Tech Review: Massive Tech Disruption Underway (video) | TR 2017-05-27

Tech Review (TR 2017-05-27)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech news:

Features • 1) Massive Tech Disruption Underway (videos), 2) WannaCry / WannaCrypt update, 3) NSA Surveillance, 4) FCC & Net Neutrality, 5) Top Smartphone Brands in China, 6) Potpourri: Amazon Global Stores Sales in China, 7) ICYMI Tech News.

1) Massive Tech Disruption Underway: AI, Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles

Sinovation Ventures CEO Says the Age of AI Is Coming

Video above published May 22, 2017: Kai-Fu Lee, Sinovation Ventures (sinovationventures.com) CEO, discusses investment opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI) with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg Technology."  "Google is in the lead." "In China, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are doing well." Lee is focused on banking, insurance and investment, optimistic about autonomous vehicles as well as robotics. See also There are bots. Look around | ribbonfarm.com.

JP Morgan's Namburi Sees Massive Tech Disruption Underway

Video above published May 22, 2017: Madhu Namburi, head of technology investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co., (jpmorganchase.com) discusses the role technology is playing across all industries as he sees "significant M&A" coming as companies play catch up on tech innovation. He speaks with Bloomberg's David Gura from the JPMorgan Media and Telecom conference in Boston on "Bloomberg Markets."

2) WannaCry / WannaCrypt update: 

• Everything you need to know | troyhunt.com

• Over 98% of All WannaCry Victims Were Using Windows 7 | bleepingcomputer.com (Editor's note: probably because people turned off Windows Update last year when Microsoft was hijacking Win7 computers through Windows Update and forcing them to Windows 10. Also possibly related, Windows Update has a flaw that causes it to loop and fail to update on some PCs. I suggest PC users consider upgrading to a Chromebook if they can't get their Windows Update to update their PC.)

• Don't tell people to turn off Windows Update, just don't | troyhunt.com: "Those of us who've felt Windows Update-inflicted pain will all agree on this: Microsoft needs to make Windows Update better.--Editor's note: You think?

• French researchers find way to unlock WannaCry without ransom | Reuters.com.

3) NSA Surveillance: Barack Obama's team secretly disclosed years of illegal NSA searches spying on Americans | Circa.com: "The National Security Agency under former President Barack Obama routinely violated American privacy protections while scouring through overseas intercepts and failed to disclose the extent of the problems until the final days before Donald Trump was elected president last fall, according to once top-secret documents that chronicle some of the most serious constitutional abuses to date by the U.S. intelligence community." Editor's note: Remember when BO won the Nobel Peace Prize?

4)  FCC & Net Neutrality--FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | fcc.gov: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-17-60A1.pdf would eliminate the FCC's legal authority to prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or throttling web content or creating "fast lanes" that websites can buy into. The 75-page proposal, "Restoring Internet Freedom," also asks the public to comment on whether rules are needed to ban those practices. How to comment: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/how-comment#comments. Easiest way to comment is via the EFF.org's https://dearfcc.org/.

5) Top Smartphone Brands in China in April 2017, via ChinaInternetWatch.com:

1. Huawei 22.8%
2. Oppo 16.5%
3. Vivo 15.9%
4. Apple 11.6%
5. Xiaomi 11.2%

(Samsung is 8th at 2.3%)

6) Potpourri:

• Amazon Global Stores Sales Roar in China in Q1 2017 | ChinaInternetWatch.com

• Qualcomm agrees to pay BlackBerry $940M by May 31, 2017, for royalty fees smartphone maker overpaid between 2010 and 2015 | ZDNet.com

• Yes, Blockchain could reverse the course of civilization and upend the world's most powerful companies | ZDNet.com

7) ICYMI Tech News via mobile.reuters.com:

• Google AI beats Chinese master in ancient game of Go and Google's AlphaGo clinches series win over Chinese Go master

• China's LeEco to cut about 70 percent of U.S. staff amid global pull-back

• India offers tax concessions to Apple to expand production: official

• China seeks safe steering of bike-sharing boom to clear cluttered streets

• Indian digital payments firm Paytm launches niche bank

• Symantec says 'highly likely' North Korea group behind ransomware attacks and U.N.'s North Korea sanctions monitors hit by 'sustained' cyber attack

• Apple and Nokia see deeper partnership after ending patent dispute

• Huawei narrows gap with Samsung, Apple in global smartphone sales: Gartner

• Newly discovered vulnerability raises fears of another WannaCry

• Moody's downgrades China, warns of fading financial strength as debt mounts

• 'Food revolution': megabrands turn to small start-ups for big ideas and Factbox: Food and drink makers' venture capital funds.

