ITV

Tag: ICANN

  • Brands miss a trick with gTLDs as Icann opens digital land grab

    Brands miss a trick with gTLDs as Icann opens digital land grab

    MUMBAI: A fresh survey from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) reveals that 52 per cent of marketing leaders see serious brand-boosting potential in owning a bespoke top-level domain—but a third haven’t the faintest clue what a gTLD actually is.

    Top-level domains (the bit after the dot, like .london, .tech or .love) are about to hit the market again, with Icann gearing up to open its first application window in over a decade come April 2026. But despite the looming gold rush, many brands are snoozing through the starter gun.

    Of the 2,000-plus marketers surveyed across eight countries—including the UK, US, China and India—only 19 per cent had ever worked at a firm that applied for a gTLD. Yet once they were told what a gTLD is, a staggering 92 per cent could see the upside. Chief attractions? Brand differentiation (46 per cent), improved trust (45 per cent), tighter online control (44 per cent), and better SEO (44 per cent). In short, more power behind the dot.

    Still, roadblocks remain. Cost (31 per cent), ignorance (27 per cent), and tight resources (24 per cent) are keeping the gTLD dream on ice for many. Regional views are anything but uniform: Nigeria (74 per cent) and India (61 per cent) are bullish on the potential, while China is more split—half the marketers there think gTLDs are worth it, the other half call them a waste of money.

    This matters. Marketers say standing out online is their top challenge (53 per cent), followed by grabbing the right audience (52 per cent) and keeping up with digital trends (47 per cent). A gTLD—essentially your own walled garden on the Internet—could be a game-changer. Think trust, exclusivity, and a domain that actually means something.

    Icann SVP of global domains & strategy Theresa Swinehart says: “The New gTLD Program: Next Round presents an opportunity for businesses, communities, governments, and others to apply to operate their own secure space online, tailored to fit their organization, community, culture, language, and customer interests. Now is also the moment for brands to consider applying for a gTLD, and this research tells us there is still a lack of awareness. Icann can help provide information and raise awareness of the Next Round and the opportunity it presents for global communities, organizations, and businesses, including brands.”

    For brands looking to own their digital patch—whether it’s .coffee, .africa or .you—the clock is ticking. And with consumers more sceptical than ever online, trust might just come in three characters or more.

    Read the full report: Understanding the gTLD Opportunity for Brands

  • Twitter India brings in Samiran Gupta as public policy head

    Twitter India brings in Samiran Gupta as public policy head

    Mumbai: Twitter India has announced the appointment of public policy veteran Samiran Gupta as head – public policy and philanthropy, India and South Asia. 

    Gupta is an experienced public policy and stakeholder engagement leader. He has over 30 years of experience, much of which has been spent in assisting corporations set up industrial and services activities. His strengths lie in leadership roles linking business and public affairs skills to corporate strategy.

    Prior to joining Twitter, Gupta was with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as head of stakeholder engagement, South Asia.

    Announcing Gupta’s appointment on the microblogging platform, Twitter’s senior director public policy & philanthropy, APAC, Kathleen Reen said, “Pleased to welcome @Samiran01 to @Twitter to lead our public @Policy & philanthropy efforts in India & S Asia. A deeply respected leader in public affairs & tech policy, we’re excited Samiran joins our journey toward an inclusive & open Internet that empowers public conversation.”

    “Thrilled to join Twitter to lead the Public Policy team’s work and engage with govts, NGOs, and partners in India & South Asia. Can’t wait to get started with the incredible Policy team and contribute towards an Internet that is a global force for good,” replied Gupta.

  • Global internet users may witness outage for 48 hours

    Global internet users may witness outage for 48 hours

    MUMBAI: For the sake of updation and maintenance global internet users might experience network failures over the next 48 hours. In light of the maintenance work, internet users might face difficulties in accessing web pages or making transactions.

    The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will carry out maintenance work to change the cryptographic key that helps protect the internet’s address book or the Domain Name System (DNS).

    According to the experts, the change of cryptographic key will help prove as a necessary step for internet protection as the number of cyber attacks swell.

    In a statement, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) said the global internet shutdown is necessary for ensuring a secure, stable and resilient DNS. “To further clarify, some internet users might be affected if their network operators or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have not prepared for this change. However, this impact can be avoided by enabling the appropriate system security extensions,” it added.

  • India wants greater democratisation & broad-basing of Internet governance

    India wants greater democratisation & broad-basing of Internet governance

    NEW DELHI: Stressing that it wanted democratisation and broad-basing of the global affairs of telecommunications and internet governance, the Government has begun a series of meetings with stakeholders in relation to the ongoing overall review by the General Assembly of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10 Review). 

     

    In pursuance of its declaration towards multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance, the Information Technology Ministry recently organised discussions involving business, civil society, government, academia and technical community.

     

    The recent meeting on this issue was held in New Delhi on 18 September. There has also been remote participation from Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) and Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economics Asia (LIRNEasia) in these meetings.

     

    The discussion by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology was in collaboration with National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) under Internet Governance to discuss the priorities and concerns of Indian stakeholder in relation to the ongoing UN review. 

     

    India wants that the International Telegraphic Union should take leadership and partner with UN and other International/Regional organisations in executing the Information and Communication Technology projects and programs in developing countries. India also wants the ITU to be the supervisory authority of Space Assets. India expressed its desire that ITU should play a more active role in the global Internet governance as envisaged during the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). 

     

    The entire Review process will be concluded by a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on 15-16 December, 2015 in New York. Currently, the United Nations is facilitating a preparatory process for the WSIS+10 Review in consultation with Member States and relevant stakeholders.

