16 November 2016

16 November 2016 — This week a new survey of IT Professionals in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa has found that 95% of IT professionals view cybersecurity as the most important skill for the job market in 2017.

Elsewhere the chief security officer at Facebook has revealed at a Web summit in Lisbon, that the social media company has adopted the practice of buying up alleged stolen passwords from the dark web, in order to crossreference them with Facebook’s records…


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 a new survey of IT Professionals in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa has found that 95% of IT professionals view cyber security as the most important skill for the job market in 2017.

Elsewhere the chief security officer at Facebook has revealed at a Web summit in Lisbon, that the social media company has adopted the practise of buying up alleged stolen passwords from the dark web, in order to crossreference them with Facebook’s records.

Following the election of Donald Trump as President Elect of the United States, attention has turned to the use of encryption and other cyber technologies to increase privacy both in Europe and the USA. Statistics show that following last Tuesday’s election the number of searches on how to encrypt online messages have increased in the US, along with membership of secure messaging services, such as Telegram a European startup.

Also in the wake of last week’s Presidential Election is the news that Congressional Republicans will seek to place greater pressure on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to cease with plans for cyber privacy and net neutrality regulations. The politicians have written to Wheeler to warn that the Trump administration will overturn any new rules he puts in place, as tradition dictates that a new FCC chair is appointed at the start of a President’s term in office.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has launched a new set of guidelines for IoT cybersecurity. The guidelines call for cybersecurity features to be engineered in as part of the design process for IoT devices.

At the opening of the third World Internet Conference this week in Wuzhen, China, Chinese President XI Jinping called for greater international cooperation on internet governance, whilst retaining respect for “cyber sovereignity”.

International industry groups have continued to oppose the new cyber security law past by China last week. The Chinese Government has stated that the new law to be introduced in June 2017 should not interfere with the business interests of foreign companies operating in China.

In India, telecoms company Airtel has announced a new advertising campaign for the Airtel Delhi Half Mararthon calling on runners to dedicate their run to the cause of empowering India through digital literacy.

Elsewhere in the world this week, Nigeria has announced new steps to strengthen cybersecurity after revealing that in 2015 cyber attacks on the country cost $450 million.

At the ITU Telecom World conference this week, Shola Taylor, Secretary General for the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation has outlined the challenges facing countries seeking to implement universal access to the Internet. Mr Taylor highlighted three necessary strands of action: 1.) policy formation; 2.) spectrum planning for networks; 3.) greater investment in digital infrastructure.

In institutional news ENISA has this week published a good practice guide to national policy makers on how to best develop national cyber security strategies, following analysis of existing strategies in the EU.