will have to balance the competing demands of both the e-commerce market and the trademark owner's rights. Link to Domain News

Nominet Launches New Domain Name Business Resource

DomainNews.com, October 23, 2008: Nominet, the registry for .co.uk, in attempts to help businesses protect their domain names has launched the new resource www.keepyour.co.uk. This resource will educate companies on the "how, why and when they need to renew their domain names." The reason behind the push for education is that in the next two years, over 140,000 .co.uk domains will be re-registered in less than 10 seconds after becoming available. This highlights the imperative that businesses renew their domain names before others can take it. The resource is mainly directed at smaller businesses that are less savvy about domain name issues. Link to Full Story

Can Website Terms of Use Protect You?

Internet Law & Strategy, October 22, 2008: Website terms of use dictate acceptable user behavior of a website, according to ILS reporter Nick Akerman. Several recent court case have brought terms of use to the forefront, as site owners are discovering that these terms can protect them and their users from unwanted behavior. Enforced by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, terms of use protect site owners against competitors by restricting use of site content, and protect users by banning activities such as spamming or harassment from other users. Website terms of use can also protect site owners in domain dispute cases, such as those arbitrated by the National Arbitration Forum. View the Full Article

Harvard Professor Sues Google

The Harvard Crimson, October 17, 2008: Harvard Business School professor Benjamin G. Edelman has filed a class action suit against Google for supplying advertisements on "typosquatting" websites. "Typosquatting" creates domain names that are misspellings of well-known trade names. The website either redirects the user to the typosquatter's webpage or the site is a landing page with multiple click-through links to competitors of the trade name or other services. Edelman conservatively estimates that by supplying these ads to typosquatters, Google generates up to 50 million dollars of gross revenue. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are any American trademark holder targeted by typosquatters. The lawsuit names as defendants not only Google but several large typosquatting companies as well. Link to Full Story

Cybercrimes on the Rise

Cnet.com, October 15, 2008: The Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") reported that the threats of cybersecurity attacks are on the rise from organized crime, terrorists, and foreign governments. The attempted attacks on U.S. networks are "increasingly sophisticated" and "the amount of information that has been stolen is significant," said Shawn Henry, assistant director of the FBI cyber division. Henry stated that infiltrations and electronic surveillance of illegal activity are preferred over taking reactive action against cybercrime because it creates the "opportunity to ultimately dismantle the organization" at fault. Link to Full Story

Cybersquatter Affects Beverage Company's Trademarks

NewsBlaze, October 14, 2008: A panelist ruled in favor of Anheuser-Busch, regarding several Internet domain names. In August, the panelist issued a ruling in favor of Anheuser-Busch regarding the rights to 2 URLs, BudRacing.com and BudweiserRacing.com. The domains, he ruled, were confusingly similar to the BUD and BUDWEISER trademarks owned by Anheuser-Busch and were used to profit from traffic from the trademarks. Link to Full Story

Patrick Dempsey Wins Domain Name Fight

Yahoo!, October 14, 2008: Minnesota-based domain name dispute resolution provider the National Arbitration Forum recently made a decision. An independent arbitrator ruled that ownership of the Patrick-Dempsey.org domain name should be transferred to Patrick Dempsey, the popular actor on the ABC television show called "Grey's Anatomy". According to the press release "the National Arbitration Forum domain program offers parties the best option for speedy and cost-effective dispute resolution ." Link to Full Story

Changes to the Internet Space: Is Your Client Ready?

