Verizon wins control of VerizonWireless.com

In a huge victory for Verizon, the company has won a dispute it filed with the National Arbitration Forum over the domain VerizonWireless.com. The company markets itself as “Verizon Wireless,” so having this name is very valuable.

This case is interesting because the arbitration panel ruled that the domain was being used in bad faith because it had no content. The respondent (domain owner) also failed to respond to the complaint.

Respondent is not making an active use of the domain name as the disputed domain name resolves to a website displaying only a “Network Error” message and no original content. The Panel finds that Respondent’s failure to actively use the disputed domain name indicates bad faith registration and use .

It wouldn’t surpise me if the arbitration panel was biased towards Verizon to begin with. People reserve domains all the time without adding the content to them. Of course, one could also argue that is more fair for Verizon to have the name because it actually plans on using it.

Photo | Flickr

Verizon goes after cybersquatters

The cellular provider famous for its “Can you hear my now?” adverts is making itself heard. This week Verizon filed a number of lawsuits against cybersquatters.

Some of the domains involved are varizon.com, vierzon.com, and virazon.com. These clearly infringe upon Verizon’s trademark.

The company is demanding $100,000 per domain in addition to other damages. This includes any profits earned from the names and legal fees. Verizon is also asking that the cybersquatters pay for corrective advertising to remedy “any consumer confusion or misperceptions” that resulted from the use of domains.

I have a feeling Verizon will win its case, but I doubt their damage requests will be fulfilled. It will be hard to prove that any loss of profits and consumer confusion occurred, and my guess is the individuals concerned are unlikely to have $100,000.

Photo | Flickr

Cybersquatter ordered to pay $33 million to Verizon

Cybersquatting isn’t cheap these days. This week, a federal court upheld a $33 million (£20.3 million) ruling against OnlineNIC, a wholesale domain company, for cybersquatting the Verizon.com domain and trademarks.

OnlineNIC reportedly used an automated system to register some 663 names confusingly similar to Verizon.com, such as iphoneverizonplans.com, accountverizonwireless.com, and verizononline.com.

The domains earned revenue by displaying advertisements to visitors. The company claims to have only earned $1,468 from the names, however, and argued that the penalty is disproportionate to the revenue earned. This did not sway United States District Judge Jeremy Fogel, who stated:

OnlineNIC’s reference to its alleged profit fails to take any account of the damages suffered by Verizon in the form of a likelihood of confusion surrounding Verizon’s marks and the diversion of internet traffic to websites selling rival products. Moreover, OnlineNIC has made multiple false or misleadingly incomplete representations to Verizon and the Court over the course of this litigation, making it exceedingly difficult to accept OnlineNIC’s present representations as credible.

While it’s possible quite a bit more than $1,468 was earned from the domains, something tells me it wasn’t anything close to $33 million. Verizon may have suffered somewhat from the incident, but I doubt it lost very much in traffic or sales.

Source | The Register
Photo | Flickr

Databases are ripe for hacker exploitation

According to a new study by Verizon Business’ compuer forensics team, 30% of data security breeches in 2008 were initiated with database exploitation. Furthermore, of all the records breached, 75% were housed in databases. As the reliance on databases grows, particularly on large-scale websites, it is more crucial than ever for them to be secure.

“When you get down to it, a large percentage of the security threats potentially go after the database,” says Rich Mogull, analyst and founder of Securosis, an enterprise security consulting firm. Most information security practitioners grow up on the networking side of IT and know little about database technology, adds Mogull. And a recent Forrester Research study found that database administrators spend less than 5% of their time on database security.

In a recent poll by Oracle Users Group, they found that 26% of organizations take more than six months to patch their Oracle databases, leaving their servers and (more importantly) their information unsecured. SQL injection is a popular method of exploitation among hackers. They enter SQL strings into web applications, finding holes in whatever security a website has in place.

According to IBM’s ISS X-Force security research unit, SQL injection was the most common method of hacker attacks, growing by 134% since 2007. As more sensitive data is placed on the web and more companies rely on dynamic web-based applications, it more critical than ever for website owners to work in collaboration with one another to ensure that not only individual websites are secure, but that the entire web becomes an impenetrable wall.

Source: InformationWeek
Photo: Flickr

Verizon to Require Use of IPv6 in New Cell Phones

Techies in the know are aware that the current IP address system, IPv4, will run out of addresses by early 2011. To avoid a cataclysmic event two years from now when people find they can’t get on the Internet, the need to switch to IPv6 is being chiseled into the foreheads of technology CEOs from San Jose to Shanghai.

Part of the reason why we’re running out of IP addresses much faster than analysts predicted is the proliferation of cell phone usage. Believe it or not, but mobile phones use the same IP addresses our computers do to get online and make phone calls. In fact, there are more mobile subscribers than computer owners. With cell phone ownership expected to reach 5.2 billion by 2011, a huge stain has already been placed on the teetering IPv4 system.

Thankfully, mobile providers are starting to step in and do something about the problem. Verizon announced recently that it will require phones on its new LTE (Long Term Evolution) network to support IPv6.

LTE promises faster speeds and greater efficiency then current mobile network technology. It will be deployed over the next few years by all major carriers.

But should Verizon be applauded for its decision? Absolutely not. Truthfully, their decision to jump on the IPv6 bandwagon is too late to make much of a difference. By the time it starts freeing up IPv4 addresses with its new phones I expect most Internet providers will have made the switch to IPv6.

Source: CircleID

ICANN Gets a Dressing Down from Congress

ICANN CEO Paul Twomey went to Congress today for a scheduled hearing on its performance and future relationship with the U.S. government.

The non-profit organization received a battering of criticism from congressmen on a number of issues.

Republican Cliff Stearns of Florida attacked ICANN for its $7 million surplus. He questioned how a non-profit could have a surplus, but also had a few other choice words for Twomey:

You should take that $7 million and make sure that cyber-squatters are gone. I think your job should be not just developing a surplus but actually implementing — making it cheaper for consumers — and actually doing your mission.

Indeed, the issue of cybersquatting was a major contention with lawmakers. Verizon had complained prior to the meeting that cybersquatting is a rampant problem ICANN is doing little to address, and Democrat Rick Boucher of Virginia asked many questions about this. He wanted to know why cybersquatting is being permitted to persist and what the organization is doing to fix the problem.

One domain registrar attacked ICANN’s accountability and transparency:

ICANN holds three open board meetings a year, the rest of their board meetings are done in private. We make requests for information. We basically get stonewalled.

Twomey defended ICANN, stating that he has taken a number of steps to ensure greater transparency and accountability within the organization. He plans on stepping down by the end on the year.

Sources: Internet News and Domain Name Wire