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ISOC Member Newsletter - January 2011

Egypt Internet Shutdown Q&A

29th January 2011

What has happened to communications in Egypt?

At this point (ref CircleID), 91% of Egypt’s Internet networks are down. Virtually all of Egypt’s Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide.

According to internet monitoring firm Renesys, at 22:34 UTC (00:34am local time), Renesys observed the virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the Internet’s global routing table, leaving no valid paths by which the rest of the world could continue to exchange Internet traffic with Egypt’s service providers.

The Egyptian government apparently asked the four local Egyptian ISPs to switch off their services.  Network addresses within Egypt became unreachable as the ISPs withdrew their announcements from the global routing table. As the networks went off line the authoritative servers for the Egyptian ccTLD (which manages Domain Name Service for internet names ending in .eg ) became unreachable.  While there are secondary servers outside of Egypt containing the last known name-to-IP-address mappings for names ending in .eg, that is now stale data, and many of the addresses returned are themselves in the part of the network that has been cut off.  The combination of the network shut down and unreachable domain names resulted in the disappearance of Egyptian names and numbers from the Internet. This has, effectively, taken Egypt of the Internet, cutting off its citizens from modern communications tools.

Some mobile services were also affected. In addition, it is reported that one small ISP remains functional  – this service provider connects the Egyptian stock exchange.

What is the impact for businesses and citizens inside Egypt?

People and businesses within the country that relied on the four main ISPs have been cut off, leaving many millions of Egyptians without internet access. International network operators with Egyptian presence confirm that they have been instructed to shut down their operations.  As a modern society, over 20% of Egypt’s population of 80Million were online, with over 4Milion Facebook users. Not just individuals but businesses, schools and government offices are currently offline.

The Internet shutdown will have a significant impact on the economy and on the ability of individual citizens to earn a living. And, as can be expected the Egyptian stock Exchange, EGX, whilst still online, saw a sharp fall in value (see below chart – source EGX).

Note the below diagram from Arbor Networks that shows how Egyptian Internet traffic dropped off a cliff at the time it was suspended.

How is this possible? Does the Egyptian government have a kill switch?

Virtually all routes to Egyptian networks were simultaneously withdrawn from the Internet’s global routing table.

In addition, the authorities are reported to have taken down Egyptian  country code Domain Name Servers (DNS).   These servers are required by web browsers to correctly locate the site a user wants to visit.

What is the impact for those in the surrounding region and beyond?

Traffic that transits Egypt (Flag Telecom for example) is NOT affected and the impact on global businesses with routes that cross Egypt has been minimal  BUT: traffic into Egypt (intended to stop there) as well as traffic out of Egypt form local sites is affected.

What happens when Egypt turns it all back on?

If the Egyptian government reinstates connections quickly, there is likely to be a lot of churn in the routing system –  which will possibly further affect neighbouring regions’ traffic.  Also, this action will have a lasting impact on international corporations interest in doing business within Egypt.  Whether they consider withdrawing their equipment and services, or simply refuse to establish peering links with Egypt, it could have a lasting impact on Egypt’s ability to establish effective and efficient network connections to the rest of the world.

What does this unprecedented level of Internet disruption mean for the web and freedom of expression?

The Internet Society believes that the Internet is a global communication medium  that fundamentally supports opportunity, empowerment, knowledge, growth, and freedom.  These values should never be taken away from individuals.  The Egyptian people and nation are the ones that will suffer, while the rest of the world will be significantly worse off with the loss of Egyptian voices on the net.

Excessive government controls on the Internet negatively impacts innovation, and many basic human rights, thereby impeding a nation’s economic development and social progress.

Obviously, for a government to block all Internet access in their country is a very serious decision, and a serious intrusion into their citizens’ basic rights to communicate.  If the blockage continues, it will have a very detrimental impact on Egypt’s economy and society.

Egyptian websites are inaccessible, is this a vision of a future of restricted networks? How do you view the government’s behaviour?

The Internet Society urges governments to consider carefully whether there is anything about the nature of content on the Internet that cannot be dealt with adequately through established rules of law; rather than by cutting a basic human right to communicate.

The social, political, and economic benefits of the Internet are substantially diminished by excessively restrictive governmental or private controls on computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or Internet content.

This is not the first time this kind of action has been taken by a government.  According to the OpenNet Initiative, Burma’s military leaders notably cut connectivity during the protests of 2007, and Nepal did a similar thing after the king took control of the government in 2005 as part of his battle against insurgents. Local Chinese authorities have also conducted similar, short-lived blockades [source = http://gigaom.com/2011/01/28/how-egypt-switched-off-the-internet/ ].  The Internet Society believes this is an inappropriate response to a political crisis.  The damage done will principally be to the Egyptian people and Egyptian nation.

What can/should be done to remedy the situation? Is this the web’s coming of age as a political tool?

There probably is little that can be done on the ground in Egypt.

The Internet Society is concerned of course.  But we are most concerned about the safety and security of the Egyptian people.  With the rest of the world, we hope for a positive and lasting solution to the problems that have risen to the surface there.

In the longer term, we are sure that the world will learn a lesson from this very unfortunate example, and come to understand that cutting off a nation’s access to the Internet only serves to fuel dissent and does not address the underlying causes of dissatisfaction.

From a technology standpoint, the web is an application that runs on the Internet, just as Skype or Twitter or Facebook.  Many other services use the Internet to function. Consequently removing access to the Internet also removes access to all services delivered over the Internet. These Internet applications and services continue to innovate to address problems.  If governments or other parties seek to control or prevent access to individual services, the technologies will be adapted to remove single points of control, and make them harder to stop.  For example, we’ve already seen examples of highly distributed versions of Facebook-like technologies cropping up.

