12 October 2016

The following is summary of the most recent IEEE Global Internet Governance Monitor report. To access the full reports containing additional details and other news items, please join the Internet Technology Policy Community on IEEE Collabratec.

This week the EU’s Telecom regulator Berec has outlined its work programme for 2017. Of significance in the regulator’s plans are the enforcement of the EU’s new net neutrality regulations as well as future plans for electronic communications regulations. A consultation on the body’s work programme will run until the 2nd November.

In the Netherlands the Senate is set to vote on whether to adopt new EU rules on net neutrality. The Government wish to retain the Netherland’s stricter rules on positive price discrimination rather than adopt the EU’s more lenient measures.

The G7 has agreed upon a common framework for cyber security in the financial sector. The announcement is part of a reaction to the numerous hacks of the global financial messaging messaging system SWIFT, which had resulted in $81 million theft from the Bangladesh Central Bank account in the New York Federal Reserve.

In the United States this week the Government has taken the unprecedented step of formally charging the Russian Government with attempting to influence the US presidential elections with a series of cyber hacks on both election campaigns and electoral machines.

Attribution was also a theme in Australia, with the Australian Government announcing that the cyber attack on the Bureau of Meteorology originated from a foreign intelligence service. The country’s Cyber Security Centre has not ruled out the fact that the malware attack could have affected other areas of the Government.

This week the FCC has also announced that they will vote to impose stricter cyber privacy rules on Internet Service Providers by the end of October. FCC Chairman has tabled the vote for the 27th October, which is expected to pass by a 3-2 majority, in line with the FCC’s Democratic majority.

In China this week president Xi Jinping has called for the country to adopt more domestic network technology rather than rely on less secure international products.

Elsewhere Singapore has this week launched a national Cybersecurity Strategy in order to better protect the country’s infrastructure. BAE systems have also this week announced that they will support the Singapore government to implement their cybersecurity capabilities.

In global institutional news, ICANN has announced that the results of its new economic study on the gTLD Program’s competitive effects will now be made available for public comment. Digital Europe has announced that a new Digital skills and jobs coalition will be launched in December to continue the work taken by the group between 2013-2016 under the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs.