Tuesday, November 29, 2011

11.29 :: Duopoly :: Indecency :: Nefarious :: 22 Questions :: Surprise Call :: Surprise :: Very Real and Very Bad :: Dangerous :: Schumer ::

============================================
CyberTelecom News
Federal Internet Law and Policy
============================================
Those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change
inevitable. --John F Kennedy

Job Opening: Telecommunications Specialist, PSHSB, FCC http://goo.gl/Yf9Sp
This position is located in the Public Safety & Homeland Security
Bureau, Operations and Emergency Management Division, High Frequency
Direction Finding Center. The incumbent will use radio signal analysis
equipment deployed throughout the United States to collect, correlate,
and analyze characteristics of radio signals involved in interference
problems, distress or safety-related signals or other radio signals
involved in other high priority activities such as law enforcement or
national defense.

A Wireless Duopoly?, Telefrieden
no description
http://telefrieden.blogspot.com/2011/11/wireless-duopoly.html

Are the FCC's Indecency Regulations Constitutional?, MTTLR
Five nonprofit groups recently filed an amicus brief (PDF) in FCC v.
Fox urging the Supreme Court to strike down the FCC's policy of fining
broadcast television stations for airing indecent content. The groups
argue that the FCC's policy violates the First Amendment's free speech
protections.
http://www.mttlrblog.org/2011/11/17/are-the-fcc%e2%80%99s-indecency-regulations-constitutional/

The Wayward ACPA Part 3: Nefarious, Cybertelecom
In this post we explore the origins of the ACPA - the historical
context that led to this legislation.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CybertelecomBlog/~3/eweTR_C5--o/wayward-acpa-part-3-nefarious.html

The Wayward ACPA: Act I: The Land Grab, Cybertelecom
In 1994, WIRED magazine published Billions Registered by Joshua
Quittner. The Internet, with roots going back more than 30 years, had
at that time only recently emerged as a public phenomenon. The World
Wide Web had been unleashed only three years prior. And most corporate
executives would have laughed hysterically at the foretelling of the
coming destruction of their business plans. For
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CybertelecomBlog/~3/n8_-VquAUKE/wayward-acpa-act-i-land-grab.html

Boost in IPv6 use is only one step to solution, CW
Support for IPv6 has grown by almost 20 times in the past year by one
measure, but most websites still can't be reached without IPv4, the
current Internet Protocol, which is near running out of unclaimed
addresses.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/e6urySzk7rk/Boost_in_IPv6_use_is_only_one_step_to_solution

Hackers target IPv6, CW
If your IPv6 strategy is to delay implementation as long as you can,
you still must address IPv6 security concerns right now.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/tN-xu-24sDA/Hackers_target_IPv6

IPv6 Adoption Grows By 1900% - Primarily Due to Domain Name Registrar
Support, CircleID
The percentage of zones under .com, .net and .org that support IPv6
has increased by 1,900% over the past 12 months according to a new
census conducted by the Measurement Factory, sponsored by Infoblox.
According to the census, this dramatic increase can be primarily
attributed to the introduction of support of IPv6 by a single domain
name registrar, Go Daddy.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20111121_ipv6_adoption_grows_by_1900_primarily_due_to_domain_name_registrar/

US Senate Plays Game of 22 questions with NTIA, IGP Blog
A powerful Senator is starting to ask NTIA questions about IP
addressing. On October 4, 2011, The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee's
chairman, Senator Jay Rockefeller, sent a challenging but private
letter to the administration official responsible for overseeing
ICANN, Lawrence E. Strickling. IGP has obtained a copy of the letter
through the US Freedom of Information Act. The letter, which poses 22
tough questions,
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IGPBlog/~3/XrzMPglm1FY/4946752.html

Opponents Ask FCC to Release Report on AT&T Deal, WSJ
Opponents of AT&T's $39 billion deal to acquire T-Mobile USA asked the
Federal Communications Commission to release details about its
concerns on the deal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203802204577066432953357146.html?mod=rss_Technology

AT&T CEO's surprise call from FCC chairman, WAPO
A couple days before Thanksgiving, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson
received probably one of the worst phone calls of his career.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=6770c4a480666464a796138d99b9433e

The evolution of search in six minutes, Google
This summer we posted a video that takes a peek under the hood of
search, sharing the methodology behind search ranking and evaluation.
Through this methodology, we make roughly 500 improvements to search
in a typical year. As we often discuss, that's a lot of change, and it
can be hard to make sense of it all
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GooglePublicPolicyBlog/~3/mgNjGtCHQ9c/evolution-of-search-in-six-minutes.html

Feds seize domain names of 150 websites accused of selling
counterfeit, pirated merchandise, WAPO
Federal authorities have shut down 150 websites accused of selling
knock-off or pirated merchandise to unsuspecting online bargain
hunters.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=13ef70ded0d220cd2d42d43b0f783a6d

Surprise, surprise. More SOPA Opposition., IPLJ
Even the Wall Street Journal thinks SOPA is a bad idea. The Journal
Op-Ed says that Hollywood is trying to "strangle" the internet with
legislation.
http://iplj.net/blog/archives/3743

The PROTECT IP Act Is Very Real and Very Bad — Call Now to Block It, EFF
The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) is the evil step-sister of the Stop Online
Piracy Act (SOPA), the much-criticized Internet blacklist bill
introduced in the House last month. They've got a lot in common — both
bills would allow the government and private rightsholders to censor
the Internet for Americans, and both bills have faced strong
opposition from regular citizens, business leaders, and public
interest groups.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/protect-ip-act-very-real-very-bad-call-now-block-it

Another DNS Provider Comes Out Against SOPA, Techdirt
We had already seen OpenDNS publicly come out against SOPA and PROTECT
IP, and it appears other DNS providers are doing so as well. Dyn has
come out strongly against the bill as well, comparing it directly to
the Great Firewall of China.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111123/00111116880/another-dns-provider-comes-out-against-sopa.shtml

NY Times & LA Times Both Come Out Against SOPA & PIPA, Techdirt
We've written a few times about how columnists at various mainstream
press outlets have been speaking out against SOPA and PIPA, showing
that the story is catching on in the mainstream media. However, some
of our critics have complained that since these are just writers for
those publications, it's unfair to suggest that the publication itself
has come out. Okay... if that's the way you want it. Let's try this
one on for size: the New
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111126/23150116902/ny-times-la-times-both-come-out-against-sopa-pipa.shtml

Dangerous Copyright Office Proposal to Undercut the DMCA Online Safe
Harbors, Tech & Marketing Law Blog
In light of SOPA and its capacity to destroy the current online safe
harbor scheme, it seems...
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2011/11/dangerous_copyr.htm

Word of mouth and pepper spray parody, Virulent Word of Mouse
For better or worse, a decade of development in web technology enables
the fast sharing of imagery. "Word of mouth" used to occur verbally,
but some part of it now occurs online.
http://virulentwordofmouse.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/word-of-mouth-and-pepper-spray-parody/

Cloud data gathering rapidly, Cisco reports, Globe
Expect 4.8 zettabytes in cloud data traffic per year by 2015,
equivalent of every man, woman and child watching a full length movie
once a day for one year
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheGlobeAndMail-Technology/~3/HIWsUU5zbYU/

Malls Back Off Cell Tracking Plans - After Getting Phone Call From
Chuck Schumer, DSLReports
Last week we noted that two malls had started tracking user location
in stores, using technology that monitored customer cellphone
location. The two malls -- Promenade Temecula in southern California
and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, have since backed off the
plans after
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Malls-Back-Off-Cell-Tracking-Plans-117194

Privacy-Focused Browser Extension Released, Daily Dashboard
PCWorld reports on a team of European and U.S.-based privacy
researchers and product designers that has released "a browser-based
implementation of Privicons, a project that aims to provide users with
a simple method of expressing their expectations of privacy when
sending e-mail." The "Privicons" are six icons matched with
instructions such as "don't attribute" or "keep private" that users
can add to their e-mails "to
https://www.privacyassociation.org/publications/2011_11_23_privacy-focused_browser_extension_released/#When:16:36:14Z

Technology once protected our privacy, now erodes it, Ars Technica
In light of the erosion of privacy online, we need to be careful to
protect our privacy at home, according to Michael Birnhack, law
professor at Tel Aviv University, speaking at Intelligence Squared's
If conference.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/technology-once-protected-our-privacy-now-erodes-it.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

