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VeriSign, Inc., a global leader in domain names and internet security, announced that approximately 6.0 million domain name registrations were added to the internet in the second quarter of 2018, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 339.8 million across all Top-Level Domains [TLDs].

Image Source – Domains

The increase of approximately 6.0 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 1.8 percent over the first quarter of 2018 1,2. The Domain Name Industry Brief [DNIB] further shows that domain name registrations have grown by approximately 7.9 million, or 2.4 percent, year over year.

Key Highlights

  • The .com and .net TLDs had a combined total of approximately 149.7 million domain name registrations in the domain name base3 at the end of Q2, 2018. This represents an increase of approximately 1.4 million domain name registrations, or 0.9 percent, compared to Q1 2017.
  • As of June 30, 2018, the .com domain name base totaled approximately 135.6 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base totaled approximately 14.1 million domain name registrations.
  • The .com and .net TLDs had a combined increase of approximately 5.3 million domain name registrations, or 3.7 percent, Y-O-Y.
  • New .com and .net domain name registrations totaled approximately 9.6 million at the end of Q2 2018, compared to 9.2 million domain name registrations for Q2 2017.
  • Growth of .com and .net domain names redirecting to popular global social media and e-commerce sites compared to Q2 2017 is dominated by Instagram [61%] followed by Etsy [12%] and LinkedIn [9%].
  • Total new gTLD [ngTLD] domain name registrations were approximately 21.8 million at the end of Q2 2018, with an increase of 1.6 million domain name registrations, or 7.9 percent, compared to Q1 2018. ngTLDs decreased by approximately 2.5 million domain name registrations, or 10.4 percent, Y-O-Y.

Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. The second quarter 2018 Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at Verisign.com/DNIB.

References

1. The figure(s) includes domain names in the .tk ccTLD. .tk is a free ccTLD that provides free domain names to individuals and businesses. Revenue is generated by monetizing expired domain names. Domain names no longer in use by the registrant or expired are taken back by the registry and the residual traffic is sold to advertising networks. As such, there are no deleted .tk domain names [Source].

2. The Generic Top-level Domain [gTLD] and ccTLD data cited in this brief: (i) includes ccTLD Internationalized Domain Names, (ii) is an estimate as of the time this brief was developed and (iii) is subject to change as more complete data is received.

3. The domain name base is the active zone plus the number of domain names that are registered but not configured for use in the respective Top-Level Domain zone file plus the number of domain names that are in a client or server hold status.

|In: Internet|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Subex, a pioneering entity in the cyber-security space, hosted the first edition of its Cyber-security Symposium with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University [NTU]. The Symposium aimed towards creating a collaborative platform for the industry and academia to discuss ideas and initiatives around cyber-security education.

Image Source – Cyber Security

Representing NTU Singapore was esteemed NTU Academician and cyber-security practitioner Prof Lam Kwok Yan, who provided his overview of the cyber-security landscape in Singapore and perspectives on how the lessons learnt can be applied to the Indian ecosystem.

Also taking place on the same day was the launch of Subex’s IoT Security Lab, which will solve threats specific to IoT Industrial Control Systems [ICS] and IT Systems. Using the world’s most comprehensive IoT and ICS focused honeypots of over 400 different architectures and over 4000 devices, Subex IoT Lab collects threat intelligence across multiple verticals including Telecom, Academics, Enterprises, Defense and Smart City projects.

As part of the lab inauguration, Subex also announced that it will be opening its lab up to Public-Private Partnerships with universities such as NTU and other colleges in Bengaluru with a goal to create specific IoT security threat detection and prevention mechanisms for IoT ecosystems.

The Cyber-security symposium also witnessed the formation of a Cyber Security Academic Forum with the objective of establishing an ecosystem in the country for cyber security research to emerge and grow, with the main mission to foster ‘A Safer Cyberspace’. This forum will provide a unique opportunity to meet and discuss the current issues of cyber disruption and the ever-changing landscape of cyber security and IoT security related threats.

Speaking at the Cyber-security Symposium, Vinod Kumar, CEO and MD, Subex said

With increasing threats in the Indian and Global cyberspace, we believe that education and awareness around cyber-security will play an important role towards preparing and securing our critical assets against these threats.