The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 2008: With the adoption of Web 2.0 having a company website is no longer a nice to have but has quickly become a must have. When building your company, selecting the online domain name is important as it helps associate the site with the company brand. As Internet savvy individuals began to recognize the potential value of domain names, ICANN adopted the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) as a means for resolving disputes over the names. The biggest challenge businesses face is that unlike a traditional trademark, a single domain name can only be registered once in each top-level domain. The article, Changes to the Internet Space: Is Your Client Ready?, talks about how the National Arbitration Forum and the UDRP can help settle domain name disputes as well as the protection of trademark rights within the new system. Link to Full Story

Legal Company Loses Claim for WeThePeople.com

DomainNameWire, September 29, 2008: We The People LLC, a legal document service provider filed a domain name complaint against the registered owner of WeThePeople.com. In September a panel of three domain name dispute resolution panelists denied transfer of WeThePeople.com. The Panel declined Respondent Michael C. Mason's request for a finding of reverse domain name hijacking. Link to Full Story

Internet Service Providers Discuss Consumer Privacy on Capitol Hill

Cnet.com, September 25, 2008:  Several of the largest Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") met with members of Congress about protecting consumer privacy against targeted ad campaigns.  The ISPs urged lawmakers to stay away from stiff regulations on Internet advertising and instead asked them to focus on giving the ISPs a chance to self-regulate.  Gigi Sohn, president of public-interest advocacy group Public Knowledge, outlined measures that ISPs, advertising networks, and search engine companies should be deploying, as the use of targeted online advertising gains favor with advertisers.  In addition, she stressed the importance of ISPs not using deep-packet inspections as a means for targeting consumers.  "Deep-packet inspection is the Internet equivalent of the postal service reading your mail. They might be reading your mail for any number of reasons, but the fact remains that your mail is being read by people whose job it is to deliver it," Sohn said.  Link to Full Story

Cybersquatters Move in on Merged Bank Names

BBC News, September 17, 2008:  Opportunistic cyber-squatters are seeking to capitalize on the rush of emergency mergers on Wall Street by snapping up domain names related to the collapsed banks and their buyers.  Among the web addresses snapped up are <barclayslehman.com> and <bankofamericamerrilllynch.com>, which have been put up for sale on eBay.  Also available on the online auction site are <bofaml.com>, <bankofamericaml.com> and a series of derivative web addresses.  The value of collecting click-through fees for these merged bank names is cited as the major reason for their acquisitions, but cybersquatters are also hoping to profit from the high sales prices these domain names could command at auction.  Link to Full Story

Cybercriminals Using Celebrity Names to Lure in Internet Users

Reuters, September 16, 2008:  A report done by Internet security firm McAfee Inc. has shown that the most dangerous celebrity names to search are "Brad Pitt" and "Beyonce."  The report showed that 18 percent of all searches on the two celebrity names led to their PCs being infected with a virus, spyware, spam, phishing and adware.  Other celebrities on McAfee's most dangerous list include singers Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Fergie and film stars Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz and George Clooney.  McAfee outlined in the report that reasonable precautions are being taken to protect the normal Internet user and stated that the reasons for planting spyware range from simple marketing purposes to more serious things like stealing files or passwords used to access sensitive financial information.  Link to Full Story

Thailand Government Shuts Down 400 Websites

The Guardian, September 3, 2008:  Thailand's Information and Communications Technology Ministry sought court orders yesterday to shut down about 400 websites and advised Internet service providers to block 1,200 sites it claims are disturbing the social order or are a danger to national security.  The move to shut down online dissent follows the Thai government's declaration of a state of emergency as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to demand the government's resignation.  The anti-government movement became more active and violent in late August and early September, and some portray the move by the Thai government to shut down the websites as an attempt to block communications between Thai anti-government demonstrators.   Link to Full Story

Storm Worm is Most Recent Virus to Pose Identity Theft Risk

Minneapolis Star-Tribune, July 30, 2008: Another round of e-mails designed to trick recipients into downloading harmful software is currently being circulated.  This round of e-mails is typified by a link that contains the Storm Worm virus.  Readers are enticed to click the link to read an article about the FBI and the popular social networking site, Facebook, but the Storm Worm virus then installs malware that allows the virus's programmers to gain access to the recipient's computer.  This access to the recipients computer gives these programmers the ability to use the recipient's confidential personal informational in criminal activities like identity theft and phishing.  Link to Full Story