FTC Extends Deadline for Comments on Proposed Amendments to the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Until December 23, FTC
The Federal Trade Commission has extended until December 23, 2011, the
deadline for the public to submit comments on proposed amendments to
the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, which gives parents
control over what personal information websites and online services
may collect from children under 13.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/coppa.shtm

FCC Releases Text of Intercarrier Compensation Order, Telecom Law Monitor
Late yesterday, the FCC released the text of its USF Reform and
Intercarrier Compensation Reform Order, which it adopted on October
27. The FCC's rules, among other things, transition terminating
access charges to zero, apply access to VoIP-PSTN traffic, adopt rules
addressing access stimulation (prevalent in free conferencing, for
example), and tackling the problem of phantom traffic.
http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/TelecomLawMonitor/~3/vBJpp31svhQ/

FCC Issues Behemoth USF Order, CommLawBlog
Call me Ishmael!
http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/CommLawBlog/~3/rrnK2Ab43rE/

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Monday, November 28, 2011

The Wayward ACPA Part 3: Nefarious

This is the third installment from my TPRC paper, The Wayward AntiCybersquatter Consumer Protection Act A Survey of 11 Years of ACPA Caselaw.  In this post we explore the origins of the ACPA - the historical context that led to this legislation.

Photo by Kevin Dooley
Tales of Horrors

The 106th Congress confronted a problem: the public Internet. As the public Internet exploded onto the communications scene, it crashed into trademark law. Early settlers of cyberspace grasped the value and staked claims. They believed that if they could grab valuable domain names, they could squat on them until some late-to-the-game business showed up needing that particular domain name, willing to fork over cash. With the promise of easy money, some squatters perfected their scheme, creating warehouses of hundreds if not thousands of domain names and netting profit from companies desperate to gain an online presence in the early panicked days of the Internet Bubble.

By 1998, consternation crescendoed. The courts attempted to apply existing trademark law, but with limitations. A trademark infringement requires that the mark be used in commerce; if a cybersquatter registers hundreds of domain names but then never uses them, is that "use" in commerce? The Courts ultimately resolved that it was. However, the courts could not overcome the next problem: registration of domain names with false information. Existing trademark law provided a remedy against a person, not a thing. If the domain name registration was fraudulent or if the registrant could not be found, the courts concluded that they had no ability to provide a TMO with an in rem remedy against the property.

TMOs recounted tales of horrors before Congress. They told tales of extortion, warehousing, land-grabs, fraud, misdeeds, and atrocities. They conveyed the necessity of Congressional action to respond to opportunistic pirates preying on consumers and American businesses.

Warehousers

The first tales of woe involved warehousing of domain names by cybersquatters, who would then attempt to extort ransom, frequently successfully, from bewildered TMOs. As with the Wild West, some characters took it to the extreme, and warehouses could be extensive. A London computer club reportedly attempted to corner the market on all four letter domains, starting with aaaa.com and working through to zzzz.com, and had registered over 75,000 domain names. Another cybersquatter had registered such names as " Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Burger King, KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Taco Bell, Wendy's, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Saab, Saturn, Toyota, and Volvo, all of which are available to the highest bidder through an online offer sheet. "

Cybersquatters demanded good compensation for their efforts. One cybersquatter reported listed 911porche.com for the sales price of $60,911, "with a caption that reads 'PORSCHE: DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING?'" Another cybersquatter asked $350,000 from Warner Brothers in exchange for warnerrecords.com, warner-bros-records.com, warner-pictures.com, warner-bros-pictures, and warnerpictures.com. A cybersquatter requested $100,000 from Umbro International for the use of umbro.com. Other domains were regularly listed for sale to the highest bidder.

The creation of new companies resulted in exciting opportunities for cybersquatters. Companies had not yet learned to register potential domain names first and then announce new company names. Announcements of new company names would be made, appropriate staff would be sent to register domain names, and those domain names, and multiple permutations, would already be registered. " [W]hen Mobil and Exxon announced their proposed merger in December, 1998, a speculator registered every variation of the possible resulting domain name, i.e., mobil-exxon.com, exxon-mobil.com, mobilexxon.com, etc., ad infinitum. " This also happened when Bell Atlantic and NYNEX merged to become Verizon.

Redirectors

Tales of redirection took two flavors. First, TMOs would find that domain names associated with their marks would redirect visitors to nefarious content, such as pornography and fraud. Congress noted that if you typed dosney.com, you would end up at a pornography site. The domain names attphonecard.com and attcallingcard.com, not associated with AT&T at that time, directed individuals to websites claiming to sell calling cards while swiping visitors' personal information and credit card numbers. Some of these domain names would redirect visitors to another website that might compete directly with the TMOs line of business. The legislative history pointed to websites that had a Disney, Microsoft, or Dell name in the domain name, taking advantage of those companies' trademarks, but were not in fact affiliated with those companies.

In Rem

TMOs had run into a roadblock on the borderless Internet. Domain name registrations could contain false information concerning the registrant, or the registrant was outside the jurisdiction of US courts. While TMOs might be able to establish clear trademark violations, trademark law at that time provided no in rem remedy. If they could not haul the person into court, they could not gain satisfaction.

Gregory D Phillips, of the firm Howard, Phillips & Andersen, which represents Porsche, testified before Congress about the travails Porsche experienced in defending its trademark online. Mr. Phillips testified that over 300 domains had been registered that used the Porsche mark, with additional domain name registrations being uncovered every week. These domain names are registered by various different people in various different places around the world. But most troubling for Mr. Phillips, many of these domain names are registered with false contact information. porsch.com (which redirected to a pornography site) was registered under the false name "Domain 4 Sale & Company" at a false address. Without accurate contact information, prior to the ACPA, TMOs had no avenue for redress. Porsche attempted to protect its mark by bring an in rem action against porsh.com but was told by a Federal Court in Virginia that even though the claim would appear to be a violation of the Trademark Dilution Act, the Act provided no in rem remedy and the court could not grant the relief Porsche sought. Mr. Phillips and the other experts at the 1999 Senate hearing described the need for ACPA to provide an in rem remedy as crucial. 

Next Post :: A Targeted Solution

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Wayward ACPA: Act II: A Sour Story

This is the 2nd installment taken from my TPRC paper: The Wayward AntiCybersquatter Consumer Protection Act A Survey of 11 Years of ACPA Caselaw

We start and end with a story. Paul, owner and proprietor of the company FooBar, wishes to have a website on which to sell his wares. Paul contacts professional webdesigner Dan and explains his exciting plans for Foobar. Dan is an excellent webdesigner and the two parties come to an agreement whereby Paul hires Dan to construct a website along with the necessary registration of foobar.foo

Dan registers the domain name, constructs the website, and launches the site to a tremendous success. But, as happens time to time, the relationship between Paul and Dan "sours." Paul demands that Dan turn over the domain name and website to Paul. Dan agrees, as long as Paul pays all outstanding bills.

Without exploring the depths of the sour relationship, we know these things. Dan registered the domain name pursuant the agreement with Paul. Dan is not using the domain name to redirect traffic to a pornography site or any other site. Dan did not register the domain name for the purpose of extorting a ransom from Paul. Paul used accurate information when he registered the domain name. Dan has registered multiple domain names, but for the purpose of his webdesign business, not cybersquatting. Finally, Dan had no notion at the time of registration of the domain name that the registration was anything but lawful.

Is Dan a cybersquatter?