However, the topic of cyber-security is yet to gain prominence within colleges in India, leading to gaps in the available talent pool. We are extremely proud to be partner with NTU Singapore to host the cyber-security symposium, and play a part in addressing this gap. The symposium witnessed collaborative discussions and brainstorm sessions between the industry and academia to identify ways to improve cyber-security education in the country. Having Prof. Lam Kwok Yan provide his expertise on the topic was of tremendous value.

Further, we also inaugurated our IoT Security Lab that will now be open to public-private partnerships with universities. The lab provides research opportunities on IoT Security threat intelligence using a one-of-its kind honeypot network. This along with the continuous monitoring of over 8.5 million customer devices have enabled us to obtain 30% more IoT and ICS threat signatures and thereby offer a comprehensive IoT threat intelligence and prevention solution to our customers.

About Subex

Subex is the market leader in the products Security and Fraud Management market, with over 180+ customers in total. Subex is a pioneering entity in the Cybersecurity space involved in multiple public and private partnerships in India. The company runs the world’s most comprehensive IoT and ICS focused honeypots of over 400 architectures in 32 locations around the world.

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VeriSign, Inc. , a global leader in domain names and internet security have announced that approximately 1.3 million domain name registrations were added to the internet in the first quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 330.6 million across all Top-Level Domains [TLDs] as of March 31, 2017.

Image Source – Domains

The increase of approximately 1.3 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 0.4 percent over the fourth quarter of 2016. Domain name registrations have grown by 11.8 million, or 3.7 percent, year over year.

The .com and .net TLDs had a combined total of approximately 143.6 million domain name registrations in the domain name base in the first quarter of 2017. This represents a 0.8 percent increase year over year. As of March 31, 2017, the .com domain name base totaled 128.4 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base totaled 15.2 million domain name registrations.

New .com and .net domain name registrations totaled 9.5 million during the first quarter of 2017. In the first quarter of 2016, new .com and .net domain name registrations totaled 10 million.

Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. The first quarter 2017 Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained from here

|In: Digital|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

ICRIER, one of India’s leading think tanks, along with Broadband India Forum have released findings of its study on ‘Estimating the Value of New Generation Internet based Application Services in India’.

Image Source – India Apps

As per the study, a 17% increase in the total internet traffic in India in 2015~16, contributed to an increase of Rs. 7 lakh crore in Gross Domestic Product [GDP], of which at least INR 1.4 lakh crores [US$ 20.4 billion] was due to Internet based app services.

This puts the Internet’s contribution to India’s GDP at about 5.6% in 2015~16. The contribution is estimated to grow to nearly 16% of the country’s GDP by 2020 or INR 36 lakh crores [USD 534 billion], of which apps will contribute about half.

The study was unveiled by Hon’ble Minister of Communications, Govt. of India, Shri Manoj Sinha in the presence of senior Government dignitaries from MeiTY, TRAI, Niti Aayog and champions of the broadband industry.

[L-R] Shri T.K. Arun, Senior Journalist; Shri T.V. Ramachandran, President, BIF; Smt. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary DOT GOI; Shri Manoj Sinha, MOS (IC), Ministry of Communications and IT, GOI; Shri M.F. Farooqui, Chairman, BIF; Shri Anil Kaushal, Member, TRAI; Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Director and CE, ICRIER at the launch of a report by Broadband India Forum and ICRIER on ‘Estimating the Value of New Generation Internet based Application Services in India’

Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER said

With internet penetration and the start-up ecosystem achieving critical mass, we felt the time was right to study the micro level impact of the internet services and apps on the country and define interventions needed for long term growth. Interestingly, we found that the ecosystem’s contribution went beyond just economic into social areas such as mainstreaming the differently abled and enabling women safety among others.

The study, beyond econometric estimations, also captures in-depth case studies of 16 service/app companies capturing impact generation at a micro level in key sectors of travel, healthcare, education, entertainment, utilities, digital payments, social, navigation and Government services. Companies covered include Makemytrip, Practo, PayTM, Urbanclap, Netflix, Wynk, Byju’s, Truecaller, farMart and MP Mobile.

The case studies bring alive different aspects of impact created, such as potential for increased income and job creation, easy access to credible information and Government services, lowering costs for buyers & sellers, creating a platform for smaller businesses and individuals to market their products and services, popularizing the use of vernacular language and enabling women safety among others.

TV Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum said

Internet apps and services are disrupting traditional industries. Regulation, globally, is evolving to strike the right balance between protecting consumer/business interests and encouraging the ecosystem to innovate further. India needs to chart its own course from a policy/regulation perspective considering the significant higher impact on its economy. It needs to resist the temptation to follow global precedence or come up with defining laws without active stakeholder discussion.