The Internet Society on Egypt’s Internet shutdown

On behalf of:

Lynn St. Amour – President and CEO, and the Internet Society Board of Trustees:

“We are following the current events in Egypt with concern as it appears that all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic has been disrupted. The Internet Society believes that the Internet is a global medium that fundamentally supports opportunity, empowerment, knowledge, growth, and freedom and that these values should never be taken away from individuals.

The Internet Society considers this recent action by the Egyptian government to block Internet traffic to be an inappropriate response to a political crisis. It is a very serious decision for a government to block all Internet access in its country, and a serious intrusion into its citizens’ basic rights to communicate.  If the blockage continues, it will have a very detrimental impact on Egypt’s economy and society. Ultimately, the Egyptian people and nation are the ones that will suffer, while the rest of the world will be worse off with the loss of Egyptian voices on the net.

However we are most concerned about the safety and security of the Egyptian people.  Alongside the rest of the world, we share the hope for a positive and lasting solution to the problems that have risen to the surface there.

In the longer term, we are sure that the world will learn a lesson from this very unfortunate example, and come to understand that cutting off a nation’s access to the Internet only serves to fuel dissent and does not address the underlying causes of dissatisfaction.”

At Davos, Internet Society warns against knee-jerk reactions

DAVOS, Switzerland - Internet Society president and CEO Lynn St Amour has taken warnings against knee-jerk reactions on cybersecurity to this week’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ms St Amour today highlighted that ensuring that the Internet remains a trusted channel of communication and collaboration is key to the welfare of citizens across the world, as well as the growth of the Internet itself. This continued growth is crucial to allow the Internet to remain the driver for innovation and economic welfare it is today.

She cautioned that cybersecurity is a broad term applied in many different contexts with multiple nuanced meanings. “We must ensure that in meeting today’s challenges we do not lock ourselves into a future that impedes future innovation,” she said.

She called for the ongoing development of technologies and practices of network confidence, citing as an example,  the Internet Society’s development of software that gives website visitors transparency over of the online usage policies of the websites they visit.

In a separate panel discussion to be held later this week on ‘Governing in a New Media Age’, Ms St Amour will emphasise the importance of safeguarding the unique qualities of the Internet in the face of renewed government pressure.

“Regimes more accustomed to control models are threatened by the openness and distributed nature of the Internet. However, those principles are intrinsic to the Internet,” she said.

She said that even when a country does shut off access to some services, the Internet can remain a powerful tool of community building and mobilisation at a local level.

Given that in the developed world, an entire generation has now grown up in an Internet-mediated culture, future generations will tend to see centralised, hierarchical institutions of control as anachronistic, she said.

Ms St Amour pointed to the use of social media last month in Tunisia by protestors who used it to coordinate, and to spread news of their desire for change.

“While the roots of the Tunisian revolution can be found in underlying causes, there is broad agreement that social media channels played a vital role in fostering government change,” she said.

Chapter Update: Bolivia

A Chapter of the Internet Society has been formed in Bolivia. It is led by Rodrigo Saucedo Linares and global Internet Society members in Bolivia are invited to join the new Chapter (log in to your Internet Society membership profile: https://portal.isoc.org/EBusiness/Home.aspx and choose “Bolivia Chapter”).

Chapter Update: USA New York

Contributed by: Joly MacFie

New York Tech Community

The Internet Society New York Chapter has been continuing to forge strong links with the NY Tech Community, sponsoring video webcast of events from the NY Tech Council, and via the election of Internet Society New York Chapter VP Evan Korth to the board of NY Tech Meetup – the leading showcase for local startups. Widely reported in the press in December was the fact that, in the final quarter of 2010, New York City has for the first time outstripped Boston as the East Coast location of most venture capital investment in tech startups. http://www.cbinsights.com/blog/venture-capital/q4-2010-quarterly-venture-capital-report

INET NYC

Planning is fully underway for an INET to be held in NYC in Jun 2011. Details are still being worked out but it looks like Jun 14. Start making travel plans as this will be unmissable! http://www.isoc.org/isoc/conferences/inet/

Upcoming Events

The Internet Society New York Chapter is a co-sponsor of the Students For Free Culture 2011 Conference to be held at NYU on Feb 18/19 2011. Amongst the distinguished speakers are Susan Crawford and the developers of the diaspora open-source social network.

http://www.isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1680

Recent Internet Society New York Chapter webcasts:

Aram Sinnreich – Today is Opposite Day: Music in the Network Age -NYU – Dec 6 2010
As part of Evan Korth’s Computers & Society Speaker Series at NYU Rutgers professor Aram Sinnreich discussed how new communications technologies are changing musical patterns. http://www.isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1517
NY Tech Council Innovations in Media Series – Advertising Technology - CUNY Graduate Center – Dec 2 2010
The New York Technology Council presented the second panel in its Innovations in Media Series – Advertising Technology: How has technology reshaped the advertising business model? Coming directly on the heels of the FTC’s announcement of a proposed Do-Not-Track framework, a stimulating discussion on the trade-offs between privacy and commerce. http://www.isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1583
Susan Crawford – The State of Telecommunications Policy in the US Today - NYU – Nov 29 2010
As part of Evan Korth’s Computers & Society Speaker Series at NYU Susan Crawford, OneWebDay founder and former Obama adviser, summarizes the current state of play of US Telecom policy, with a particular eye on forthcoming FCC decisions on net neutrality and the Comcast/NBC-U merger. http://www.isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1573
New Style Curators panel – New Museum NYC - Nov 18 2010
In 2009 the New York Times proclaimed, “The Word ‘Curate’ No Longer Belongs to the Museum Crowd.” This panel, organized by Joanne McNeil, took a look at “curation” online and how the word applies to social media and internet use. http://www.isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1578

Chapter Update: Armenia

Contributed by: Igor Mkrtumyan

1. Internet Society Armenia Chapter members congratulated Vahan Hovsepyan, Director of ArmIX Foundation on receipt of the Internet Society Community grant for the establishment of the Armenian Internet Exchange.