Online Banking Practices Increase Risk of Fraud, Study Finds

University of Michigan News Service, July 22, 2008: A University of Michigan study has found that many banks are unknowingly training their online customers to take risks with their confidential personal information, leaving them more vulnerable to fraud.  Many banks redirect users to third-party sites without sufficiently informing the users, place "secure login" boxes on insecure Web pages, and improperly use Social Security numbers or e-mail addresses as default user names.  Researchers say that all of these are tactics that put users at risk for identity theft and other fraud, mainly because they've been conditioned to ignore potential clues about whether the banking site they're visiting is real, or a bogus site developed by hackers.  Link to Full Story

ICANN briefly loses control of its own domain names

Australian IT News, July 4, 2008:  After an Internet registration company it oversees was fooled into wrongfully transferring the domain names, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) lost control of two previously held domain names for a short time.  The two domain names were <icann.com> and <iana.com> (for the ICANN subdivision known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority); the names were restored to ICANN within twenty minutes, but because many internet directories retain information for a day or two, some visitors might have been redirected to an unauthorized site.  ICANN has implemented new security measures and is reviewing other security procedures to prevent such attacks in the future. Link to Full Story

Internet Service Providers Get New Battle Plan in the War on Spam

BBC News, June 27, 2008: The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG), a well-respected anti-spam watchdog group, has published new guidelines for how internet service providers (ISPs) should combat the use of their services for spamming schemes.  MAAWG has recommended that ISPs use separate servers for received and forwarded e-mails, and that they block the use of the port known as port 25, through which most spam travels.  Experts do admit, however, that even if the majority of ISPs adopt these measures, it is unlikely that Internet users will see a notable reduction in spam in the near future.  Link to Full Story

ICANN's Domain Tasting Solution is a Partial Success

DomainNews.com, June 27, 2008:  The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse ("CADNA"), a coalition comprised of 11 globally recognized brand-name companies announced that ICANN's proposal to reduce "Domain Tasting" was a partial success.  However, CADNA emphasized that even though the new proposal was partially successful, it would not eliminate "Domain Tasting," which is CADNA's final goal.  "Domain Tasting" is the process by which registrants obtain a domain name and track its traffic over the course of the five-day Add Grace Period ("AGP"). If it does not yield enough traffic to make it immediately profitable, the registrant drops the domain name within five days in order to get a refund of the 20-cent registration fee.  ICANN's proposals include reducing or even eliminating the refund.  However, organizations that profit from massive domain name registrations have made it difficult for ICANN to completely eliminate "Domain Tasting."  Link to Full Story

Algorithm Created to Guide Top-Level Domain Applicants

Domainnews.com, May 14, 2008: Computer Scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST"), Paul E. Black has created an algorithm to guide applicants in registering new top-level domains ("TLDs").  The algorithm was developed at the request of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") and will analyze current TLDs to see if newly proposed TLDs are confusingly similar.  ICANN has placed an emphasis on creating distinct TLDs in order to prevent confusion and fraud while navigating the ever-growing Internet.  The algorithm will compare the proposed TLD to existing TLDs and give it a score based on visual likeness.  ICANN will then use this score in determining whether a proposed TLD will be accepted.   Link to Full Story

A Compromise in Net Policing

Guardian.co.uk, May 29, 2008:  The Internet Governance Forum ("IGF") of stakeholders provides some oversight to the generally un-checked Internet.  The IGF is a worldwide board that meets to discuss critical Internet issues such as: openness (the free flow of ideas and information); security (protecting users and networks); e-criminals (child abusers, etc); cultural and linguistic diversity; and issues of access, particularly in the developing world. It takes no votes and makes no decisions. Rather, it advises bodies that run the Internet day-to-day, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN").  Though most of the members of the IGF are from the United States and the United Kingdom, there has been a push to create national IGF's to discuss domestic issues and present them at the worldwide IGF.  Link to Full Story