According to the 9th Circuit in DSPT International, Inc. v. Lucky Nahum, he is. The court concluded that Dan used Paul's trademark with a bad faith intent to profit. The Court stated
[The ACPA] may fairly be read to mean that it is bad faith to hold a domain name for ransom, where the holder uses it to get money from the owner of the trademark rather than to sell goods. The jury had evidence that Dan was using the “foobar.foo” domain name as leverage to get Paul to pay him the disputed commissions, [and not for a bona fide purpose]. Though there was no direct evidence of an explicit offer to sell the domain to Paul for a specified amount, the jury could infer the intent to give back the site to Paul only if Paul paid Dan the disputed commissions.
The “intent to profit” … means simply the intent to get money or other valuable consideration. “Profit” does not require that Dan receive more than he is owed on his disputed claim. Rather, “[p]rofit includes an attempt to procure an advantageous gain or return.” Thus, it does not matter that, as the jury concluded, Dan’s claim for unpaid commissions was meritless, because he could not hold the domain name for ransom even if he had been owed commissions.
Read that last sentence again. The court says that even if Dan contractual dispute with Paul reaps with merit, Dan (unlike every other professional) cannot say, "I will fulfill my obligations if you fulfill yours." Curious. Any time any Dan does any work that involves the registration of a domain name, it is a violation of the ACPA for Dan to condition completion of the work, for which he was hired, upon compensation. Registration of domain names as part of any business plan must be devoid of any desire for compensation. People who work on houses can place liens on houses until payment is received. People who work on cars can place liens on the titles until payment is received. But webdesigners cannot condition delivery of their work upon receipt of payment. 

I think the 9th Circuit misread the ACPA.

The 9th Circuit's decision in DSPT International made me wonder if the ACPA had gone astray. We now have 11 years of court decisions. Through that body of caselaw, we could explore for how courts have applied the bad faith factors. We can observe which factors the courts deem be most important, which are least important, which factors perhaps are being ignored, and which factors perhaps are being misapplied. By surveying 11 years of caselaw, we could explore whether the ACPA has gone astray. 

Next Installment:  Nefarious

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Wayward ACPA: Act I: The Land Grab

In 1994, WIRED magazine published Billions Registered by Joshua Quittner. The Internet, with roots going back more than 30 years, had at that time only recently emerged as a public phenomenon. The World Wide Web had been unleashed only three years prior. And most corporate executives would have laughed hysterically at the foretelling of the coming destruction of their business plans. 

For the ubber-geek, the Internet was cool, and corporate executives were clueless.  Internet culture was collaboration and consensus; corporate culture was the antithesis: greed and competition. The two cultures collided over domain names.

Quittner decided to see what would happen if he called up corporate culture and asked them about their Internet strategies. He wrote an article telling the tale of calling up McDonalds and Burger King. Neither company had a web presence at that time and both mcdonalds.com and burger_king.com were unregistered domain names. Neither company knew what he was talking about.  Neither company considered it a priority to return his calls. 

Quittner reported that at that time only one-third of Fortune 500 companies had registered domain names associated with their trademarks.  Fourteen percent of companies who had not themselves registered their trademarks as domain names, had those domain names registered by some stranger. Fifty percent of Fortune 500 companies had domain names associated with their trademarks unregistered and available to the first taker. With McDonalds and Burger King generally unresponsive, Quittner decided to go ahead and register mcdonalds.com.  He then concluded the WIRED article with the following:
So here's the deal: Let's get interactive. What should I do with mcdonalds.com? You tell me. I could auction it off. I could hold on to it as a trophy, a la Curry and mtv.com. I could set up a Mosaic home page, explaining the difference between McDonald's and Josh "Ronald" Quittner.
Quittner knew a storm was brewing on the horizon that would see a clash between corporate trademark holders and domain name owners. Within a few years, the Internet community was embroiled in the sound and fury of "the Domain Name Wars," an era of sound and fury that ultimately lead to the creation of ICANN. In the midst of the cacophony over domain names, Internet governance, intellectual property, and the First Amendment, there was rough consensus on one issue: cybersquatters bad! The Department of Commerce's 1998 White Paperon Internet governance identified cybersquatting as problematic. The Federal courts articulated perpetual disdain for cybersquatters – while struggling with curious new factual patterns that did not fit neatly under old law. And the 106th Congress, an otherwise gridlocked Congress, found sufficient consensus in 1999 to pass the AntiCybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). 

In passing the ACPA, Congress was responding to a particular problem: nefarious individuals who registered warehouses of domain names in order to extort ransom from Trademe Mark Owners (TMOs), or to unjustly benefit from familiar trademarks with confusing domain names that attracted and divert web traffic to fraudulent, criminal, or pornographic websites. But how would a Court distinguish between a nefarious fellow in a long trench coat, and a patriotic citizen engaged in First Amendment dialog over the quality of service in their community (a gripe site), or perhaps an enterprising entrepreneur who registers a creative domain name having the firm belief that the entrepreneur's flash of creativity did not conflict with previous trademarks?  In order to separate the wheat from the nefarious chaff, Congress identified nine bad faith factors for consideration (they're more like "guidelines"). 

In time, TMOs made good use of the ACPA, and Wild-West land-grab that was the 1990s came to a close.  Eventually, a few nefarious TMOs came to use the ACPA against Domain Name Owners (DNOs) that they, well, just didn’t like.  Unlike the early land-grabs, there was no multiple-domain names registered, no extortion, no falsified registrations, no redirections to pornographic sites – there was just a dispute between a TMO and a DNO. And, with the discretion given to them by Congress, some courts found violations in cases which "did not fit the profile of a cybersquatter." 

This is a story of trademarks, domain names, the ACPA, and the adjective "nefarious" which, in any given chapter, could be aptly applied to a different character in the story. The moral of this story is that the AntiCybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, as enacted by Congress, applied the adjective "nefarious" to "cybersquatters."  In cases where courts struggle to find "nefarious" activity on the part of the DNO, they should thwart the nefarious efforts of the TMO to use the ACPA in cases for which it was not designed.

Next Installment:  A Sour Story

Monday, November 14, 2011

11.14 :: No Upper MSS Band for Lightsquared :: Lock down Your Wireless Nets :: R Teens Meaner Online? :: End FCC's Indecency Regs :: U Have No Privacy Online ::

============================================
CyberTelecom News
Federal Internet Law and Policy
============================================
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second
it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident." -
Arthur Schopenhauer

GPS Group to FCC: No Upper MSS Band for LightSquared, AINOnline
The Coalition to Save Our GPS sent a letter today to the FCC asking
the agency to "promptly rule" that LightSquared be barred from using
the upper mobile satellite spectrum (MSS) band for high-powered
terrestrial operations. Previous tests of
http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/ainalerts/2011-11-08/gps-group-fcc-no-upper-mss-band-lightsquared

How To Lock Down Your Wireless Network, CW
If you operate a wireless network for your home or business, it's
important to ward it against opportunistic hackers seeking to steal
your data or hijack your Wi-Fi for their own nefarious purposes. We
spoke to Steven Andrés, CTO of security consulting firm Special Ops
Security, to learn about the best ways to lock down your Wi-Fi. To get
started, you'll need to log in to your router's administrative console
by typing the router's IP address into your Web browser's address
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/zrSQArGKB8M/How_To_Lock_Down_Your_Wireless_Network

Are Teens Meaner Online?, VOA
If it seems like just about every teenager living in the United States
is on the Internet, that's because nearly every one of them is. An
astounding 95% of teens aged 12-17 are now online, and over 80% of
those teens are using social networking sites like Facebook, Tumblr or
MySpace.
http://blogs.voanews.com/digital-frontiers/2011/11/10/are-teens-meaner-online/

Online Bullying Really Not That Common, Techdirt
To hear some people tell it, "cyber bullying" is some huge and awful
problem where "something" needs to be done. It's a classic moral panic
situation, but usually seems to involve parents totally overreacting.
We've pointed out in the past that kids don't view it as bullying and
now some new research from the folks at Pew have pointed out that
online bullying and general "meanness" really isn't all that common.
Yes, it does happen. And it sucks for those who are the target
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111109/11183016699/online-bullying-really-not-that-common.shtml

EFF Asks Supreme Court to End the FCC's Indecency Regulations, EFF
Yesterday, EFF--along with the Cato Institute, the Center for Democracy
and Technology, Public Knowledge, and TechFreedom--submitted an amicus
brief to the Supreme Court in FCC v. Fox, which asks the Court to
declare unconstitutional the FCC's heavy-handed and outdated indecency
policy for broadcast TV. The policy stems from the 1978 Supreme Court
decision in FCC v. Pacifica, also known as the "Seven Dirty Words"
case. The Court held that broadcast
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/eff-asks-supreme-court-end-fcc%E2%80%99s-indecency-regulations