• Global chat platform Kik to launch digital currency "Kin".

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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DISCLAIMER

News Review: ICANN Accountability WS2 & Consensus 'ICANN Style'

Domain Mondo's weekly review of internet domain news:

First Feature •  ICANN accountability workstream 2 (WS2) Dashboard--The ICANN Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) Work Stream 2 (WS2) is "focused on addressing accountability topics for which a timeline for developing solutions and full implementation may extend beyond the IANA Stewardship Transition."--here's the latest WS2 subgroups progress update from ICANN:

CCWG-Accountability Workstream 2 Dashboard (pdf) (Dec 2016, updated 11 Jan 2017) embed:

Second Feature •  Consensus 'ICANN Style'

Decision-Making Methodologies:In developing its Proposal(s), work plan and any other reports, the CCWG-Accountability shall seek to act by consensus. Consensus calls should always make best efforts to involve all members (the CCWG-Accountability or sub-working group). The Chair(s) shall be responsible for designating each position as having one of the following designations:
a) Full Consensus - a position where no minority disagrees; identified by an absence of objection; b) Consensus – a position where a small minority disagrees, but most agree. In the absence of Full Consensus, the Chair(s) should allow for the submission of minority viewpoint(s) and these, along with the consensus view, shall be included in the report.
In a rare case, the chair(s) may decide that the use of a poll is reasonable to assess the level of support for a recommendation. However, care should be taken in using polls that they do not become votes, as there are often disagreements about the meanings of the poll questions or of the poll results.
Any member who disagrees with the consensus-level designation made by the Chair(s), or believes that his/her contributions are being systematically ignored or discounted should first discuss the circumstances with the relevant sub-group chair or the CCWG-Accountability co-chairs. In the event that the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily, the group member should request an opportunity to discuss the situation with the Chairs of the chartering organizations or their designated representatives.

How does this play out in reality? Here's a snapshot: Jurisdiction Meeting #16 (10 January @ 13:00 UTC) chat transcript--"threaten me that we have consensus or nothing, and I will join the objectors"--

Note that the Jurisdiction subgroup is "behind schedule, but recovery is still possible" according to the subgroup progress update graphic at the top of this post.

Other Internet Domain News:

•  Neustar acquisition: Friday (Jan. 13) was the preliminary proxy and FCC filing deadline for the Golden Gate acquisition of Neustar (neustar.biz | NYSE:NSR), a domain registry services and technology company. The go-shop also expired Friday (no alternative bids anticipated according to SeekingAlpha.com).

•  Rebrand--New Domain Name--Yahoo! Inc. will be changing its name to Altaba Inc., a portmanteau of "alternative" and "Alibaba" and has registered the domain name altaba.com:

The name change is required because Yahoo's operating businesses are being sold to Verizon which will retain the Yahoo! brand. See also: Marissa Mayer to Leave Yahoo Board  | WSJ.com.

•  Domain Register Pty Ltd accused of conning millions of dollars from unsuspecting businesses ... | HeraldSun.com

•  Nigeria’s .NG suffers patronage, as firms, others adopt foreign domain names | guardian.ng

•  Where is the most affordable internet in Africa? | Quartz | qz.com: If you want affordable internet in Africa, move to a country on the coast.

•  Obama Opens NSA’s Vast Trove of Warrantless Data to Entire Intelligence Community, Just in Time for Trump | TheIntercept.com

•  The 13th Annual State of the Net Conference | StateoftheNet.org will be held on January 23rd at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center, Washington, D.C. More info here. On Twitter: @SOTN #sotn

• Real Innovation and Domain Names--Startups overwhelmingly choose .COM domains--Which Extension Was Most Popular With Startups in 2016? | NamePros.com.