Bogus iTunes Page Snares Phishing Victims

CNET.com, May 21, 2008: Apple's iTunes, the popular Internet source for downloadable music, has now joined the ranks of eBay and PayPal as targets of phishing schemes.  Attracted by Apple's large and lucrative online presence, phishers have constructed a site that reportedly looks like an iTunes billing page, and asks for current credit card information, as well as a social security number, and mother's maiden name.  According to Andrew Lochart of Proofpoint, Apple has never been the target of phishing before, but is a natural target due to its prominence on the web. Link to Full Story

Hong Kong Top-Level Domain Leads All Others as Most Dangerous on the Web

CNET.com, June 3, 2008: The probability of downloading undesirable software continues to increase, and, according to a recent McAfee report, Hong Kong's ".hk" top-level domain ("TLD") is the most likely culprit for security threats to Internet users.  The McAfee Mal Web report, which serves as a safety guidebook to the most dangerous areas online, reports that almost 20 percent of websites with the ".hk" TLD present a download security risk to visitors.  Other dangerous country codes include China (".cn"), the Philippines (".ph"), Romania (".ro") and Russia (".ru").  Some of the safest country codes include Finland (".fi"), Japan (".jp"), Norway (".no"), Slovenia (".si"), and Colombia (".co").  The report also found that, in general, the chance of downloading spyware, viruses, or other undesirable software from the Internet increased over 40 percent in 2007. Link to Full Story

Sales Down for the ".Asia" Domain Name

Domainnews.com, April 14, 2008: The first few days after the ".asia" domain name release to the general public, DotAsia was selling over 10,000 domain names per day.  Since then, there has been a much-downgraded flow of around 2,000 to 4,000 domain name sales per day.  The CEO for DotAsia is very optimistic about the initial demand for ".asia" domain names and is happy with the continued demand, even though it is decreasing.  The ".asia" domain names are most popular among Chinese registrants, followed by Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Korean registrants.  The registrants are using these domain names for a wide variety of things including restaurants, travel sites, and personal networking sites.  Japan and the United States are also in the top-ten in ".asia" domain name registrations.  Link to Full Story 

Editor's note:  UDRP Complaints regarding .asia domain names may be resolved with the National Arbitration Forum.

Privacy Policy Ramped Up for Canadian Top-Level Domain ".ca" 

Toronto Star, April 28, 2008: The Canadian Internet Registration Authority ("CIRA") has quietly announced that it is implementing a policy for the Canadian top-level domain ".ca" that is intended to better protect the privacy of hundreds of thousands of Canadian registrants.  CIRA hopes that this policy will serve as "a model for domain name registries around the world."  Under the new policy, registrants will still be required to submit the same contact information as under its current policy.  However, CIRA will no longer require that the registrants' contact information be publicly available through its directory. Only limited technical information will have to be publicly disclosed, though registrants will have the choice to voluntarily disclose more personal information.  Corporate or organizational registrants will still be required to have their full information publicly disclosed.  CIRA's policy "recognizes that corporate information does not raise specific privacy concerns since corporate information does not constitute personally identifiable information."   Link to Full Story

Cybersquatters Involved in London Mayor Race

Guardian.co.uk, April 25, 2008: Boris Johnson, Brian Paddick, and Ken Livingstone have thrown their hats into the ring for the London Mayoral race.  However, the pervasive cybersquatters have added intensity to the campaign.  Dozens of domain names relating to the candidates have been registered within the last month.  Cybersquatters see this as a win-win situation. These domain names see a lot of traffic, which means cybersquatters are able to earn money while expressing their views on a specific candidate (positive or negative).   Many of the infringing domain names display pictures of the candidates, or views of the registrants about the candidate's ability to perform the position of London's mayor. Additionally, if a cybersquatter owns a domain name that coincides with the winner of the race, the cybersquatters could get substantial offers to buy the domain name. Link to Full Story 