2. The Internet Society Armenia Chapter provided a small grant for training Dsegh village school teachers on Internet applications. The village –the birthplace of the classic Armenian poet, Hovhannes Tumanyan – is also known for its ancient churches and its large school. The training was provided by the Regional Internet Community Center of Vanadzor city, which was created by another Internet Society grant. We sent our e-rider to the Dsegh school to help fix computers, check the Internet connection and to get them ready for classes.

The trained teachers will then be able to pass this information on to the schoolchildren.

3. Activity in CERT AM, Internet Society Armenia Chapter subdivision:

The head of the subdivision, vice-chair of the Internet Society Armenia Chapter, Grigory Sagyan participated in the following events:

- ITU BDT Regional Cybersecurity Forum for Europe and CIS, Moscow, Russian Federation, 23-25 November;

- “Addressing Terrorist Use of the Internet, Cybercrime and Other Threats” National Expert Workshop on a Comprehensive Approach to Cyber Security, Yerevan, Armenia;

- ITU workshop <New technologies and their influence on regulation in the Next Generation networks” Armenia, Tsakhkadzor.

Chapter Update: Taiwan Taipei

Contributed by: Terry Tsai

The Internet Society Taiwan Taipei Chapter, in association with the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, hosted a 2010 Internet Society Taiwan Taipei Chapter Workshop on 28th December at the RB 102 International Conference Room, #43, Sec.4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan. This event was made possible in part through funding from the Internet Society.

The  goal of  the workshop was to promote the innovative application of Internet tools as well as to introduce cutting-edge Internet technologies to those Internet Society Taiwan Taipei Chapter members and students interested in the direction of the Internet development.

We organized lectures on cloud computing technology and workshops on Internet applications as well as other hot topics during the event which gained enthusiastic responses from our fellow members and positive suggestions from the potential members.

Se une un líder de la comunidad global de Internet a la Internet Society como vicepresidente de Políticas públicas

Markus Kummer acepta ser el líder para temas de Internet globales, regionales y nacionales.

GINEBRA, SUIZA y RESTON, VIRGINA, EE. UU., 19 de noviembre de 2011. Un líder reconocido internacionalmente en un amplio rango de temas relacionados con las políticas de Internet se unirá a la Internet Society como jefe del departamento de políticas públicas. Como vicepresidente de políticas públicas de la Internet Society, Markus Kummer avanzará en las posturas de las políticas de Internet Society ante temas clave como por ejemplo la privacidad, la ciber seguridad y la neutralidad de la red. Kummer, que ha venido desempeñando la labor de coordinador ejecutivo del Secretariado que ofrece apoyo al foro de gobernanza en Internet de las Naciones Unidas, tiene mucha experiencia con las políticas de Internet a nivel global, regional y nacional.

“La amplia experiencia de Markus y su profundo conocimiento de temas clave de políticas relacionados con Internet, ayudarán a Internet Society a tener un impacto aún mayor sobre temas fundamentales para la evolución continuada de Internet como plataforma abierta para la innovación y el desarrollo económico,” dijo Lynn St. Amour, el presidente ejecutivo de Internet Society.

Antes de unirse a las Naciones Unidas en 2004, Kummer trabajó como eEnvoy (emisario electrónico) para el Ministerio de asuntos exteriores suizo en Berna. El señor Kummer fue miembro de la delegación suiza durante la primera fase de la Cumbre Mundial sobre la Sociedad de la Información (CMSI) en la que presidió varios grupos de negociación, incluyendo el grupo sobre gobernanza en Internet. Continuó trabajando como coordinador ejecutivo del taller de CMSI sobre la gobernanza en Internet desde 2004 hasta 2005. Antes de su participación en CMSI, desarrolló una carrera profesional como diplomático en varias funciones del ministerio de exteriores suizo y estuvo destinado en Lisboa, Viena, Oslo, Ginebra y Ankara.

“Al unirme a la Internet Society, espero avanzar con el enfoque de participación múltiple en las políticas que ha sido central en el desarrollo de Internet y que es aún más importante para su futuro,” dijo Markus Kummer que asumirá su cargo de manera oficial el 1 de febrero de 2011. “La Internet Society, que tiene un origen técnico, ya se reconoce como un líder establecido y con una credibilidad única en temas de políticas y un contribuidor clave en las discusiones sobre políticas a nivel nacional, regional y global.”

La Internet Society es la fuente independiente más fiable del mundo en cuestiones de liderazgo en temas de Internet. La Internet Society trabaja con decenas de miles de miembros y casi 100 Capítulos en todo el mundo para promocionar la evolución y crecimiento continuados de un Internet global y abierto.