•  ICANN FY17 Q2 Stakeholder Call, 15 February 2017 at 15:00 UTC. "The call will focus on how ICANN has implemented community policy for the quarter ending 31 December 2016. The call will also provide an Africa and Middle East update, as part of a new format aimed at spotlighting regional activities." Click here to register for the call and to receive joining instructions. If you are unable to access the form, email ICANN [ icann.communications @ icann.org ] to register with your full name and an email address.

•  ICANN Policy staff will be holding its annual Policy Workshop in Los Angeles from Monday 23 January 2017 to Friday 27 January 2017. Staff will be replying to email requests, but there will be delays.--GNSO SO/AC Support

•  Most popular posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com:

1. US Intel Community's 'Nazi-like' Tactics, Media Hysteria & Trump (video)
2. News Review: New gTLD .AFRICA Plaintiff Files for New TRO vs ICANN
3. TechReview | 2017 Will Be The Year Of Amazon $AMZN (video)
4. LIVE Video Stream: Donald Trump's First Press Conference Since Election
5. MacroView: UK Economy Defies Economists' Dire Brexit Predictions (video)
6. Alibaba's Jack Ma Meets With Trump, Discuss 1 Million New US Jobs

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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DISCLAIMER

Edward Snowden: Plea for Pardon Hits Bipartisan Roadblock (video)

Note: with the IANA stewardship transition becoming effective October 1, 2016, Domain Mondo deemed it appropriate to devote this post to the person who indirectly was the main catalyst for the NTIA announcement of March 14, 2014: Edward Snowden.

Snowden's Plea for Pardon Hits Bipartisan Roadblock:

As Oliver Stone's film "Snowden" draws audiences to movie theaters, the real-life Edward Snowden, living in exile in Russia, is asking President Obama to pardon him. Here’s a reminder of why and how Snowden revealed the National Security Agency’s collection of Americans’ phone data. Video above published on September 20, 2016, by WSJ.com.

"Snowden" - Official Trailer 2 (HD):

Edward Snowden Live From Russia:

Video above published on May 12, 2016


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DISCLAIMER

Defcon video: FTC, Cybersecurity, Crowdstrike, Bruce Schneier, NSA

UPDATE: Video No Longer Available

Bloomberg West from Defcon and Blackhat, Las Vegas (August 7, 2015). Guests: FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny on robocalls, Google, Apple Music, Internet of Things, IoT; also Crowdstrike President Shawn Henry; and Resilient Systems CTO Bruce Schneier on the TSA and breaking up the NSA. (Source: Bloomberg.com)

CrowdStrike | Next-Generation Endpoint Protection crowdstrike.com

CrowdStrike is a leading provider of next-generation endpoint protection, threat intelligence, and services focused on preventing damage from targeted attacks.

Resilient Systems resilientsystems.com
Resilient Systems is a leading cyber security incident response provider.

defcon.org

blackhat.com


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LIVE Now, US Senate Debate on NSA Surveillance, Patriot Act, Video Link

UPDATE: Rand Paul Will Force Patriot Act Provisions to Expire: "... invoking cloture on the first vote is just the first step of many, with the clock ticking. That cloture vote merely sets up another vote on proceeding to the bill. There are up to 30 hours of debate in order after the first cloture vote, before voting on the motion to proceed to the bill, of which Paul is entitled to one. If no one else joins Paul [note: other Senators have now joined Rand Paul, including Democrat Senators Wyden and Heinrich], in chewing up floor time with hour-long speechifying, the Senate could then vote on adopting the motion to proceed Sunday evening. But without Paul’s consent the programs in question would go dark because McConnell would still have to file a cloture motion to end Paul’s filibuster of the bill itself. And that vote, under the rules, wouldn’t occur until 1 a.m. Tuesday at the earliest. Under the rules, cloture motions must sit through an intervening day, which would be Monday if McConnell were able to move to cut off debate on a bill on Sunday. Following that 1 a.m. Tuesday cloture vote, again assuming all possible speed, Paul would be entitled to chew up another hour talking on the floor. That’s with maximum speed. If Paul finds an army of senators backing his filibuster, the process would take even longer due to the 30-hour rule..."