Need Information in a Crisis? You Might Be Better Off Looking to Facebook

Telegraph.co.uk, April 30, 2008:  A research team from the University of Colorado has published a study that found Internet sites of various types, including social networking sites, blogs, photo sites, and instant messaging systems, were "better at providing warnings, help and lists of how individuals were affected than traditional sources."  The research team reported that after the Virginia Tech shootings, traditional emergency response and reporting systems were slow to provide information, as authorities struggled to update these systems.  However, within two hours of the first deaths, a page was started on Wikipedia giving accurate details of the tragedy, and a group was created on Facebook notifying family and friends about specific individual's safety.  Researchers also found that the lack of accountability did not affect the relative usefulness of informal internet reporting: rather than rumor-mongering, these sites tend to be quite accurate.  For example, during the California wildfires, traditional media sites tended to focus on sensational news of fires near celebrities homes, which was less helpful than the on-the-spot reporting of bloggers and instant messengers. Link to Full Story

US oversight agreement with ICANN to expire in 200

Infoworld.com, March 7, 2008: Since 1998, ICANN has had a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The agreement was renewed in 2006 for an additional three years with it coming to an end in September of 2009.  Critics are concerned that if ICANN is no longer under the control of the United States Department of Commerce the lack of oversight will be harmful.  They believe that having no oversight may potentially be detrimental and have suggested the JPA should remain in place to provide accountability.  Other members of the worldwide community that ICANN works with believe that U.S. oversight of the non-profit organization is no longer necessary and that ICANN has met all of its security and stability mandates.  The future of ICANN is unclear at this time. Ultimately, the decision rests in the hands of ICANN shareholders, including new Australian President Paul Twomey. Link to Full Story

Top Hollywood Movie and Music Production Houses Attack "The Pirate Bay" for File-Sharing

Radio Sweden, April 1, 2008:  A group of Hollywood film and music production houses have brought suit in Swedish District Court against the owners of "The Pirate Bay" website for being accessories to copyright infringement.  The plaintiffs in the case include Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., MGM Pictures Inc., Colombia Pictures Industries Inc., 20th Century Fox Films Co., Sony BMG, Universal and EMI.  The plaintiffs proposed damages total $2.56 million for defendant's file-sharing promotion.  The defendants created  "The Pirate Bay" website in 2004. Since then, they have allowed 10 to 15 million users to share films, music, computer games and other copyright-protected material.  The have been charged with both accessory and conspiracy to break Swedish copyright law, and if convicted, they face a maximum of two years in prison. Link to Full Story

In Response to the Changing Face of the Internet, VeriSign Raises Domain Name Fees

Information Week, March 28, 2008: For the second time since the company took control of the top-level domains ending in ".com" and ".net" in 2006, VeriSign has raised the registration fee for the generic top-level domains. According to company spokespersons, the registration fee increases – to $6.86 from $6.42 for ".com," and to $4.23 to $3.85 for ".net"  - are expected to take effect on October 1, 2009, and are in accordance with VeriSign's agreement with ICANN.  Verisign justified the fee increases by noting that traffic volume continues to rise with the popularity of wireless devices connected to the Internet, as well as newly developed Internet services and technology.  The company is also responding to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks by deploying new proprietary security upgrades and monitoring tools to identify, track, and isolate malicious Internet traffic.  Link to Full Story

Russia Corners Spam Market

Techworld.com, February 11, 2008: Based on the 2007 spam report created by Sophos Q4, Russia's production of global spam has risen dramatically in the past year, putting it in a solid second place to the United States for overall production. By the fourth quarter of 2007, Russia was responsible for 8.3% of all spam sent, up from 3% in the first quarter. Sophos indicated that the numbers were not without flaws: Russia's spam production includes all the spam produced in the country, which may include compromised PC bots programmed from outside Russia. Spam is not the only cybercrime prevalent in Russia; other Internet crimes, including malware and exploits, are well-known as originating from the infamous Russian Business Network, which supposedly went out of business late last year. Over 21% of all spam in 2007 originated in the U.S., with China in third place behind Russia with 4.2%. However, statistics indicate that the U.S.'s spam production is declining, while that of other countries is rising at enormous rates. Link to Full Story