Parents Can Protect Their Children Better than the FCC, PK
Parents can do a better job of controlling what their children watch
than the government. That's why Public Knowledge joined TechFreedom,
the Center for Democracy & Technology, the Cato Institute, and the
Electronic Frontier Foundation in an amicus brief in FCC v. Fox,
asking the Supreme Court to overturn the government's outdated
broadcast indecency regulations.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/parents-can-protect-their-children-better-fcc

Diverse Tech Groups Call for an End to FCC Censorship, Teckfreedom
Five philosophically diverse tech policy organizations have called for
an end to the FCC's censorship of television broadcasting as a
violation of the First Amendment.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techfreedom/main-feed/~3/V4Xj_ZsCI_k/diverse-tech-groups-call-end-fcc-censorship

Net neutrality rules and the FCC's huge mistake, CW
All together now: Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/JIQNKUfkajY/Net_neutrality_rules_and_the_FCC_s_huge_mistake

Rockefeller Says Senate Vote to Protect Open Internet Is Win for
Consumers, Senate Commerce
Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV issued the following statement
today after the Senate voted not to proceed with its consideration of
S.J.Res.6, a Republican effort to overturn the Federal Communication
Commission's (FCC) rules that ensure a free and open Internet for
Americans:
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=2ca01b2b-3dc5-4c2e-9807-2d489a82bac0

Victory for Net Neutrality, Free Press
This outrageous measure would have stripped us of our right to
communicate freely online and handed control of the Internet to
companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon.
http://www.freepress.net/node/93059

Neutrality Rules Survive Repeal Threat, CDT
Earlier today, the Senate voted not to advance a joint resolution to
repeal the FCC's open internet rules. President Obama had promised to
veto the measure, which passed the House in the spring, but it's good
news that it won't have to come to that -- and that the rules have the
support of the Senate. Not that the rules are out of the woods
entirely; they still face a court challenge from Verizon.
http://cdt.org/blogs/andrew-mcdiarmid/1011neutrality-rules-survive-repeal-threat

Traffic jams, ISPs and net neutrality, Gigaom
In the net neutrality debate, Internet Service Providers like AT&T and
Verizon, have said they need to charge content providers for
prioritization so they can invest in improving infrastructure: faster
internet service for all, they say.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/KkhvukdzK8w/

Net Neutrality Update: One Lonely Reconsideration Petitioner, CommLawBlog
The Commission has announced that it has received one - and,
apparently, only one - petition for reconsideration of its Open
Internet order released last December (but not published in the
Federal Register until September). For the curious among you, the
seven-page petition - which is actually titled "Petition for
Clarification or Reconsideration" - may be found here. (It asks the
Commission to clarify the "special services" aspect of the net
neutrality order, particularly as that aspect would affect "enterprise
customers".)
http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/CommLawBlog/~3/7KZlo7bYx4A/

Rob Frieden, Do Conduit Neutrality Mandates Promote or Hinder Trust in
Internet-mediated Transactions?, PSU
As the Internet evolves and matures, Internet Service Providers
(--ISPs||) have begun to create increasingly diversified business models
that deviate from plain vanilla, one-size fits all terms and
conditions. Increasing subscriber demand for broadband connections
necessitates ISP efforts to identify and serve new profit centers and
to differentiate retail and wholesale users on
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/r/m/rmf5/Do%20Conduit%20%20Neutrality%20Mandates%20Promote%20or%20Hinder%20Trust%20in%20Internet.pdf

Alexander Reicher, REDEFINING NET NEUTRALITY AFTER COMCAST V. FCC, BTLJ
Critics sometimes describe James Joyce's modernist epic Ulysses as the
most discussed, least read novel in the world.1 Net neutrality may be
the most discussed, least understood concept in the world of internet
policy.
http://www.btlj.org/data/articles/26_1/Web%20PDFs/733-764_Reicher_091511.pdf

IANA contract is up for renewal, only to U.S. bidders, CW
A new tender document for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA) aims to strengthen the transparency, independence and
accountability of the next IANA contractor.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/Ei0gHnRkhJo/IANA_contract_is_up_for_renewal_only_to_U.S._bidders

Righthaven Loses Again, Has To Pay More Attorneys Fees... And Has
Lawyer Scolded By The Court, Techdirt
The hits just keep on coming for Righthaven. Having already lost in
Colorado, in its case against Leland Wolf (though, likely in all of
its cases, since the same judge is handling them all), Righthaven has
been told that it needs to pay Wolf's legal fees as well, to the tune
of $32,147.50 along with additional costs of $1,000.85. Plus, Wolf and
his lawyers have been told they can add on some more legal fees for
the costs of the hearing in question. But, really, the best part
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111111/01052116717/righthaven-loses-again-has-to-pay-more-attorneys-fees-has-lawyer-scolded-court.shtml

House Judiciary Committee Refuses To Hear Wider Tech Industry Concerns
About SOPA, Techdirt
Ever since SOPA was introduced, we'd heard that the eventual House
Judiciary Committee hearings on the bill would be an unfairly stacked
deck. Despite such wide opposition to the bill, and the fact that this
represents a massive change to the regulatory and technological
framework of the internet, we'd been told, repeatedly, that the
hearings would be set up with three representatives in favor of the
bill, and just one against. Apparently, the supporters
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111110/13455416712/house-judiciary-committee-refuses-to-hear-wider-tech-industry-concerns-about-sopa.shtml

Piracy is Bad for Business, But So is SOPA, PK
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is meant to promote "prosperity,
creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of
U.S. property." According to the proponents of SOPA, such as the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the U.S.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/piracy-bad-business-so-sopa

Citizen Media: Enemy Of The State Or Power To The People?, Forbes
Here we go again. Global citizen and social media are being attacked
on all sides.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christophercorrea/2011/11/11/citizen-media-enemy-of-the-state-or-power-to-the-people/

Regulators sniff around mobile privacy issues, CW
Regulators are starting to investigate what kind of oversight is in
place to make sure that mobile applications don't encroach on user
privacy rights, a lawyer in Microsoft's Windows Phone segment said.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/kBFZWqZjAnk/Regulators_sniff_around_mobile_privacy_issues

CDNs and DNS: A Flawed Study?, Level3
Some weeks ago a very long and scientific-looking blog post appeared
that analysed some CDN's use of DNS to determine the location of an
end-user. At the time I read it and dismissed it because it was so
obviously flawed. But several people have asked me about it so I
thought I'd try and unpick some of the assertions in that post. I'll
try and do it as simply as possible.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BeyondBandwidth/~3/aEwi2bmpMvY/

White House urges greater self-regulation of online privacy, WAPO
A senior tech advisor for President Obama on Monday said Internet
firms should come up with self-imposed privacy rules that would be
enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=e56866888b2773fcdf8741382dff5abc

Privacy Loses in Twitter/Wikileaks Records Battle, EFF
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

"Right to be Forgotten" A Problem for Publishers?, Daily Dashboard
Among the proposals being considered in the European Union's (EU)
updated data protection framework is what EU Justice Commissioner
Viviane Reding said is the right for consumers "to delete their data
at any time, especially the data they post on the Internet
themselves." The "right to be forgotten" could pose problems for
publishers that store media stories containing personal data about
individuals. Reding said that publishers had the right to archive
these stories if
https://www.privacyassociation.org/publications/2011_11_11_right_to_be_forgotten_a_problem_for_publishers/#When:20:00:28Z

Court makes it official: You have no privacy online, Gigaom
Online services like Twitter and Facebook spend a lot of time on their
privacy policies, and Facebook in particular has spent the past couple
of years tweaking its settings, trying to find a balance between
convincing users to share information and allowing them to keep some
private. But a recent U.S. court decision involving the Twitter
accounts of several WikiLeaks supporters shows when push comes to
shove, users of social networks and most online services have
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/brwQKYFreWg/

FTC and Facebook Close to Privacy Settlement, MTTLR
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the impending
settlement, is reporting that Facebook and the Federal Trade
Commission are close to a settlement over alleged deceptive practices
with respect to several Facebook features, including its privacy
settings. Under the settlement agreement, Facebook will be required
to make all future privacy changes "opt-in," requiring Facebook to
obtain its users' express consent before making information that's
already on the
http://www.mttlrblog.org/2011/11/13/ftc-and-facebook-close-to-privacy-settlement/