  • ICANN & CDAC to establish Center of Excellence to thwart cyber attacks

    ICANN & CDAC to establish Center of Excellence to thwart cyber attacks

    NEW DELHI: Coordination plans for the creation of a Center of Excellence in Domain Name System Security in India are to be put together by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in partnership with the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).

    The Center of Excellence is expected to work alongside ICANN security staff to design research projects intended to solve critical Domain Name System (DNS) security issues, such as thwarting cyber attacks. The center is also envisioned to be home to a state-of-the-art research laboratory to evaluate and test security solutions.

    In the presence of Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, ICANN president and CEO Fadi Chehadé and CDAC DG Dr. Rajat Moona today signed a letter of intent regarding the building of the center during a signing ceremony at the ‘Internet, Mobile & Digital Economy Conference’ (IMDEC) organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry. The theme of the conference was ‘Internet to Equinet: Empowering A Billion Online’.

    Sibal said India is fully committed to freedom of expression to work towards creating equality of opportunity, and there is a need to create systems for encouraging free flow of information, moving away from the traditional idea that knowledge is a personal asset.

    He said that the way forward is to take the consensual approach where all the stakeholders including the government will have an equal say while deciding the institutional framework. Creating an inter-governmental group is not a solution because governments will have their differences. Besides, the industry forms the crux of cyber space and without them feasible policy cannot be conceived.

    Sibal said the spread of internet and technology is creating awareness among people; they now know of the public services that are available to them, and this was leading to the development of a transparent society.

     

    Speaking about the relevance of the centre, Chehadé, said, “This center will play a central role in ensuring the security and stability of the Domain Name System. The Internet has become one of the world’s most valued resources and it is deserves nothing less than full global cooperation and collaboration in developing concrete solutions to combat threats to the DNS.”

    Nehchal Sandhu, Deputy National Security Advisor to the Government, said equal, unrestricted, affordable and sustainable access to ICT are needed to give equal opportunity to the people of India. Equal opportunity means democratic, transparent, collaborative and participatory way of knowledge sharing.

    M F Farooqui, Secretary in the Department of Telecommunications, said internet and telephony are interconnected and people at the bottom of the pyramid can be empowered by granting them access to these tools. The National Optical Fibre Network tends to provide connectivity to 600 million people by 2020, which would open new choices for people.

    J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Communications & IT, Government of India, said, “We are always in doubt when accessing the internet whether whatever is being shared is visible to someone else far off. We need to dispel this fear, which is associated to the internet.”

    He said, “Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility that recognizes the need to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disabilities as well as to facilitate equal access to electronics and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It is a step towards shifting emphasis from internet to equinet.” He added that the policy will facilitate equal and unhindered access to electronics and ICT products and services by differently-abled persons (both physically and mentally challenged) and to facilitate local language support.

  • ICANN & CDAC to establish Center of Excellence to thwart cyber attacks

    ICANN & CDAC to establish Center of Excellence to thwart cyber attacks

    NEW DELHI: Coordination plans for the creation of a Center of Excellence in Domain Name System Security in India are to be put together by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in partnership with the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).

     

    The Center of Excellence is expected to work alongside ICANN security staff to design research projects intended to solve critical Domain Name System (DNS) security issues, such as thwarting cyber attacks. The center is also envisioned to be home to a state-of-the-art research laboratory to evaluate and test security solutions.

     

    In the presence of Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, ICANN president and CEO Fadi Chehadé and CDAC DG Dr. Rajat Moona today signed a letter of intent regarding the building of the center during a signing ceremony at the ‘Internet, Mobile & Digital Economy Conference’ (IMDEC) organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry. The theme of the conference was ‘Internet to Equinet: Empowering A Billion Online’.

     

    Sibal said India is fully committed to freedom of expression to work towards creating equality of opportunity, and there is a need to create systems for encouraging free flow of information, moving away from the traditional idea that knowledge is a personal asset.

     

    He said that the way forward is to take the consensual approach where all the stakeholders including the government will have an equal say while deciding the institutional framework. Creating an inter-governmental group is not a solution because governments will have their differences. Besides, the industry forms the crux of cyber space and without them feasible policy cannot be conceived.

     

    Sibal said the spread of internet and technology is creating awareness among people; they now know of the public services that are available to them, and this was leading to the development of a transparent society.

     

    Speaking about the relevance of the centre, Chehadé, said, “This center will play a central role in ensuring the security and stability of the Domain Name System. The Internet has become one of the world’s most valued resources and it is deserves nothing less than full global cooperation and collaboration in developing concrete solutions to combat threats to the DNS.”

     

    Nehchal Sandhu, Deputy National Security Advisor to the Government, said equal, unrestricted, affordable and sustainable access to ICT are needed to give equal opportunity to the people of India. Equal opportunity means democratic, transparent, collaborative and participatory way of knowledge sharing.

     

    M F Farooqui, Secretary in the Department of Telecommunications, said internet and telephony are interconnected and people at the bottom of the pyramid can be empowered by granting them access to these tools. The National Optical Fibre Network tends to provide connectivity to 600 million people by 2020, which would open new choices for people.

     

    J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Communications & IT, Government of India, said, “We are always in doubt when accessing the internet whether whatever is being shared is visible to someone else far off. We need to dispel this fear, which is associated to the internet.”

     

    He said, “Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility that recognizes the need to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disabilities as well as to facilitate equal access to electronics and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It is a step towards shifting emphasis from internet to equinet.” He added that the policy will facilitate equal and unhindered access to electronics and ICT products and services by differently-abled persons (both physically and mentally challenged) and to facilitate local language support.