Network Solutions Involved in Lawsuit over Controversial Policy

DailyTech.com, February 27, 2008: A law firm representing search engine expert Chris McElroy, and others who hope to attain class action status, has named domain registrar Network Solutions, Inc. on a list of defendants in a lawsuit for its "domain locking" practices. When an Internet user searches for an available domain name with Network Solutions, that domain name is then locked for four days, ensuring that it can only be purchased through Network Solutions, which charges a higher registration fee than competing registrars. Network Solutions has come under fire for this practice in the recent past; it claims its practice is meant to prevent "domain tasting," in which a registrant can test a domain name to see if it is profitable, then return any "duds" for a full refund before the expiration of the grace period. McElroy contends Network Solution's policy of "domain locking" is fraudulent in that it creates a temporary monopoly in favor of itself. ICANN has also been included as a defendant in the suit for encouraging the practice by maintaining the grace period during which domains can be "tasted." Opponents of Network Solutions' practice claim that it hinders their ability to register a desired domain name with an alternative registrar, many of which charge a much lower premium. Link to Full Story

Typosquatting Affects E-mail Security

SecurityFocus.com, February 10, 2008: Once seen only as an annoying website issue, security experts are now warning that typosquatting, which involves registering common misspellings of domain names, could also lead to security issues with e-mail domains. Security firm Symantec informed those in attendance for this year's Black Hat DC 2008 conference about how typosquatting affects e-mail messages. Oliver Friedrichs, the director of emerging technologies at Symantec, told attendees: "If someone sends an e-mail to that company, and makes a typo, the owner of the (fraudulent) domain is going to get the information." Friedrichs conducted a study in which he registered 124 domain names consisting of common misspellings of the primary domains of current U.S. presidential candidates; he found that over 1,000 e-mails were sent to the misspelled domain names. Currently, the best advice for a large organization is to register as many common misspellings of its domain name as possible to prevent this form of cyber-crime.  Link to Full Story

Cyber-Security Plan Puts Privacy into Question

Washingtonpost.com, February 29, 2008: President Bush's effort to secure federal computer networks from hackers and foreign adversaries has raised concerns among house lawmakers. A portion of the project, named the "cyber initiative," is aimed at reducing the number of connections between the federal agency networks and the Internet, and monitoring closely any type of inappropriate activity on those active networks. The problem that lawmakers have with the project is that the Bush Administration has not said how far the monitoring and oversight of the networks would actually go, possibly interfering with the privacy of the general public. Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Robert Jamison stated that real-time scrutiny of federal data flows is necessary because "our adversaries are very adept at hiding their attacks in normal everyday traffic." He added that they are developing privacy impact assessment on the new capabilities, which will be open for public viewing upon its completion. Link to Full Story

New Blockbuster Highlights Cybercrime

Network World, January 18, 2008: WHOIS information and cybercrime could soon be common conversation topics for even those unfamiliar with the domain name industry. "Untraceable," a new cyber-thriller starring Diane Lane, is bringing these tools of the trade into the forefront of popular culture. Link to Full Story

VeriSign Releases December Industry Brief

DomainNameNews.com, December 21, 2007: VeriSign, the worldwide registry operator for ".com" and ".net" top level domains (TLDs) released its December report. According to the report, the domain industry continues to grow; approximately 12 million new domain names were registered during the third quarter of 2007. The quarter saw 31% more domain names registered than the same period last year, bringing the total number of TLDs to 146 million. According to VeriSign, the growth can be attributed in part to "consumers publish[ing] their own podcasts, as well as, add[ing] custom calendars and personal portal pages." The report also emphasizes the growing problem of purchasing domains for the purpose of parking. According to the report, an estimated 20% of all registered TLDs are parked. VeriSign pointed out that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to distinguish between parked and active TLDs. Link to Full Story