FTC Is Not Surprised That A Lot Of Children Are On Facebook, FPF
Despite COPPA's restrictions, "we know that there are lots of kids
registering for social networks and other services with their parents'
assistance," said FPF's Jules Polonetsky.
http://www.futureofprivacy.org/2011/11/10/ftc-is-not-surprised-that-a-lot-of-children-are-on-facebook-2/

Caught With Your System Down: SEC Requires Disclosure of Cyberattacks, JOLT Blog
The Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive recently
released a report highlighting the current threats to America's
economic security: foreign economic collection and industrial
espionage against American businesses. The two major culprits are
China and Russia. With both countries aiming to achieve economic
prosperity, states the report, cyberattacks that attempt to steal
valuable trade secrets and technological information are and will
remain
http://www.ncjolt.org/blog/2011/11/11/caught-your-system-down-sec-requires-disclosure-cyberattacks

My Congressional Testimony on the Need to Narrow the Computer Fraud
and Abuse Act, Volokh Conspiracy
Tomorrow morning at 10am, I will be testifying before the House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland
Security about the need to narrow the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. I
have submitted my written testimony, and it is available here. It
begins:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/volokh/mainfeed/~3/QFfHjkBJiLY/

What is a Cybersecurity Professional, NIST wants to know, Cybertelecom
So what is a Cybersecurity Professional? NIST thinks it would be
useful to have some sort of standard common means of answering that
question, and wants your input
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CybertelecomBlog/~3/UMFpZghXu-0/what-is-cybersecurity-professional-nist.html

Low-Cost Broadband and Computers for Students and Families, Broadband.gov
Yesterday, at a public school in Washington, DC, joined by cable and
technology executives and nonprofit leaders, FCC Chairman Genachowski
announced an unprecedented effort to help close the digital divide,
bringing low-cost broadband and computers to millions of low-income
Americans.
http://blog.broadband.gov/?entryId=1596428

Limits to broadband diffusion?, Virulent Word of Mouse
The National Telecommunications Information Administration just
published the findings from its latest survey about Internet use
within US households. In case you missed it, here is a summary:
broadband adoption among US households went up, but not by much.
http://virulentwordofmouse.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/limits-to-broadband-diffusion/

Congress Investigating Open Range Bankruptcy - And RUS Oversight of
Broadband Stimulus Funds, DSLReports
Back in October Mobile WiMax operator Open Range Communications filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the time, many wondered about
the $267 million loan the company received from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture s Rural Development Utilities Program (RUS) to improve
rural connectivity. There's
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Congress-Investigating-Open-Range-Bankruptcy-117006

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

What is a Cybersecurity Professional, NIST wants to know

So what is a Cybersecurity Professional?  NIST thinks it would be useful to have some sort of standard common means of answering that question, and wants your input:
NICE Issues Cybersecurity Workforce Framework for Public Comment
From NIST Tech Beat: November 8, 2011
Contact: Evelyn Brown
301-975-5661

The National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education (NICE) has published for public comment a draft document that classifies the typical duties and skill requirements of cybersecurity workers. The document is meant to define professional requirements in cybersecurity, much as other professions, such as medicine and law, have done.
NICE is an interagency effort coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and focused on cybersecurity awareness, education, training and professional development. NICE activities include increasing cybersecurity awareness for children and adults of all ages, promoting community college and university-level programs in cybersecurity, and expanding professional training opportunities.
The new document, the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, was created by the NICE group responsible for creating and maintaining a highly skilled workforce to meet the nation’s computer security needs. Over 20 participating agencies contributed to the group’s efforts.
“One thing NICE has found is that there has not been a consistent way to define or describe cybersecurity work across the federal workforce,” says NICE Lead Ernest McDuffie. Cybersecurity professionals previously have not fit into the standard occupations, job titles, position descriptions and the federal job classification and job grading system managed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Not having a common language to discuss and understand the work and skill requirements hinders federal employers in setting basic requirements, identifying skill gaps and providing training and professional development opportunities for their workforce. “Other professions have organized their specialties, and now it is time for a common set of definitions for the cybersecurity workforce,” said McDuffie.
The NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework provides a working taxonomy, or vocabulary, that is designed to fit into any organization’s existing occupational structure. The framework is based on information gathered from federal agencies through two years of surveys and workshops by OPM, a major Department of Defense study of the cybersecurity workforce and a study by the Federal CIO Council.
In opening the draft document up for public comment, NICE hopes to refine the framework so that it can be useful in both the public and private sectors to better protect the nation from escalating cybersecurity threats. Authors also want the framework to address emerging work requirements to help ensure the nation has the skills to meet them. The authors are requesting input from all of the nation’s cybersecurity stakeholders including academia, professionals, not-for-profit organizations and private industry.
The framework organizes cybersecurity work into high-level categories ranging from the design, operation and maintenance of cybersecurity systems to incident response, information gathering and analysis. The structure is based on job analyses and groups together work and workers that share common major functions, regardless of job title.
To read the document and provide comments, go to http://csrc.nist.gov/nice/framework/. The webpage also provides a template for comments, which are due Dec. 16, 2011.

11.10 :: $19 Mobile Phone Service :: Digital Divide Report :: Botnet Takedown :: Reform Privacy Act :: Hill Bill Targets FCC :: Comcast IPv6 ::

============================================
CyberTelecom News
Federal Internet Law and Policy
============================================
Those who make peaceful change impossible will make violent revolution
inevitable. - John F. Kennedy

NATOA Applauds Connect-to-Compete Program, NATOA
The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors
("NATOA") applauds the Federal Communications Commission and the
National Cable and Telecommunications Association ("NCTA") and its
partners on their announcement of a new initiative...
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/natoa-news/~3/YzSFLJZFe28/natoa-applauds-connecttocompet.html

Number of Wi-Fi hotspots to quadruple by 2015, CW
The number of public Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to increase by 350% in
the next four years, as operators look for ways to offload traffic
from their mobile networks, according to a report by market research
company Informa Telecoms and Media.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/AxV26b9y4zI/Number_of_Wi_Fi_hotspots_to_quadruple_by_2015

New Yochai Benkler Working Paper - Unlicensed Wireless vs. Licensed
Spectrum: Evidence from Market Adoption, Berkman Center
The Berkman Center is pleased to share a working paper from Harvard
Law School Professor and Berkman Center Faculty Co-Director Yochai
Benkler on "Unlicensed Wireless vs. Licensed Spectrum: Evidence from
Market Adoption."
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/7226

Obama threatens to veto Net neutrality repeal, CNET
The White House issues a formal veto threat, making it much less
likely that a congressional effort to overturn Net neutrality
regulations will succeed.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/RatXgWwbR0w/

White House Says They'll Veto Neutrality Killing Efforts - Which Would
Be Important if the Rules Actually Did Anything, dlsreports
As the FCC's network neutrality rules wind their way through the halls
of partisan bickering, the White House this week issued a statement
(pdf) saying they'll veto any efforts to quash the rules. The White
House specifically stated they'll veto the Senate passage of S.J. Res.
6, a counterpart to a House resolution passed in April designed to
repeal the FCC's neutrality rules. The Senate is expected to debate
the resolution Wednesday and vote Thursday. Says the White House in
their statement:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/White-House-Says-Theyll-Veto-Neutrality-Killing-Efforts-116957

Lawless Net Neutrality vs. the "Resolution of Disapproval", Forbes
no description
http://www.forbes.com/sites/waynecrews/2011/11/09/lawless-net-neutrality-vs-the-resolution-of-disapproval/

Senate to vote Thursday on repeal of Net neutrality, CNET
Obama has threatened to veto a resolution to repeal an FCC rule
requiring fixed-line broadband providers to treat all Web sites and
data the same.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/ZFNi2ewn_Bo/

Sen. Kerry's Speech: Protect Open Internet from Threat, Free Press
Below is a transcript of the speech Sen. John Kerry delivered today on
the Senate floor in opposition to the "resolution of disapproval," a
measure that would strip the FCC of its authority to protect consumers
and the open Internet.
http://www.freepress.net/node/93018

Net Neutrality Enforcement Put to the Test, Geist
The enforcement of Canada’s net neutrality rules, which govern how
Internet providers manage their networks, was in the spotlight earlier
this year when documents obtained under the Access to Information Act
revealed virtually all major Canadian ISPs have been the target of
complaints, but there have been few, if any, consequences arising from
the complaints process.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MichaelGeistsBlog/~3/b4m-cwOR2vI/