Acerca de Internet Society
La Internet Society es una organización sin ánimo de lucro que se fundó en 1992 para ofrecer liderazgo en estándares, educación y políticas de Internet. Se dedica a promover el desarrollo, la evolución y el uso abiertos de Internet para el beneficio de todas las persona del mundo. Vaya a: www.internetsociety.org

全球互联网社区领导者加盟互联网协会，担任公共政策副总裁一职。

Markus Kummer 担任领导职务，负责全球性、地区性及国家性的互联网问题。

瑞士日内瓦和美国弗吉尼亚州雷斯顿 – 2011年11月19日 –一 位国际公认的、善于处理范围广泛的互联网政策问题的领导者将加盟互联网协会，担任该协会公共政策部门的负责人一职。Markus Kummer作为互联网协会公共政策副总裁，将负责推动有关隐私、网络安全以及网络中立等问题的互联网协会重点政策的制定。Kummer此前担任的是为联 合国互联网管理论坛提供支持的秘书处行政协调员一职，在全球性、地区性和国家性的互联网政策方面拥有丰富的经验。

互联网协会总裁兼首席执行官Lynn St.Amour表示：“Markus在互联网面临的主要政策问题方面拥有丰富的经验和深刻的理解，这有助于确保互联网协会在对互联网作为创新和经济发展开放性平台的持续发展至关重要的问题上发挥更大的影响力。”

在2004年加入联合国之前，Kummer担任瑞士外交部在伯尔尼的电子特使一职。Kummer先生曾是信息社会世界峰会 (WSIS)第一阶段的瑞士代表团成员，在会议期间曾主持多个谈判小组，其中包括互联网管理方面的小组。在2004年至2005年期间，他担任WSIS互 联网管理工作小组的行政协调员。在参与WSIS工作之前，他曾在瑞士外交部的多个部门担任职业外交官，并先后派驻里斯本、维也纳、奥斯陆、日内瓦和安卡拉 等地。

Markus Kummer将于2011年2月1日正式上任；他表示：“加入互联网协会后，我期待着推动多元利益相关者方案的采用，以制定对互联网的发展一直非常重要、 而且对其未来更为至关重要的政策。”  “互联网协会凭借其技术根基，已经被公认为是政策问题方面唯一值得信赖的领导者，而且是在国家、地区和全球层面的政策讨论方面的主要贡献者。”

互联网协会是世界上深受信赖的、独立的有关互联网问题的领导者。互联网协会与世界各地成千上万的会员以及近100个分会密切合作，致力于推动开放式全球互联网的继续演变和发展。

关于互联网协会
互联网协会是一个非营利组织，成立于1992年，在互联网相关标准、教育和政策方面起引领作用。以全世界人民的利益为宗旨，它致力于推动互联网的开放发展、 演变和使用。请访问：www.internetsociety.org

Le Responsable international de la communauté Internet rejoint l’Internet Society en tant que Directeur des affaires publiques

Markus Kummer assume un rôle de leadership pour les questions liées à l’Internet au niveau national, régional et international.

GENÈVE, SUISSE et RESTON, VIRGINIE, USA – Le 19 novembre 2011 – Un leader mondialement connu en matière de politiques relatives à l’Internet se joindra à l’Internet Society en tant que Directeur de son département Affaires publiques. En tant que Directeur des affaires publiques de l’Internet Society, Markus Kummer se penchera sur les principales positions politiques de l’Internet Society, à savoir la vie privée, la cybersécurité et la neutralité du réseau. Ayant occupé dernièrement le poste de Coordinateur exécutif du secrétariat du forum IGF des Nations Unies, M. Kummer dispose d’une vaste expérience en politique de l’Internet au niveau internationale, régional et national.

« La vaste expérience de Markus [Kummer], alliée à une profonde compréhension des problématiques liées à la dimension politique de l’Internet, permettra de renforcer l’impact de l’Internet Society sur des questions essentielles pour la continuité et les développements futurs de l’Internet en tant que plateforme ouverte pour l’innovation et le développement économique », a déclaré Lynn St. Amour, Présidente-directrice générale de l’Internet Society.

Avant de rejoindre les Nations-Unies en 2004, M. Kummer a rempli les fonctions decyberémissaire pour le Département fédéral des affaires étrangères suisses à Berne. M. Kummer était membre de la délégation suisse au cours de la première phase du Sommet mondial sur la société de l’information (SMSI) où il présida plusieurs groupes de négociation, y compris le groupe sur la gouvernance de l’Internet. Il a continué à exercer ses fonctions de Coordinateur exécutif du Groupe de travail du SMSI sur la gouvernance de l’Internet de 2004 à 2005. Avant sa participation au SMSI, en tant que diplomate de carrière, il a occupé plusieurs fonctions au Département fédéral des affaires étrangères avec des affectations à Lisbonne, Vienne, Oslo, Genève et Ankara.

« En rejoignant l’Internet Society, j’ai hâte de faire progresser l’approche multilatérale d’une politique qui a été essentielle au développement de l’Internet et l’est encore plus pour son avenir », a déclaré Markus Kummer, qui prendra officiellement ses fonctions le 1er février 2011. « Grâce à ses origines technologiques, l’Internet Society a établi une réputation largement reconnue en tant que chef de file crédible pour les questions politiques, et de protagoniste clé dans les discussions politiques au niveau national, régional et international. »

L’Internet Society est une source indépendante et fiable de leadership sur les questions liées à l’Internet au niveau mondial. L’Internet Society travaille avec des dizaines de milliers de membres et près de 100 chapitres à travers le monde pour promouvoir l’évolution et la croissance d’un Internet mondial ouvert.

À propos de l’Internet Society
L’Internet Society est une organisation à but non lucratif qui a été fondée en 1992 pour assurer le leadership dans les domaines des normes, de l’éducation et des politiques liées à Internet. Elle se consacre à assurer le développement, l’évolution et l’utilisation de l’Internet au bénéfice de tous les peuples du monde.