This is it. This is when we #EndThisDragnet, when we stop mass surveillance. Stand with us to #Fight215 https://t.co/tdNACeO7Vw

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) April 8, 2015

LIVE Now - US Senate session http://t.co/avrTjlkyH7 #NSA #Surveillance #PatriotAct

— Domain Mondo (@DomainMondo) May 31, 2015

Happening Now: Sen. @RandPaul on #NSA Surveillance - LIVE on C-SPAN2 http://t.co/avrTjlkyH7 #PatriotAct pic.twitter.com/0YOGC1oKP8

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 31, 2015

LIVE Now: US Senate Debate  on NSA Surveillance | Video | C-SPAN.org - Technical note for those not familiar with U.S.Senate procedure: "Mr. President" refers to the President Pro Tempore (presiding officer) of the Senate, not the President of the United States.


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ICANN, IANA, US Government, Internet Stewardship

The US Department of Commerce's NTIA really had no choice once the Snowden revelations were known--among many things the world learned was that the US government took Syria offline, corrupted routers, breached networks, and worldwide violated individuals' privacy--leaving a perception globally that the US government itself (NSA et al) is one of the biggest threats facing the internet. And after ICANN had signaled its intention in February, 2014, to create a "parallel legal structure" in Switzerland, the timing of the NTIA announcement was only accelerated (the NTIA decision, by that time, had already been made or was inevitable). Interestingly, and thankfully, the US government never claimed "ownership" of the internet (hence no legislative approval is required to transition the "IANA functions") but at most, exercised a "stewardship" role, most of which had been delegated to ICANN by contract with the US Department of Commerce. Therefore we now have the enduring principle that the internet is not something to be "owned" by any government or corporation, and that any authority exercised in reference to the internet is proper only when exercised in accordance with already established stewardship principles and fiduciary standards.

NSA Monitoring Practices Face Stiff Opposition | Statista:

So where do we go from here?

ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé: "The function which the U.S. has today, which is a very minimal function, of oversight" [will be] "passed on to ICANN through its multistakeholder accountability mechanisms." [Characterizing the U.S. role as one of stewardship, he observed], "It is time for the U.S. to consider that the stewardship is ready to be passed to the stakeholders, as it has always envisaged."(source: If the Stakeholders Already Control the Internet, Why NETmundial and the IANA Transition?)

There are many problems and issues yet to be sorted out. Here are just 2--#1: ICANN, at present, really doesn't have ANY effective "multistakeholder accountability mechanisms"--ICANN, by virtue of its legal structure (a California non-profit corporation with no membership), really acts top-down, by and through its own self-selected Board of Directors, to whom it is solely accountable (other than that US Department of Commerce "oversight" which has been almost non-existent)--which is why we hear of GAC advice etc.,-- the various "stakeholder groups" within ICANN are in an advisory capacity only to the Board of Directors which makes ALL final decisions, none of which are really reviewable by the stakeholders nor any other group or entity (even the US Department of Commerce has taken a "hands off" approach).

#2 How can the global internet community continue to allow a California non-profit corporation (chosen solely by the US government), with no membership and a self-selected Board of Directors, have total control and authority over the global internet DNS, including root zone and IANA functions? ICANN has already admitted in a legal filing in a US Court, that the safety and security of ccTLDs of all the nations of the world is dependent upon the US government having its IANA oversight pursuant to its contract with ICANN. Once the US government is "out of the picture" then any American lawyer can attach (through US legal processes) any ccTLD in the world? This is unacceptable.