Hackers Demonstrate They Can Still Use Domain Names to Unleash Vicious Attacks

InternetNews.com, November 19, 2007: Typosquatting, an old tactic employed by cyber criminals, has been around forever. Until now, organizations have been able to protect themselves through the use of server-based security products which could trace the IP address associated with a domain name to determine if it originated from a trustworthy source. Hackers recently found their way around this old security method by "hijacking" IP addresses. The hackers went straight for a big target — Yahoo. The hackers were able to locate an unused Yahoo IP address and used it to authenticate their fraudulent domain. The victims and security systems never knew they were working with a malicious site. Internet experts are still reeling and are currently trying to determine how the hackers were able to effectuate their plan. Yahoo quickly responded by shutting down its compromised IP address. Industry experts are concerned about Web 2.0's security holes, but still suggest that server-based security products are the best defense currently available against these malicious attacks. In addition, experts now recommend adding browser plug-ins to complete any comprehensive security plan. With this added level of security, even if hackers were able to exploit the IP address of a popular, trusted domain name owner like Yahoo and make it past any server-based security products, the plug-ins would provide protection because they read a website's content, detecting any malicious content and warning users about the suspicious content. Link to Full Story

Cheap Domain Names Fueling Cybersquatting in Asia

cnet News.com, October 16, 2007: Cybersquatting has caught on in Asia. The low price of domain names, often as little as $3 per year, is fueling the practice, according to industry experts. As in the rest of the world, generic top-level domains ("gTLDs") are the most popular cybersquatting territory. In Asia the most popular gTLDs are China's ".cn," India's ".in," and Korea's ".kr." Janna Lam, managing director of Singapore's IP Mirror, also noted "that cybersquatters have now earned a new moniker, ‘domainers.'" She goes on to explain that the domain name industry now supports a market for trading in domain names, but that Singapore strongly discourages the activity. Lam believes that domain name monitoring is the solution to the problem. In the U.S., corporations like Microsoft have resorted to taking legal action to deal with the problem. Recently, Microsoft has initiated 15 different legal actions targeting more that 1,500 infringing domain names, most in the last year alone, including three suits in federal court regarding infringing domain names according to Microsoft's vice president and deputy counsel, Nancy Anderson. These actions have resulted in judgments of more then $5 million and settlements worth more than $1 million. Anderson said that consumer education and legal enforcement are necessary to solve the worldwide cybersquatting problem. Link to Full Story

Russian Internet Users Fight to Save Old USSR's ".su"

Reuters, September 19, 2007: ICANN is hoping to ditch the old ccTLD ".su" which was assigned to the former Soviet Union just before its collapse nearly 16 years ago. However, thousands of Internet users are fighting to save the nostalgic ".su" ccTLD. There are currently about 10,000 ".su" domain names registered with about 1,500 being added this year. Independent lobbyists are currently negotiating with ICANN to keep the outdated ".su" ccTLD operating even though it was removed from the ISO 3166-1 list in 1992. Lobbyists compare the ".su" ccTLD to Great Britain's ".uk," an example of a ccTLD remaining in operation despite being removed from the list. Lobbyists also stress that the issue will not rise to the level of an "Internet Cold War" as negotiations have remained friendly. Link to Full Story

Fox News Reports on Record Domain Name Industry Growth

Fox News, July 24, 2007: According to a report by Fox News, the domain name industry is booming with a growth it has not experienced since 1999. The domain name industry is currently valued at $2 billion with 90,000 domain names being purchased per day. To date, there is one domain name registered to every two Americans. Growth is expected to continue as sales are projected to double in the next few years alone. The biggest "real estate" area is still in ".com" top-level domains, which include such groundbreaking sales as the $12 million <sex.com> domain name purchase and the $3 million purchase of the <creditcheck.com> domain name. Link to Full Fox News Video Report on YouTube