Global Internet Community Leader Joins Internet Society as VP for Public Policy

Markus Kummer takes on leadership role for global, regional and national Internet issues

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND and RESTON, VIRGINIA, USA – 19 January 2011 – An internationally recognized leader in a broad range of Internet policy issues will join the Internet Society as head of its public policy department. As the Internet Society’s Vice President of Public Policy, Markus Kummer will advance key Internet Society policy positions on issues such as privacy, cybersecurity, and network neutrality. Most recently the Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat supporting the United Nations’ Internet Governance Forum, Kummer has extensive experience with Internet policy at the global, regional, and national levels.

“Markus’ broad experience with and deep understanding of the key policy issues facing the Internet will help ensure the Internet Society has an even greater impact on issues critical to the Internet’s continued evolution as an open platform for innovation and economic development,” said Lynn St.Amour, the Internet Society’s President and CEO.

Before joining the United Nations in 2004, Kummer held the position of eEnvoy for the Swiss Foreign Ministry in Berne. Mr. Kummer was a member of the Swiss delegation during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) where he chaired several negotiating groups, including the group on Internet governance. He went on to serve as the Executive Coordinator of the WSIS Working Group on Internet Governance from 2004 to 2005. Before his involvement with the WSIS, he served as a career diplomat in several functions in the Swiss Foreign Ministry and was posted in Lisbon, Vienna, Oslo, Geneva, and Ankara.

“In joining the Internet Society, I look forward to advancing the multistakeholder approach to policy that has been so central to the Internet’s development and is even more critical to its future,” said Markus Kummer, who will officially take up his position on 1 February 2011. “With its technical roots, the Internet Society is already established as a uniquely credible leader on policy issues, and a key contributor to policy discussions at the national, regional, and global levels.”

The Internet Society is the world’s trusted independent source of leadership on Internet issues. The Internet Society works with its tens of thousands of Members and nearly 100 Chapters around the world to promote the continued evolution and growth of the open global Internet.

Лидер глобального интернет-сообщества станет вице-президентом Internet Society по вопросам государственной политики

Маркус Куммер станет лидером по глобальным, региональным и национальным вопросам, связанным с Интернетом

ЖЕНЕВА, ШВЕЙЦАРИЯ и РЕСТОН, ШТАТ ВИРДЖИНИЯ, США – 19 ноября 2011 г. –Признанный в мире лидер по широкому спектру вопросов, связанных с политикой в отношении Интернета, возглавит отдел государственной политики Internet Society.  В качестве вице-президента Internet Society по вопросам государственной политики Маркус Куммер будет заниматься вопросами политики Internet Society, как конфиденциальность, безопасность в киберпространстве и нейтралитет сети.  В последнее время Маркус Купер работал исполнительным координатором Секретариата, который осуществляет поддержку проведения форума ООН по управлению Интернетом, и поэтому он имеет большой опыт в решении вопросов, связанных с политикой в отношении Интернета, на глобальном, региональном и национальном уровнях.

«Большой опыт Маркуса, а также его глубокое понимание основных политических проблем в отношении Интернета, позволят Internet Society оказывать еще большее влияние на решение вопросов, которые являются критически важными для продолжения развития Интернета как открытой платформы для инноваций и экономического развития», — заявила Линн Сент-Амур, президент и исполнительный директор Internet Society.

Куммер начал работать в Организации Объединенных Наций в 2004 г., а до этого представлял Министерство иностранных дел Швейцарии в eEnvoy в Берне.  Маркус Куммер входил в делегацию Швейцарии во время проведения первого этапа Всемирного Саммита по информационному обществу (WSIS), где он возглавлял несколько групп переговоров, включая группу по вопросам управления Интернетом. Он занимал должность исполнительного координатора рабочей группы WSIS по вопросам управления Интернетом с 2004 по 2005 год. До начала работы в WSIS он являлся кадровым дипломатом, занимая различные должности в Министерстве иностранных дел Швейцарии, и работал в Лиссабоне, Вене, Осло, Женеве и Анкаре.

«Работая в Internet Society, я по-прежнему буду придерживаться многостороннего подхода к политике, который до этого определял развитие Интернета и является еще более важным для его будущего», — заявил Маркус Куммер, который официально вступит в эту должность 1 февраля 2011 г.  «Благодаря своим техническим корням Internet Society уже сейчас является уникально надежным лидером по вопросам выработки политики, а также главным активным участником при обсуждении политики на национальном, региональном и глобальном уровнях».

Internet Society является признанным в мире независимым лидером по проблемам Интернета. Работу Internet Society обеспечивают десятки тысяч членов организации и около 100 отделений во всем мире, поддерживая концепцию непрерывной эволюции и роста открытого и глобального Интернета.

Об Internet Society
Internet Society — это некоммерческая организация, основанная в 1992 году для выполнения руководящей роли в связанных с Интернетом мероприятиях, относящихся к выработке стандартов, обучению и политике.  Она содействует открытому развитию, эволюции и использованию Интернета во благо всех людей на Земле.  См. веб-сайт: www.internetsociety.org

Chapter Update: Ecuador Litoral

Contributed by: Carlos Vera Internet Society Ecuador Chapter

Nace Internet Society Ecuador Litoral

Internet Society Ecuador integra su capítulo Internet Society Ecuador Litoral que incluirá a miembros de las provincias de la Costa ecuatoriana para un mejor trabajo y mayor cobertura de acciones y ejercicio del voluntariado.