The study also makes 10 recommendations on the demand and supply side to ensure long-term growth of the internet services and apps economy and its sustained contribution to India’s GDP.

About ICRIER

ICRIER is an autonomous, policy-oriented, not-for-profit, economic policy think tank. ICRIER’s main focus is to enhance the knowledge content of policy making by undertaking analytical research that is targeted at informing India’s policy makers and also at improving the interface with the global economy. It has been ranked amongst the top 3 Indian Think Tanks World Wide by the 2016 Global Think Tank Index Report, University of Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit ICRIER

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ACT Fibernet, India’s largest non-telco and third largest Internet Service Provider announced the launch of 1 Gbps [Giga speeds] wired broadband internet service for the city of Hyderabad. Launched in the presence of K. Taraka Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Municipal Administration and Urban Development and Industries [MAUD], ACT Fibernet is the first player in the Indian internet market to GIGA enable an entire Indian city.

Riding on the strength of being the largest non-telco ISP, ACT Fibernet has the best global fiber optic technology and is now bringing world class experience with futuristic speeds to Indian consumers.

When the average internet speeds in India is 2.5 Mbps, ACT Fibernet’s 1 Gbps launch will leapfrog Hyderabad internet speeds to 400x national average.  Very few cities across the world can boast as being ‘Giga enabled’, certainly not at this scale. This launch places Hyderabad in league of select cities in the world that can boast of such futuristic technology. Giga speeds will allow downloads from the internet faster than transferring data from a USB drive.

ACT Fibernet is the largest broadband provider in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad with over 65% market share. Growing at an incredible rate, ACT Fibernet is known to be a speed pioneer in the broadband industry; this launch will not only provide internet connections at incredibly high speeds, but will disrupt and lead technological growth in the country.

Speaking on the launch Bala Malladi, CEO, ACT Fibernet said

With our citizens and the government moving towards the Digital India movement, high speed internet is the need of the hour. With the launch of our 1 Gbps broadband internet service, it gives me immense pride to turn this dream into reality. The city of Hyderabad is apt for our maiden launch as it has some of the best technology brands, educational institutions and a vibrant economy.

We are confident this product will transform the way internet is now being consumed at large and this will fast track the government’s newest target to connect all its 23 million Telangana residents through the Internet by 2018.

Speaking at the launch, Shri. K. Taraka Rama Rao said

I am extremely pleased to be present here and witness the historic launch of 1 Gbps broadband internet service for an entire city in the country. It is my vision to connect our residents through high speed internet and I am sure this product from ACT Fibernet will further help fulfill my vision of making Telangana a tech and digitally advanced hub.

India is the second largest market globally with internet connectivity reaching over 400 million people.  With the government’s constant and fervent efforts to internet enable cities, internet penetration is set to reach over 600 million users by 2020. Additionally, the government’s recent announcement to boost high-speed broadband via optic Fiber to 1,50,000 gram Panchayats will further receive support through initiatives such as ACT Fibernet’s and its contribution to the country’s digital growth.

ACT Fibernet’s 1 Gbps wired internet service is slated to soon be available in the 11 cities the company has presence in. The product is currently available in Hyderabad for INR 5999 per month, 1 Gbps , 1TB FUP.

About ACT Fibernet

ACT Fibernet is India’s third largest ISP in the wired broadband category with a customer base of 1.2 million. Headquartered in Bengaluru, it has operations in 11 cities across India occupying the leadership position across most of these cities. For more information, please visit ACT Fibernet

|In: India|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Google India released the 2016 recap of trending stories-biggest moments, major events and users interests based on trillions of searches made by Indians on Google this year.

Extending unprecedented support to the Indian contingent this year, the sprawling nation of 1.3 billion moved beyond Cricket, as Rio Olympics 2016 emerged as the top trending search query on Google in 2016. Following up close was a game that took the world by storm, Pokemon Go.

The US presidential elections have always been closely watched in India but this year the interest was further heightened, US President Donald Trump emerged on top of the list of trending personalities. Following him were the world-class performances by Indian female athletes at the world’s biggest sporting event. Indian badminton star and Olympic medallist, P.V.Sindhu took the second spot in the overall trending personality searches. The latest social media obsession Sonam Gupta, made a surprise entry at third position while Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar taking the fourth spot followed by Bollywood actress Disha Patani who recently made her Bollywood debut in a biopic on Indian cricketing star M S Dhoni. Indian female wrestler and Olympic champion Sakshi Malik also featured among the Top 10 trending personalities on Google.