So here is the reality as I see it--(1) there is really only one nation in the world currently equipped, legally and structurally, going forward, to be the host nation for whatever emerges as the global internet DNS and root zone authority (or authorities)--Switzerland [if you do not understand why Switzerland, start by reading this by Dr. Richard Hill.] In this regard, Fadi Chehadé et al were actually on the right track back in February. (2) The legal structure(s) for both the IANA functions and other functions performed currently by ICANN need to be reviewed, discussed, negotiated, and changed. In this regard, the French Senate report and Just Net Coalition proposal are on the right track.

Therefore, a word to the wise: the odds of things in the world of internet governance staying the same as they have been, are very slim. And at this point, the continuing launch of hundreds of new gTLDs is little more now than a nuisance and distraction, or complication, to the serious and important work of the IANA functions transition and ICANN accountability processes [and I bet Fadi et al wish they had the new gTLDs decision to do over again (not that they would ever admit it), or that ICANN had waited or at least scaled back the new gTLDs as the FTC suggested in 2011].

So I will look forward, and make a few more suggestions in addition to what I had previously proposed:

1. ICANN should move prudently (as part of, or as an outcome of, its ongoing processes on accountability and IANA) to reincorporate under Swiss law with immunity as a recognized international organization [Dr. Hill, supra, can give you the particulars]. The membership of the new ICANN would be all domain name registrants (see Just Net Coalition proposal, supra), who along with various advisory bodies inclusive of the entire global internet community, would constitute an ICANN General Assembly.

2. Pursuant to the foregoing, ICANN should transition its global headquarters to Geneva (which will also serve as the regional hub for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East), maintain its Singapore hub for Asia (including Australia and New Zealand), close its Los Angeles and Istanbul offices, and open a regional hub for the Americas in Miami.

3. ICANN should formally recognize and acknowledge, at a minimum, the legacy gTLD .com (and perhaps .net and .org also) as a fully regulated gTLD, in the public interest, including limitations on registration and renewal fees beyond November, 2018, by virtue of its market dominance and the exclusive monopoly that was granted in perpetuity to its registrar Verisign.

4. All technical functions including the "IANA functions," should be separated from ICANN into a separate IANA--"Internet Assigned Numbers Authority"--operating free from all governmental oversight or interference, with full immunity under Swiss law, governed by Trustees selected by ICANN, the technical community (IETF et al), gTLD registrars, and ccTLD registrars.The authority of the new ICANN and the new IANA should be recognized and ratified by a new international treaty setting forth the governing principles for the stewardship roles of IANA and ICANN, respectively, over the internet. Here the US government will have the leverage to help establish, in perpetuity, principles for internet freedom in return for "letting go."

5. Finally, there should be a review/appeal process and authority (which should include government representatives) for ICANN decisions, along the lines suggested by the French Senate Report.

--John Poole, Domain Mondo


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NSA, ICANN, Internet Governance, Connect the Dots

"We are deluding ourselves if we think that the way the global internet is governed can be detached from the game of power politics among states, and that the openness and freedom of the Internet’s information flows will not be powerfully affected by other countries, and other citizens’, trust (or lack thereof) of the world’s biggest and most powerful state" (source IGP Blog infra, emphasis added)

Or as they say in Washington (home of the surveillance state): "Connect the dots . . . ."

Do the NSA revelations have anything to do with Internet governance? | IGP Blog: "The Internet succeeded in creating a globalized virtual space before states really knew what was happening. But with the World Summit on the Information Society (2003-2005) and later in the ITU’s 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), there was a confrontation between state sovereignty and the native institutions. The WCIT process polarized the controversy, fragmenting support for a new treaty on International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). The NSA revelations - Into this deadlock came the NSA spying revelations. The information released by Snowden had huge repercussions in Internet governance..."(read more at the link above)

Goodbye ICANN?

Brazil defends new global authority to manage the Internet - Digital convergence - Internet: "..."The Internet has no central point of governance. But according to the revelations of the Snowden case surfaced privacy concerns with freedom of expression, subjects who do not have an appropriate place for discussion within bodies such as ICANN, IETF and ISOC. These issues demand a new architecture for the organization of the Internet, "says Almeida." (Google translation from original)

Stay tuned. Next up: Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, São Paulo, Brazil, April 23-24, 2014, Grand Hyatt Hotel - more info: http://netmundial.br/

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