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Privacy under attack: the NSA files revealed new threats to democracy

May 28, 2014March 3, 2016

In the third chapter of his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon gave two reasons why the slavery into which the Romans had tumbled under Augustus and his successors left them more wretched than any previous human slavery. In the first place, Gibbon said, the Romans had carried with them into slavery the culture of a free people: their language and their conception of themselves as human beings presupposed freedom. And thus, says Gibbon, for a long time the Romans preserved the sentiments –…

Politics curtailing Silicon Valley’s fast-growing financial ties with Russia’s tech sector: Entrepreneurs, investors say

April 14, 2014 Staff Writer

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) – Entrepreneurs and investors say Silicon Valley’s fast-growing financial ties with Russia’s tech sector are being slowed down by current political tensions between the White House and the Kremlin. “It’s safe to say a lot of investors here are taking a step back to see how the situation will unfold,” said Alexandra Johnson, who manages a $100 million venture fund called DFJ VTP Aurora, a Menlo Park, Calif., branch of Russian bank VTB. For decades, Russia’s sophisticated scientists and engineers remained at arm’s length from Silicon…

After The Gold Rush: Domain Names Have Lost Their Glitter

November 26, 2013 Staff Writer

When it comes to investing, I’m what financial advisers somewhat derisively call “risk averse.” But in all modesty, I just have this knack for woulda coulda shoulda. My latest involves the subject of buying domain names. Specifically, I shoulda registered the domain name VacationRentals.com, not too long ago, because I coulda sold it to HomeAway in 2007 for $35 million. Had I done that, today I might be negotiating the purchase of a Paris apartment and planning my next private jet vacation, instead of figuring out how to fit my…

Google talks African strategy

November 11, 2013 Staff Writer

Trying to use a single e-commerce strategy across various regions is bad business. This was the word from Luke McKend, country head for Google SA, who was speaking at the World Retail Congress Africa, held in Sandton this week. McKend said this statement is particularly relevant in an African context. People are increasingly using the Internet to look for an instantaneous response that is related to where they are, according to McKend. “Fully a third of all Google searches have some kind of implicit location information,” he said, adding that…

The Open (Internet) Society and Its Enemies: Can Multistakeholderism Survive “Information Dominance”?

October 18, 2013 Staff Writer

Information Dominance For General Keith Alexander, the head of the US‘s major surveillance agency, the NSA’s fundamental ambition appears to be what he and the US military call “Information Dominance”. “Information Dominance is the ability to seize and control the information domain “high ground” when, where and however required for decisive competitive advantage… Information Dominance means freedom of action to maneuver and act — conduct offensive and defensive actions, kinetically and non-kinetically — at the intersection of maritime, information and cyberspace domains” John Arguilla, a leading US cyberwar strategist defines…

book fair targets Internet giants Amazon, Apple and Google

October 11, 2013 Staff Writer

Organisers of the world’s biggest book fair warned on Tuesday against the domination of Internet giants as the publishing world grapples to blend old and new forms of reading. American giants Amazon, Apple and Google — whose entry into the world of online sales and digital books is threatening the traditional publishing industry — are “logistics magicians but are not publishers”, said Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair. “There’s no passion there,” he told reporters as the giant German book fair prepared to open Wednesday. Boos warned it…

Brazil moves to secure telecom, Internet systems after US spying

August 22, 2013 Staff Writer

Brazil said Wednesday it is moving to secure its communications through its own satellite and digital networks to end its dependence on the United States, which is accused of electronically spying on the region. “Brazil is in favor of greater decentralization: Internet governance must be multilateral and multisectoral with a broader participation,” Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo told a congressional panel. Tuesday, Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota warned his US counterpart John Kerry that the row over Washington’s electronic snooping could sow mistrust between the two countries. Kerry responded by conceding that…

Brands set to lose ‘closed generic’ gTLDs

July 5, 2013 Staff Writer

Scores of controversial brand-owned generic top-level domains (gTLDs) could be under threat after a ruling on Thursday that defers their approval until further notice. ICANN has ruled that applications for ‘closed generic’ gTLDs – dictionary words not available for public use – must be discussed further with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). “The NGPC [New gTLD Program Committee] directs staff to defer moving forward with the contracting process for applicants seeking to impose exclusive registry access for ‘generic strings’ to a single person or entity”, a statement says. Adapted worldipreview.com

UK Government Crusades To Slash IT Spending

May 10, 2013 Staff Writer

In a standout presentation at the Jefferies 2013 Global Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York this week, the UK government talked about becoming a “very intelligent client.” Gov.UK was represented on this occasion by COO Stephen Kelly and Chief Procurement Officer Bill Crothers. Describing himself as a “poacher turned gamekeeper,” Kelly — who formerly sat on the vendors’ side of the fence with Chordiant and Microfocus — is now crusading to rein in and rationalize government spending on technology, looking for ₤20 billion ($30.9 billion) in efficiency savings…