Varios miembros de Internet Society Ecuador han propuesto la integración de un capítulo con dedicación a acciones en el litoral ecuatoriano, lo cual ha sido acogido y se ha encargado a John Tucker y Francely Tamayo como responsables de la organización del nuevo capítulo regional de Internet Society Ecuador.

Internet Society Ecuador mantendrá su representación única en Internet Society como capítulo oficial, siendo la nueva estructura propuesta ejercida a nivel de proyectos y de atención a los requerimientos y necedidades de esta importante región del País.

Los responsables designados tienen 90 dias para presentar su propuesta de integración, voluntarios, financiamiento y proyectos para iniciar su trabajo con lo cual quedará establecida esta estructura descentralizada que trabajará desde Quito y Guayaquil para atender a los ciudadanos de todo el País.

En el Litoral, los miembros de Internet Society Ecuador se concentran en Universidades, Colegios profesionales, Instituciones gremiales empresariales y profesionales independientes, los mismos que pasaran a ejercer acciones directamente desde su jurisdicción.

Hoy celebramos esta nueva opción de trabajo en Internet Society Ecuador lo que lo transforma en uno de los más exitosos capítulos de la región por su efectividad, resultados y organización con cobertura nacional.

Felicitaciones a quienes apoyan el trabajo de Internet Society e Internet Society Ecuador y adelante con las propuestas y proyectos presentados.

Chapter Update: Ghana

Contributed by: Vera Doku, Chair Communication Committee

INTERNET SOCIETY GHANA CHAPTER HOLDS ANNUAL GATHERING OF MEMBERS

Accra, January 13 2011 – Prof Nii Narku Quaynor has made a passionate appeal for everyone to participate in the use of the Internet to gain information, as well as to increase knowledge. This is in line with the Internet Society’s slogan – The Internet is for everyone.   He made his appeal at the annual gathering of the Internet Society Ghana Chapter members which took place on 7 January 2011 at the Coconut Groove Regency Hotel in Accra, Ghana. Prof.  Quaynor also called on the Internet Society Ghana Chapter members to help guard against the use of the Internet for illegal activities. “Our job is to catch Internet criminals to ensure a safe place for everybody on the Internet” he added.

The annual gathering of members of the Internet Society  Ghana Chapter brought together about 125 people, including members of the Chapter to take stock of the 2010 activities and make plans for 2011, as well as to wine and dine.  The first ever Internet Society  Ghana Chapter Industry Awards was also launched during this event.

Prof. Quaynor reiterated that cyber security was important for a safe place on the Internet.  He lauded the role of the Internet Society  Ghana and Ghana Network Operators’ (GhNOG) contribution of training network operators on basic systems and network management to gain the expertise to function in the IT industry. He said the time has come for GhNOG to step up its training program and offer training in areas such as routing and other scalable network courses, as African Network Operators’ Group (AfNOG) is discontinuing these courses at the continental level. He also said, sooner or later, GhNOG, would have to consider cyber security training, which was why the Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) was  being  established to see to cyber security issues in the country.  “We need to take control of our presence in cyberspace and consciously decide to be part of activities to ensure its safety” he explained

Mr. William Tevie, Director General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), who chaired the event, paid glowing tribute to the executive members of the chapter. “It is good to see Ithe Internet Society  Chapter still running and it is our aspiration that the Internet Society  becomes the organization in the forefront of issues pertaining to the Internet in Ghana” he added  Mr. Tevie said that NITA was implementing effectively the e-governance project to connect all government agencies onto the Internet.   He added that very soon, there would be opportunities for people with skills and expertise in this area to implement some of these projects.

Mr. Oboubi, President of the Internet Society  Ghana Chapter in his welcome remarks read on his behalf by Mr. Akumiah, the outgoing General Secretary said the Internet Society  Ghana Chapter is committed to actively raising the quality of life for every one of us through the use of the Internet.  “We want all children, regardless of race, creed or circumstance to achieve their full potential of life using the Internet. Our task is to make it possible and our mission is to provide practical, step by step assistance where necessary,” he said.

Mr. Akumiah took the gathering through the Chapter’s activities that took place during 2010, highlighting some of the challenges, which included leadership fatigue.  He was pleased to note that the incoming executive committee had come in at the right time and hoped that they would inject the much-needed dynamism to keep the Chapter going.   Mr. Akumiah also listed activities lined up for the 2011, which included an ICT training workshop for media personnel.  He ended by launching the Internet Society Ghana Annual Industry Awards, which he said was to increase competitiveness among peers and service providers to ultimately improve quality of service in the country.

During the event, Prof. Quaynor presented plaques to the past executive committee and inducted the newly nominated executives into office.  The Internet Society  Ghana Chapter Chair said he was confident that they would perform creditably to keep the organization active.

Mr. Ernest Brown, the ghNOG convener presented UNIX books donated by the Network Startup Resource Centre in the United States of America to participants of ghNOG-3 Workshop who were present at the social event. The ghNOG-3 Workshop took place the University of Education, Winneba in September 2010.

Solidarity messages from Ghanaian Research and Education Network (GARNET), Ghana Internet Service Providers (GISPA), Ghana Network Operators’ Group (ghNOG) and Ghana Information Network on Knowledge sharing (GINKS) were given to affirm the good work of ISOC Ghana.

Apply Now for ARIN Meetings Fellowship to Attend ARIN XXVII

Contributed by: Communications and Member Services, American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)

ARIN is pleased to offer a Meetings Fellowship Program to bring new voices and ideas to public policy discussions. This call is for Fellows to attend ARIN XXVII in San Juan Puerto Rico from 10-13 April 2011. If you are interested in participating in the program, submit your application by 25 February. The application link, submission instructions, and a detailed description of the program can be found at:

https://www.arin.net/participate/meetings/fellowship.html

Three Fellows within ARIN’s service region will be selected. Fellows receive financial support to attend the Public Policy and Members Meetings, and ARIN Advisory Council representatives will serve as mentors to the Fellows to help maximize their meeting experience.

Individuals selected for the fellowship receive:

*    Free meeting registration

*    Round-trip economy class airfare to the meeting, booked directly by ARIN

*    Hotel accommodations at the venue hotel, booked directly by ARIN

*    A stipend to cover meals and incidental travel expenses

Please contact info@arin.net if you have any questions concerning the program and the application process.

Premier Internet Standards Body Celebrates 25th Anniversary

On 16 January 2011, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Society (ISOC) will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the IETF, the Internet’s premier technical standards body. The IETF gathers a large open international community of network designers, engineers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.

The IETF has enabled the development of standards that have supported every aspect of the Internet’s phenomenal growth. The IETF pioneered a unique, open process for standards development open to all, and based on principles such as “rough consensus and running code”. While the work of the IETF takes place online, largely through email lists, to reduce barriers to participation and to maximize contributions from around the world, its in-person meetings have gathered more than 80,000 participants over the past 25 years.

“The IETF is unique,” said Russ Housley, chair of the IETF. “Unlike other standards bodies, the IETF avoids formal hierarchy where possible, and there are no membership requirements or fees. All interested parties are invited to participate in the technical evolution and stability of the Internet. The IETF’s standards are available online, without charge, providing a platform for the continued growth and evolution of the Internet.”

Since the first meeting was held on the afternoon of January 16, 1986 in San Diego, California, the IETF has published more than 4500 documents that describe standards for the fundamental technologies and widely used services on today’s global Internet. These include email people use every day around the world, and the TCP/IP protocol suite, which is the foundation for Internet communications.

Technologies such as IPv6 and DNSSEC defined by the past work of the IETF are currently at the forefront of efforts to ensure the Internet’s continued growth as a trusted platform of communications and innovation for billions of people around the world. Current challenges being addressed by the IETF include the increasing importance of mobile Internet access and privacy.

“The success of the IETF has largely been due to a pragmatic, consensus-based approach to technical standards development,” noted Lynn St.Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC). “Many of the principles underlying the Internet Model of cooperation and collaboration were developed in the IETF. These have set the foundation for approaches across the ecosystem of institutions and organizations that have evolved to work together to manage, operate, and guide the global Internet.”

The IETF’s 25th anniversary will be celebrated at its upcoming meeting in Prague on 27 March to 1 April. For registration and additional information, see:

http://www.ietf.org/meeting/80/index.html

For more information about the IETF’s 25th anniversary, see:

http://www.ietf.org/25years

About the Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is the Internet’s premier technical standards body. It gathers a large open international community of network designers, engineers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. The IETF seeks broad participation. The work of the IETF takes place online, largely through email lists, reducing barriers to participation and maximizing contributions from around the world. IETF Working Groups (WGs) are organized by topic into several areas (e.g., routing, transport, security, etc.).

For more information, see: http://www.ietf.org/

Major Websites Commit to 24-Hour Test Flight for IPv6

“World IPv6 Day” to take place on June 8, 2011

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND and RESTON, VIRGINIA, USA – 12 January 2011 – Facebook, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), websites with more than one billion combined visits each day, are joining major content delivery networks Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW), and the Internet Society, for the first global-scale trial of the new Internet Protocol, IPv6. On June 8, 2011, dubbed “World IPv6 Day,” participants will enable IPv6 on their main services for 24 hours. With IPv4 addresses running out this year, the industry must act quickly to accelerate full IPv6 adoption or risk increased costs and limited functionality online for Internet users everywhere. The companies are coming together to help motivate organizations across the industry—Internet service providers, hardware manufacturers, operating system vendors and other web companies—to prepare their services for the transition.

The Internet Society is supporting World IPv6 Day as part of its efforts to accelerate IPv6 deployment. “2011 is a pivotal year in IPv6 deployment, and World IPv6 Day will prove to be an important milestone,” commented Leslie Daigle, the Internet Society’s Chief Internet Technology officer. “By providing an opportunity for the Internet industry to collaborate to test IPv6 readiness we expect to lay the groundwork for large-scale IPv6 adoption and help make IPv6 ready for prime time. The greater the scope of the trial, the more effective it will be for all participants so we wholeheartedly welcome additional participants.”

IPv6, the successor to the protocol currently used on the Internet, was designed in the late 1990s but has not seen deployment on a global scale. With IPv4 address space running out, the industry cannot afford to wait much longer.

Vint Cerf, Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist and co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocol stack, commented, “In the short history of the Internet, the transition to IPv6 is one of the most important steps we will take together to protect the Internet as we know it. It’s as if the Internet was originally designed with a limited number of telephone numbers, and we’re soon going to run out.” Google has offered a separate IPv6-only version of search on ipv6.google.com since early 2008, and during World IPv6 Day the company will enable IPv6 for its main websites, including www.google.com and www.youtube.com.

Given the diversity of technology that powers the Internet, the global nature of the trial is crucial to identify unforeseen problems. “Participating in World IPv6 Day will allow us to obtain real-life data that we can use to ensure a seamless user experience as we transition to IPv6,” said Adam Bechtel, Vice President for Yahoo’s Infrastructure Group. “We welcome this opportunity to collaborate with the technical community and provide leadership in addressing the scaling challenges facing the Internet.”

World IPv6 Day marks a key milestone in enabling more and more computers and smart phones to come online. As more of the world moves online, IPv6 will be critical for the Internet to reach its full potential as a catalyst for growth, innovation and economic prosperity. IPv6 provides over four billion times more addresses than IPv4, which will help connect the billions of people not connected today.

Facebook views the rollout of IPv6 as a critically important step to keep the world connected. “As an industry, we’re working together to ensure future generations continue to have open and direct access to the Internet as we do today,” said Jonathan Heiliger, Vice President of Technical Operations at Facebook. “The number of web-connected devices is exploding, and World IPv6 Day is a crucial step in ensuring they can all communicate.”

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), a leading provider of cloud optimization services, will enable customers to participate in World IPv6 Day. “IPv6 adoption is still in its infancy,” said Harald Prokop, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Akamai. “We stand ready to support customers through this important trial, and believe that early planning and testing will ensure a smooth transition to IPv6.” To support the transition to IPv6, Akamai customers will be able to seamlessly make their existing websites available via IPv6 without requiring disruptive changes to their origin networking infrastructure.

Tom Coffeen, Director of Global Network Architecture for Limelight Networks, said, “As part of our ongoing commitment to IPv6, Limelight Networks today is actively delivering customer content over the world’s first fully IPv6-compliant content delivery service. We are pleased to participate in World IPv6 Day to encourage the adoption of IPv6 across the Internet and to transform address resource challenges into innovation and competitive advantage for our customers.”

One of the goals of World IPv6 Day is to expose potential issues under controlled conditions and address them as soon as possible. The vast majority of users should be able to access services as usual, but in rare cases, misconfigured or misbehaving network equipment, particularly in home networks, may impair access to participating websites during the trial. Current estimates are that 0.05% of users may experience such problems, but participating organizations will be working together with operating system manufacturers, home router vendors and ISPs to minimize the number of users affected. Participants will also be working together to provide tools to detect problems and offer suggested fixes in advance of the trial.

For more information about World IPv6 Day, how to get involved, and links to useful information for users, visit www.internetsociety.org/worldipv6day.

About the need for IPv6

IPv4 has approximately four billion IP addresses (the sequence of numbers assigned to each Internet-connected device). The explosion in the number of people, devices and web services on the Internet means that IPv4 is running out of space. IPv6, the next-generation Internet protocol, which provides over four billion times more space, will connect the billions of people not connected today and will help ensure the Internet can continue its current growth rate.

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society is a non-profit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education and policy. It is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. See www.internetsociety.org

Internet Society Announces Appointment of Toral D. Cowieson as Senior Director of Internet Leadership Programmes

Organization to Increase Focus on Internet Community Development

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND and RESTON, VIRGINIA, USA – January 10, 2011. The Internet Society today announced the appointment of Toral D. Cowieson to the new position of Senior Director of Internet Leadership Programmes, effective immediately.

In this role, Cowieson will focus on further developing the Internet Society’s Internet leadership programmes. She takes on responsibility for the highly successful Next Generation Leaders Programme (NGL) launched in 2010, and uniting it with the Internet Society’s long-standing Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Fellowship and IGF Ambassador initiatives.

Her primary focus will be to build on these existing activities to create a global focus on Internet leadership to help fulfill the Internet’s promise.  She will also seek to develop and support other Internet Society activities that facilitate a greater participation in the Internet ecosystem and an expanded knowledge of Internet standards and the activities of the IETF.

Lynn St. Amour, president and CEO of the Internet Society commented: “Since the earliest days of the Internet Society we have worked to extend the Internet community through such vehicles as our Network Training Workshops (NTW’s) and more recently through programmes focused on the IETF, the IGF, and Internet technology and policy in general.  The Internet Society has built up a thriving community of Next Generation Leaders, equipping promising technologists, policy makers, and businessmen and women in emerging countries to be able to fully embrace the opportunities that the Internet presents. With this latest appointment, we are well placed to expand these initiatives to greatly increase the global Internet ecosystem’s ability to address the critical technology, policy, business, and education challenges that lie ahead.”

Cowieson brings 15 years experience working at the intersection of information and technology. Most recently, this expertise was gained at SISUTEK, a market due diligence and product strategy firm she founded. Working with clients in the US and Canada, Cowieson helped align market requirements, develop product strategy, and focus execution in accordance with her clients’ overall goals. She has previously held senior leadership roles in the strategy & alliances and product teams at Thomson/NewsEdge.  She has served as an advisor to the MIT-PEI Entrepreneurs’ Forum and on the boards of the IT Sector Council and the Innovation and Technology Association of PEI. An MBA graduate of The George Washington University, Cowieson is also the author of the Business Tool Box Series for New Hampshire Business Review.

 

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Internet Society welcomes new chapters in Costa Rica and Sri Lanka

The Internet Society welcomed two new Chapters in December. We have a new Chapter in Costa Rica led by Carlos Watson, information about the Internet Society Costa Rica Chapter is available here.

The second new Chapter is in Sri Lanka led by Mr. Harsha Wijayawardhana. Information about the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter is available here.

ISOC Member Newsletter. Suggestions, comments, and questions welcome to, newsletter@isoc.org

ISOC's key initiatives target the critical issues that affect all aspects of Internet development and growth. They embody ISOC's philosophy that the Internet is for everyone and they provide the organization with a solid foundation from which to positively influence standards development, access, business practices, and government policies.