A quick look at  the year’s top news moments that captured India’s attention reveals that even though Olympics topped the charts, the historic win for Donald Trump in US elections and Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) reflected on India’s rising involvement and interest around global issues. The 7th Pay commission, Demonetization, and the strategic surgical strike on terror groups caught everyone’s attention and generated a great deal of search curiosity among Indian users.

Among the Bollywood leads, power packed performance by Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Patani not just won them accolades but the duo also emerged on the top trending charts of male and female Bollywood stars. When it comes to movies and entertainment, Bollywood Superstar Salman Khan with his blockbuster film ‘Sultan’ captured the peak position among top trending movies followed closely by Thalaiva Rajinikanth’s blockbuster film ‘Kabali’.  Shahid Kapoor starrer Udta Punjab, Akshay Kumar’s Airlift and Ranbir and Anushka Sharma starrer ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ also made it to the Top 5.

To see more information about Year in Search across the globe, use interactive data visualisations, please visit google.com/2016

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Verisign released its Q3 2016 Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Trends Report, which analyses key trends in online attacks, including attack statistics, behavioral trends and future outlook. Verisign released its Q3 2016 (July 1, 2016 through Sept. 30, 2016). This report contains the observations and insights derived from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack mitigations enacted on behalf of, and in cooperation with, customers of Verisign DDoS Protection Services. The security research of Verisign iDefense Security Intelligence Services conducted, represents a unique view into the attack trends unfolding online, including attack statistics and behavioral trends for Q3 2016.

Key takeaways

DDoS Attacks Are Unpredictable and are becoming more challenging to all industries

The highest intensity flood attack: TCP SYN flood peaked at approximately 60 Gbps and 150 Mpps (Million Packets Per Second)

49 percent of the total attacks was UDP flood attack

DDoS Attacks Are Unpredictable

DDoS attacks continue to be complex and unpredictable, making them more challenging for companies to mitigate. While not directly observed by Verisign, Q3 2016 was notable due to several attacks unprecedented in attack size. Specifically, the approximately 620 Gbps attack against KrebsonSecurity1 and a 579 Gbps attack reported by Arbor Networks 2 were significant and widely reported within the industry.

Attackers in Q3 2016 launched sustained and repeated attacks against their targets. In fact, out of all the Verisign customers targeted by DDoS attacks in Q3 2016, 41 percent were targeted multiple times during the quarter.

Multi-Vector DDoS Attacks Continue to Dominate

Fifty-nine percent of the DDoS attacks mitigated by Verisign in Q3 2016 employed multiple attack types indicating that DDoS attacks continue to be complex, and thus require more time and effort to mitigate.

Image Source – Verisign DDOS Report

Types of DDoS Attacks

UDP flood attacks continue to dominate in Q3 2016, making up 49 percent of the total attacks in the quarter. The most common UDP floods mitigated were Domain Name System (DNS) reflection attacks, followed by Network Time Protocol (NTP) reflection attacks.

Highest Intensity Flood and Largest Volumetric Attack

The highest intensity flood attack observed by Verisign in Q3 2016 was a TCP SYN flood that peaked at approximately 60 Gbps and 150 Mpps (Million Packets Per Second). This flood attack is one of the highest packets per second attacks ever observed by Verisign, surpassing the previous highest flood of 125 Mpps mitigated by Verisign in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The largest attack in Q3 2016 utilized the Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) protocol (IP protocol 47) and peaked at 250+ Gbps and 50+ Mpps. This is the first time Verisign observed this type of attack against its customer base. The attack was notable in that the attackers encapsulated UDP packets to legitimate service ports within the GRE protocol. Attackers were able to increase the payload and add volume to the attack with this technique. Both the source and destination IP addresses in the encapsulated data were spoofed. The spoofing of the IP addresses forced the network devices of the end recipient to analyze the content within the packet, which depleted the recipient’s resources while consuming processing capacity and available network bandwidth.

For more information on DDoS trends, the full report can be downloaded from here

About Verisign

Verisign, a global leader in domain names and Internet security, enables Internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names and provides protection for websites and enterprises around the world. Verisign’s Security Services include intelligence-driven Distributed Denial of Service Protection, iDefense Security Intelligence and Managed DNS.