Don't Regulate the Internet. No, Wait. Regulate the Internet., Freedom to tinker
When Congress considered net neutrality legislation in the form of the
Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008 (H.R. 5353), representatives
of corporate copyright owners weighed in to oppose government
regulation of the Internet. They feared that such regulation might
inhibit their private efforts to convince ISPs to help them enforce
copyrights online through various forms of broadband traffic
management (e.g., filtering and bandwidth shaping). "Our view," the
RIAA's Mitch
https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/abridy/dont-regulate-internet-no-wait-regulate-internet

Deployment of IPv6 Begins, Comcast
Comcast has been conducting IPv6 technical trials in our production
network for more than a year, and we've been working diligently on
IPv6 deployment for over 6 years. After so many years of challenging
preparatory work, significant technology investment, internal skills
development, and close collaboration with our technology partners, I
am incredibly pleased to announce that we've achieved another critical
milestone in our transition to IPv6 — we have started the pilot market
deployment of IPv6 to customers in selected markets!
http://blog.comcast.com/2011/11/ipv6-deployment.html

Technical Details for Our IPv6 Deployment, Comcast
We have now started our pilot market deployment of IPv6, which is the
first of several phases for our IPv6 deployment. This first phase will
support certain types of directly connected CPE, where a computer is
connected directly to a cable modem. This will depend upon the cable
modem (a subset of DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems, which will expand over
time) and will also depend upon the operating system (only Windows 7,
Windows Vista, Mac OS X 10.7 / Lion), which must support stateful
DHCPv6.
http://blog.comcast.com/2011/11/ipv6-deployment-technology.html

Cisco FY Q1 Beats Ests; Sees Q2 Revs Up 7%-8% Vs. Yr Ago; Shrs Rally
(Updated), Forbes
Cisco Systems this afternoon reported better-than-expected results for
its fiscal first quarter ended October 29. The company also providing
encouraging guidance for the January quarter.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2011/11/09/cisco-fy-q1-beats-estimates/

Cisco's Profit Declines 8%, WSJ
Cisco said its quarterly profit dropped again, but rising revenue and
an upbeat outlook offered early evidence that a turnaround effort may
be working.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204224604577028403937563444.html?mod=rss_Technology

Supporting Free Expression . . . As Long As We Agree with You, AT&T
Media Access Project, or MAP, fashions itself a "non-profit law firm
and advocacy organization" that works on behalf of the public "to
promote freedom of expression." Indeed, one of MAP's primary
objectives is to protect the public's First Amendment rights by
ensuring "universal and equitable access to media outlets."
http://attpublicpolicy.com/wireless/supporting-free-expression-as-long-as-we-agree-with-you/

Time Magazine Says SOPA Is 'A Cure Worse Than The Disease'; Would
Encourage Censorship, Techdirt
It appears that more people in the mainstream press are beginning to
recognize just how horrible the SOPA/E-PARASITE bill is when you look
at the details. Over at Time Magazine's Techland blog, there's a post
by Jerry Brito, saying that it's a "cure" that is "worse than the
disease." The post notes that it won't do much to actually
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111108/14510316684/time-magazine-says-sopa-is-cure-worse-than-disease-would-encourage-censorship.shtml

Draft Roadmap for Cloud Computing Technology, NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released
for public comment a draft 'roadmap' that is designed to foster
federal agencies adoption of cloud computing, support the private
sector, improve the information ..
http://www.nist.gov/itl/cloud-110811.cfm

Hill Bills Target FCC Process, CommLawBlog
On November 2, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman of the Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Senator
Dean Heller (R-NV) took the wraps off legislation aimed at improving
regulatory process at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Just how might that be accomplished? According to the bills' sponsors,
by imposing a number of procedural constraints on the Commission that
would force it to act more transparently, more efficiently, and within
more predictable time frames.
http://feeds.lexblog.com/~r/CommLawBlog/~3/K4vZSmvIfFs/

Online Advertiser Settles FTC Charges ScanScout Deceptively Used Flash
Cookies to Track Consumers Online, FTC
Online advertiser ScanScout has agreed to settle Federal Trade
Commission charges that it deceptively claimed that consumers could
opt out of receiving targeted ads by changing their computer's web
browser settings to block cookies.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/scanscout.shtm

Senator Akaka Calls for Major Reform to the Privacy Act of 1974, EPIC
Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HA) has introduced the Privacy Act
Modernization for the Information Age (PAMIA) Act of 2011 bill (S.
1732). The PAMIA Act would update the Privacy Act of 1974, the law
that regulates the collection and use of personal information by
federal agencies. Among other changes, the PAMIA Act would strengthen
civil and criminal penalties for improper disclosure of information,
update exceptions for when agencies do not have to notify individuals
of record
http://epic.org/2011/11/senator-akaka-calls-for-major-.html

Operator of Social Networking Website for Kids Settles FTC Charges
Site Collected Kids' Personal Information Without Parental Consent,
FTC
The operator of www.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://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/skidekids.shtm

NICE Issues Cybersecurity Workforce Framework for Public Comment, NIST
The National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education (NICE) has
published for public comment a draft document that classifies the
typical duties and skill requirements of cybersecurity workers. The
document is meant to define professional ...
http://www.nist.gov/itl/cyberwork-110811.cfm

Busted! Two New Fed GPS Trackers Found on SUV, Wired
As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear oral arguments in a case this
week that could determine if authorities can track U.S. citizens with
GPS vehicle trackers without a warrant, a young man in California has
come forward to Wired to reveal that he found not one but two
different devices on his vehicle recently.
http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/politics/~3/NM5ghBFDh-4/

Where's the emergency alert system for the Web?, CNET
This is only a test. A big one. But not big enough.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/HB8gNB7otwU/

DOJ charges seven in massive clickjacking scheme, CW
The U.S. Department of Justice is charging seven individuals with 27
counts of wire fraud and other computer-related crimes, alleging that
the group hijacked 4 million computers across 100 countries in a
sophisticated clickjacking scheme.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/zDoqEsEgFr8/DOJ_charges_seven_in_massive_clickjacking_scheme

Feds lead biggest botnet takedown ever, end massive clickjack fraud, CW
The botnet takedown announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of
Justice was the biggest in history, according to a security company.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/-f6cv8QhAtk/Feds_lead_biggest_botnet_takedown_ever_end_massive_clickjack_fraud

NIST Signs Agreement to Enhance Cybersecurity Education Programs, NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has agreed
to work with the Department of Education and a new organization, the
National Cybersecurity Education Council (NCEC), to develop a
strategic public-private partnership ...
http://www.nist.gov/itl/cyberschool-110811.cfm

Biggest Botnet Takedown to Date, CircleID
"the cyber ring used a class of malware called DNSChanger to infect
approximately 4 million computers in more than 100 countries. There
were about 500,000 infections in the U.S., including computers
belonging to individuals, businesses, and government agencies such as
NASA. The thieves were able to manipulate Internet advertising to
generate at least $14 million in illicit fees. In some cases, the
malware had the additional
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20111109_biggest_botnet_takedown_to_date/

F.C.C. and Cable Companies Push to Close Digital Divide, NYT
The Federal Communications Commission is hoping to close the digital
divide by developing cheap high-speed Internet access for low-income
households.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5cf3d7bed69ac7c90ed7837bbf370877

FCC plans cheap Internet service and computers to connect poor Americans, WAPO
The Federal Communications Commission and cable and computer firms
will announce Wednesday a program to provide low-income homes with $10
monthly broadband Internet service and $150 computers.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=5182e67c233c58d66e87a414fa363949

Promoting Broadband Adoption, AT&T
"We applaud the strong leadership of FCC Chairman Genachowski to
address the broadband adoption puzzle. Broadband adoption promotes
educational and employment opportunities and strengthens participation
of all in our economy. We are proud of our efforts to support,
partner and participate actively in a number of programs and
initiatives to realize the Administration's goal of universal
deployment and adoption of broadband.
http://attpublicpolicy.com/fcc/promoting-broadband-adoption/