Michael Kovatch Hits the Big Time with <iPhone.com>

AppleInsider.com, July 2, 2007: Jay Westerdal, President of Name Intelligence Inc., confirmed that Apple acquired the <iphone.com> domain name registration from Michael Kovatch in an undisclosed seven-figure sale, making it one of the largest sales of its kind. Although Kovatch registered the domain name back in 1995 and was building a company off of the name, Apple made an offer that was too good to pass up. Traffic on Kovatch's website at the <iphone.com> domain name, which featured an online cell phone store, picked up over the six months following Apple's announcement that it would be launching its iPhone product. According to Westerdal's blog, "That domain was so valuable that Apple just had to own it." Although details of the sale and transfer have not been released, the <iphone.com> domain name WHOIS information confirms that the domain name was transferred to Apple on June 29, 2007. Link to Full Story

Registerfly.com Fallout Prompts ICANN to Seek Changes to RAA

PC World, June 26, 2007: Following the Registerfly.com debacle this past spring, which led ICANN to strip the registrar of its accreditation, ICANN led a workshop at its 29th International Public Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to discuss ideas for changing its current Registrar Accreditation Agreement ("RAA"). Link to Full Story

Master of His 300,000 Domain Names: Kevin Ham

CNN Money, May 22, 2007: While there are numerous individuals and entities in cyberspace that maintain large portfolios of domain names, a former medical doctor has amassed a collection of over 300,000 domain names worth an estimated $300 million, including <god.com>, <satan.com>, <christianrock.com>, and <weddingcatering.com>. Kevin Ham earns an estimated $70 million in revenue off of these domain names, as well as his other Internet business ventures. Link to Full Story

Profiting from Tragedy

Wired, April 18, 2007: Mere hours after 33 people were killed in the shooting at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, domain names referencing the shooting were registered in droves. Examples included <vatechbloodbath.com>, <virginiatechmurders.com> and <blacksburgmassacre.com>. One domain name, <vtechkillings.com>, was registered and then put up for auction on eBay, along with an image of an assault rifle. The registrant described it as the "perfect domain name for any memorandum or other site dedicated to the recent mass killings at Virginia Tech." Another set of five domain names, described as "great domain names for a memorial fund development," were offered for $100,000. Matt Owens, who opened the eBay bidding for his <virginia-tech-rampage.com> domain name at $1,000, expressed surprise that people were offended by his choice of a domain name, saying "I was just thinking about the money first." eBay eventually removed most of the potentially offensive listings, and it is likely that at least a few registrants will use their new domain names for online memorials. Link to Full Story

High Demand for ".mobi" Domain Names

WebHostDirectory.com Mar. 8, 2007: dotMobi, the company responsible for overseeing the registration of domain names under the new top-level domain ".mobi," has announced that over 400,000 domain names with the ".mobi" domain designation have been registered by individuals and entities in over 104 countries since October 2006. When compared to the growth of ".com," which had just over 100,000 domain name registrations for the first ten years of its existence, the growth of ".mobi" is quite extraordinary. The CEO of dotMobi believes that the overwhelming number of ".mobi" registrations is due, at least in part, to the realization among domain name registrants that the future of Internet content is on mobile devices. To support such rapid growth, dotMobi has started several initiatives to help consumers build and develop their websites at ".mobi" domain names. Link to Full Story

Dell Sues Family of Typo-Squatters

Vnunet.com, January 12, 2007: Computer manufacturer Dell has sued Alf, Lars, and Kim Temme for registering a series of domain names that Dell claims are infringements of its registered DELL trademark. The domain names at issue are: <d3ell.com>, <de3ll.com>, <d4ell.com>, <de4ll.com>, <dedll.com>, <derll.com>, and <dxell.com>. The suit, brought in a Texas federal district court, seeks to strip the Temmes of the disputed domain names as well as recover legal fees and damages. Link to Full Story