Exploring the Digital Nation - Computer and Internet Use at Home, NTIA
The Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration
(ESA) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) released a report, "Exploring the Digital Nation," that
analyzes broadband Internet adoption in the United States. Overall,
approximately seven out of ten households in the United States
subscribe to broadband service. The report finds a strong correlation
between broadband adoption and socio-economic factors, such as income
and education, but says these differences do not explain the entire
broadband adoption gap that exists along racial, ethnic, and
geographic lines. Even
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/2011/exploring-digital-nation-computer-and-internet-use-home

NTIA Releases New Broadband Adoption Report, NTIA
The Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration
(ESA) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) released a report, "Exploring the Digital Nation," that
analyzes broadband Internet adoption in the United States. Overall,
approximately seven out of ten households in the United States
subscribe to broadband service. The report finds a strong correlation
between broadband adoption and socio-economic factors, such as income
and
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/headlines/2011/ntia-releases-new-broadband-adoption-report

Republic Wireless: 'Unlimited' Android phone for $19 per month, CNET
Too good to be true? There's definitely a catch, but it's one most
people can probably live with.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/FC9vEra8XT0/

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Monday, November 07, 2011

NIST Request Comments on Draft Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap

The USG has announced a "Cloud First" information technology policy, and is hard at work attempting to implement this idea. The following RFC is from NIST:
NIST Releases Draft Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap for Comments
For Immediate Release: November 1, 2011
Bookmark and Share Contact: Evelyn Brown
301-975-5661

The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released for public comment a draft "roadmap" that is designed to foster federal agencies' adoption of cloud computing, support the private sector, improve the information available to decision makers and facilitate the continued development of the cloud computing model.
Steve VanRoekel at Cloud Computing Forum
U.S. Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel addresses the Cloud Computing Forum & Workshop IV where NIST’s new cloud computing technology roadmap was debuted today. NIST is accepting public comments on the roadmap through Dec. 2.
Credit: G. Porter/NIST
View hi-resolution image
In February 2011, the government issued the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy* that describes cloud computing as a "profound economic and technical shift (with) great potential to reduce the cost of Federal Information Technology (IT) systems while … improving IT capabilities and stimulating innovation in IT solutions."
As part of that strategy, NIST has been assigned "a central [role] in defining and advancing standards, and collaborating with U.S. government agency CIOs, private-sector experts and international bodies to identify and reach consensus on cloud computing technology and standardization priorities." U.S. Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, Release 1.0 (NIST Special Publication 500-293) is designed to support the secure and effective adoption of the cloud computing model by federal agencies to reduce costs and improve services. The public comment period is open through Dec. 2.
The draft publication defines high-priority requirements for standards, official guidance and technology developments that need to be met in order for agencies to accelerate their migration of existing IT systems to the cloud computing model. "A key contribution of the roadmap effort is to focus the discussion to achieve a clear understanding between the government and private sector," said Senior Advisor for Cloud Computing Dawn Leaf, "particularly on the specific technical steps (standards, guidance and technology solutions) needed to move federal IT from its current early-cloud state to a cloud-based foundation, as envisioned in the U.S. Federal Cloud Computing Strategy."
NIST plans to issue the final U.S. Government Cloud Computing Roadmap as a three-volume work. The first two volumes are being released today.
Volume I, High-Priority Requirements to Further USG Agency Cloud Computing Adoption, provides a general understanding and overview of the roadmap initiative, including:
  • prioritized interoperability, portability and security requirements that must be met to further government cloud adoption;
  • standards, guidelines and technology that must be in place to satisfy these requirements; and
  • a list of Priority Action Plans (PAPs) recommended for voluntary self-tasking by the cloud stakeholder community to support standards, guidelines and technology development.

Volume II, Useful Information for Cloud Adopters, is the nuts and bolts publication. It is a technical reference that is useful for those working on strategic and tactical cloud computing initiatives—whether they work in government agencies or not. Volume II integrates and summarizes the work completed to date, explains the assessment findings based on this work and how these findings support the roadmap introduced in Volume I.
The third volume, Technical Considerations for USG Cloud Computing Deployment Decisions, is under development as part of an interagency and public working group collaborative effort. It is intended as a guide for decision makers who are planning and implementing cloud computing solutions. The document explains how the technical work in Volume II can be applied to the decision framework defined in the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy.
Much of the work that forms the basis for the roadmap has been completed through public working groups open to interested parties from industry, academia and government. Hundreds of people are registered in the five NIST Cloud Computing Working Groups that were established in November 2010. The working groups also contributed to the content of two related cloud publications released earlier this year—NIST Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap (SP 500-291) and NIST Cloud Computing Reference Architecture (NIST SP 500-292).
The roadmap has undergone a 60-day review exercise through the Federal Cloud Computing Standards and Technology Working Group. This NIST-led group was formed in July 2011 under the auspices of the United States Federal CIO Council and includes representatives from approximately 30 U.S. government agencies. The review focused heavily on the list of USG Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap requirements.
The roadmap document is intended for a diverse audience including those with key roles identified in the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy and academia, government, industry and standards development organizations interested in cloud computing.
Volumes I and II of U.S. Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, Release 1.0 (SP 500-293) can be retrieved, along with the Technical Considerations for USG Cloud Computing Deployment Decisions working document, which will eventually be released as the third volume of SP 500-293, and other cloud publications at www.nist.gov/itl/cloud/index.cfm.
Comments on the first two volumes are due by 5 p.m. Eastern time Dec. 2, 2011. Electronic comments should be sent to ccroadmap.comments@nist.gov or written ones can be mailed to Robert Bohn, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 2000, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2000.
* Available at www.cio.gov/documents/Federal-Cloud-COmputing-Strategy.pdf.

11.7 :: Dont Do What Johnny Wifi Dont :: 3000 Sign Whitehouse.gov petition Seeking "Vapid Response" :: Occupy Hollywood :: Turning Parents into Liars and Criminals ::

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CyberTelecom News
Federal Internet Law and Policy
============================================
Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears. Marcus Aurelius

Wi-Fi security do's and don'ts, CW
Wi-Fi is inherently susceptible to hacking and eavesdropping, but it
can be secure if you use the right security measures. Unfortunately,
the Web is full of outdated advice and myths. But here are some do's
and don'ts of Wi-Fi security, addressing some of these myths.
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/uXI2s1CexKk/Wi_Fi_security_do_s_and_don_ts

Net Neutrality and Regulatory Reform, Tech Liberation Front
The Senate might vote this week on Sen. Hutchison's resolution of
disapproval for the FCC's net neutrality rules. If ever there was a
regulation that showed why independent regulatory agencies ought to be
required to conduct solid regulatory analysis before writing a
regulation, net neutrality is it.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techliberation/~3/ybC8ysjixds/

Sen. Kerry Speaks Out for Net Neutrality, Save the Internet
Sen. John Kerry -- a longtime Net Neutrality champion -- today sent out
a letter to his Senate colleagues urging them to vote "no" on an
upcoming resolution of disapproval that would wreck our ability to
communicate online.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/11/11/04/sen-kerry-speaks-out-net-neutrality

Brazil Facing Massive DNS Poisoning Attacks, CircleID
Fabio Assolini of Kaspersky Lab report: "In the past few days several
Brazilian ISPs have fallen victim to a series of DNS cache poisoning
attacks. These attacks see users being redirected to install malware
before connecting to popular sites. Some incidents have also featured
attacks on network devices, where routers or modems are compromised
remotely. Brazil has some big ISPs. Official statistics suggest the
country has 73 million computers
http://www.circleid.com/posts/brazil_facing_massive_dns_poisoning_attacks/

Time To Embrace IPv6, Not To Run From It, Forbes
Guest post written by Matthew Prince
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/11/06/time-to-embrace-ipv6-not-to-run-from-it/

IPv4 Historical Imbalances and the Threat to IPv6, CircleID
It is an open secret that the current state of IPv4 allocation
contains many accidental historical imbalances and in particular
developing countries who wish to use IPv4 are disadvantaged by the
lack of addresses available through ordinary allocation and are forced
into purchasing addresses on the open market. As most of the addresses
for sale are held by organisations based in the developed world, this
amounts to a transfer of wealth from the developing
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20111106_ipv4_historical_imbalances_and_the_threat_to_ipv6/

3,000 sign whitehouse.gov petition seeking "vapid response," cookies,
Ars Technica
A feature on the White House's website designed to encourage citizens
to interact with the administration has become what every very public
forum on the Internet eventually becomes: a target for trolls.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/over-21000-sign-whitehousegov-petition-seeking-vapid-response-cookies.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Level3 Suffers Brief But Massive Outage - Knocks ISPs Like Time Warner
Cable Offline, DSLReports
As users in our Time Warner Cable forum can attest, Level3 appears to
have suffered a massive outage today that knocked some ISPs, like Time
Warner Cable, offline completely for a brief while. A Time Warner
Cable employee has confirmed on Twitter that the company suffered from
an outage that impacted "most of our service areas." Most
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Level3-Suffers-Brief-But-Massive-Outage-116933

Congress's Piracy Blacklist Plan: A Cure Worse than the Disease?, Tech
Liberation Front
Over at TIME.com Techland, I write about the newly introduced Stop
Online Piracy Act and the renewed push for a "rogue website" law.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techliberation/~3/ic4o71dsUx4/

Good News/Bad News About the Number of Blogs Eligible for the 17 USC
512 Safe Harbor, Tech & Marketing Law Blog
My 2006 article about blog law included the following passage
(footnotes omitted): few blogs satisfy the numerous...
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2011/11/goodbad_news_ab.htm

The Secret Behind SOPA Defense: Insist That It Doesn't Say What It
Actually Says, Techdirt
I'm beginning to notice a disturbing pattern in those who defend SOPA
(formerly the E-PARASITE Act, until someone realized just how bad that
looked). The text of the law makes massive changes to the regulatory
framework of the internet, to the point that it raises some serious
constitutional questions (should it ever actually pass). However,
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111104/23411816644/secret-behind-sopa-defense-insist-that-it-doesnt-say-what-it-actually-says.shtml

David Post: Occupy Hollywood (and stop SOPA), Center for Internet and Society
Last July, I signed on to a letter from more than 100 law professors
urging Congress to reject the PROTECT-IP Act. A new version of that
bill -- referred to as both the E-PARASITE Act and SOPA -- was
introduced in the House last week, and it is even more dangerous than
its predecessors.
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/node/6752

Why Blogs Can't Be Trusted, or: 'Statements Made Here Are Not Likely
Provable Assertions of Fact', Citizens Media Law Project
The refrain that bloggers can't be trusted to produce accurate,
factual information and reporting is a familiar one. Now, though,
courts are beginning to give the cliche some legal bite. While in the
short run those cases are wins for the individual bloggers involved,
the bigger picture suggests that we shouldn't be too quick to
celebrate.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CitizenMediaLawProject/~3/silYY4rbZ60/why-blogs-cant-be-trusted-or-statements-made-here-are-not-likely-provable-assertions-fact

Final Version of NIST Cloud Computing Definition Published, NIST
After years in the works and 15 drafts, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology's (NIST) working definition of cloud
computing, the 16th and final definition has been published as The
NIST Definition of Cloud Computing (NIST Special Publication 800-145).
http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/cloud-102511.cfm

Siri Outages Indicate Apple Still Doesnt Get the Cloud, CW
For the moment, at least, Apple's new Siri feature is back online and
cheerfully responding to instructions, but it's hard to say how long
that's going to last. I had trouble getting Siri to respond to my
requests from 10am to 2pm Pacific time on Friday and that's in
addition to the long block of downtime the service experienced on
Thursday. All the trouble raises the question: Why can't Apple get
cloud services right?
http://rss.computerworld.com/~r/computerworld/news/feed/~3/PF4hiI9J-Bw/Siri_Outages_Indicate_Apple_Still_Doesnt_Get_the_Cloud

Final Version of NIST Cloud Computing Definition Published, NIST
After years in the works and 15 drafts, the National Institute of
Standards and Technologys (NIST) working definition of cloud
computing, the 16th and final definition has been published as The
NIST Definition of Cloud Computing (NIST .
http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/cloud-102511.cfm

NIST Releases Draft Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap for Comments, NIST
The U.S. Commerce Departments National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) has released for public comment a draft 'roadmap'
that is designed to foster federal agencies adoption of cloud
computing, support the private sector, ...
http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/cloud-110111.cfm

Google Releases Opt-Out Feature for Users, Daily Dashboard
Google has released a new feature to explain why Google search and
Gmail users have been targeted by advertisements and allow them to opt
out of such ads from future search page results, reports The Wall
Street Journal. "Why These Ads" is an effort to increase company
transparency when it comes to behavioral advertising,
https://www.privacyassociation.org/publications/2011_11_03_google_releases_opt-out_feature_for_users/#When:20:12:57Z

New study finds parents ignore age-restrictions on social media sites, MTTLR
Most everyone you know has an account with social media sites such as
Facebook. This includes your friends, your employer, the people
sitting near you at Starbucks, and, even, your 10-year-old cousin. But
unlike the rest, your cousin isn't supposed to, according to
Facebook's Terms of Service.
http://www.mttlrblog.org/2011/11/07/new-study-finds-parents-ignore-age-restrictions-on-social-media-sites/

Expert: COPPA Should Be Changed, Daily Dashboard
Earlier this week, researchers released a report concluding that the
efficacy of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is in
question because parents may be unknowingly complicit in circumventing
the law when helping children lie about their age for the purposes of
opening Facebook profiles. The Daily Dashboard caught up
https://www.privacyassociation.org/publications/2011_11_03_expert_coppa_should_be_changed/#When:20:13:33Z

Privacy Victims by the Million: Federal Law Turns Parents and Children
into Liars ... and Criminals? By Stewart Baker, Volokh Conspiracy
A recent report by Danah Boyd and others reveals that turning parents
and children into liars is a principal effect of the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. According to Consumer Reports, 7.5
million kids under 13 have joined Facebook. Since Facebook prohibits
kids of that age from the service, that's 7.5 million children who
lied
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/volokh/mainfeed/~3/DCoOUB3dd-4/

NIST Releases Two Wireless Security Guides, Requests Comment, NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued
for public review and comment two draft guides to securing wireless
communication networks. NIST is requesting comments on the two
publications--one on Bluetooth networks and one on wireless local area
networks--by Nov. 10, 2011
http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/guides-102511.cfm

KPN stops issuing SSL certificates after possible breach, CW
The largest telecommunications company in the Netherlands has stopped
issuing SSL certificates after finding indications that the website
used for purchasing the certificates may have been hacked.
KPN stops issuing SSL certificates after possible breach

Darpa Begs Hackers: Secure Our Networks, End 'Season of Darkness', Wired
The Pentagon's far-out research agency and its brand new military
command for cyberspace have a confession to make. They don't really
know how to keep U.S. military networks secure. And they want to know:
Could you help them out?
http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/politics/~3/Fm8J08bwz8k/

NIST Releases Two Wireless Security Guides, Requests Comment, NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued
for public review and comment two draft guides to securing wireless
communication networks. NIST is requesting comments on the two
publicationsamp-one on Bluetooth ...
http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/guides-102511.cfm

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in GPS Tracking Case, EPIC
The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on November 8 to
determine whether the warrantless use of a GPS tracking device by the
police violates the Fourth Amendment. EPIC filed a "friend of the
court" brief in US v. Jones, urging the Supreme Court to uphold robust
Fourth Amendment protections. Along with 30 legal and technical
http://epic.org/2011/11/supreme-court-to-hear-argument-5.html

DARPA declares it will develop arsenal of cyber-weapons, Globe
Pentagon s research arm says modern warfare demands offensive and
defensive capabilities to deal with malicious software code
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheGlobeAndMail-Technology/~3/QXsV5kHpkuw/

Extension of Comment Period Regarding the Illicit Use of Computer
Equipment by Botnets and Related Malware, NTIA
The Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and
Technology announces that the closing deadline for submission of
comments responsive to the September 21, 2011, request for information
on the requirements of, and possible approaches to, creating a
voluntary industry code of conduct to address the detection,
notification and
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2011/extension-comment-period-regarding-illicit-use-computer-equipment-botne


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Website :: www.cybertelecom.org
Blog :: cybertelecom.blogspot.com
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AUP :: www.cybertelecom.org/cybert.htm#aup
Cybertelecom is Off-the-Record. Otherwise play nicely.

Link to us! www.cybertelecom.org
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