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Re: [kictanet] IYPS 2008 Virtual Summit
by Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro 20 Aug '08

20 Aug '08

Dear colleagues As of Tuesday 19th August, the 3rd International Young Professionals Summit is commencing in Manchester, UK. For the first time, through the sponsorship and support of the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), we are able to bring you a Virtual Summit to allow those who cannot be in Manchester to both listen in to and participate in some of the IYPS 2008 sessions. We are really excited about the possibilities of the technology to broaden participation and provide a wider learning experience for young professionals globally. Attached are the details for how to participate. There are really 3 key steps: 1. Download and install the software 2. Set up your computer 3. Go to www.ice.org. uk/lectures to see what events are on, and when, and then join each event from 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time! Read the attached document for further details. Note that there are 2 training sessions on Monday 18 August – details from the ICE link. We look forward to your participation! PS if you are any where around Manchester, you should check out www..iyps.org to see all the public events during the Summit that you can join as well. Cameron Neil & IYPS 2008 Team International Young Professionals Summit Aug 19 - 23 2008, Manchester ++++++++++++ +++++++++ +++++ Join the International Young Professionals Foundation http://www.iypf. org/membership. htm ++++++++++++ +++++++++ +++++ International Young Professionals Foundation Cameron Neil Chief Executive Officer 0402 072 452 cameronneil@ iypf.org www.iyps.org www.iypf.org Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro Director, Chair FWG constancewalyaro(a)iypf.org www.iyps.org www.iypf.org Kind regards, Connie Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro constance@youthaidscoalition .org Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS [GYCA] TASK FORCE M +254 722 937102 T +254 020 2116338 F +44 87 1253 2410 www.youthaidscoalition.org Riverside Drive , Nairobi Kenya Citron Wood Foundation [CWF] President connie(a)citronwoodfoundation.org www.citronwoodfdnorg Oxfam IYP [OIYP] Action Partner www.iyp.oxfam.org International Young Professionals Foundation [IYPF] Director constancewalyaro(a)iypf.org www.iypf.org 'youth building a peaceful, equitable and sustainable world' OIYP …………..as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. Alleviating poverty is not an act of charity. It is an act of duty. Nelson Mandela The young leaders who gather for the second sitting of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament (OIYP) ......... come from every corner of the Globe and each of them has something unique to contribute. In their diversity they are united by common ideals. They are determined to work together to bring real change where it is needed most in the world. KOFI ANNAN, Former UN Secretary General Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Day 7 of 10:-IGF Discussion, Economic Issues
by Alex Gakuru 19 Aug '08

19 Aug '08

/FYI --- On Tue, 8/19/08, Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> wrote: > From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Fwd: [ke-internetusers] Internet Governance Forum(IGF) Discussion, Economic Issues > To: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 1:19 AM > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Crystal Watley Foshee > <crystal(a)voicesofafrica.org> > Date: Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 10:36 AM > Subject: Re: [ke-internetusers] Internet Governance > Forum(IGF) > Discussion, Economic Issues > To: Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> > > > Alex, > > I have just a few words on e-commerce and online > government. First, > e-commerce. The laws and licensing are important to > internet > consumers, but not more so than the other import/ export > laws > governing the country. When I think of the consumers in > this case I > would like to think of those who would consume if they had > the > opportunity. In many villages there are income generation > projects > that would benefit from being able to market their wares on > the global > stage. The issue is access. > > This takes me to the second point of e-government. First, > the reality > on the ground is that it is almost impossible to get a list > of the > NGOs and CBOs working in various locations of the country > from the > government offices. This is because they have one computer > and no one > on staff who knows how to use it. This is the computer > literacy within > the lower branches of the government. So who is the > e-government > targeting? Is it the wananachi? In the States I used > e-government to > do everything. Rarely did I visit government offices. Here > it is the > only available option and it takes days, weeks, or months > to get any > information. > > What we are doing now on the ground is getting into > communities and > assessing their information needs. The biggest problem we > are facing > is lack of consumer access. People lack the funds to be > able to access > the computers, the training, and even more so the internet, > when and > where it is available. Voices of Africa has become a legal > NGO and we > are building our research capacity. Something at that EAC > Harmonization conference struck me. 90% of all internet > users are in > Mombasa and Nairobi, right? I have spent much time writing > and > studying the rural areas, but it dawned on me that the > people who > should have high rates of access in these areas have almost > none. Thus > I am in Likoni, a 'slum' of Mombasa directly across > from the port. I > am doing a needs assessment to compare to Western province. > Here in > Likoni there is no cybercafe. Few of the organizations have > internet > access and none of them offer it to the community. > > We both know the power of information. These people have > such limited > access, yet somehow most of the bandwidth is being pulled > here. So I > thought it would be interesting in light of the submarine > cables > coming DIRECTLY into the beach to do a needs assessment > before and > after and see what kind of equipment we can use to prepare > the > community. It will make a nice case study. > > To plainly answer your question there are many who would be > consumers > if they had access. When we are talking about consumers > needs a > priority should be placed on the potential for increasing > the demand > for internet and other ICT services. In Kenya we need to > invest in > using ICT to raise the standards of living so the consumers > have more > ability to consume. (Please remember that for most in Kenya > that may > mean extra skuma for the kids.) > > The Likoni survey is attached. Results to follow next > month. > > Many blessings, > > Crystal > > On Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 1:09 AM, Alex Gakuru > <gakuru(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Greetings, > > > > Simultaneous Internet Governance discussions are > taking place in > > Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi inline > with one EA > > Community. Later, an EA IG Forum will be held in one > of the countries > > to articulate priority Internet Governance issues for > the community. > > This will be the position presented at the 3rd United > Nations > > Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to be held in > Hyderabad, India from > > 3-6 December 2008 at the Hyderabad international > Convention Center > > (HICC). (see venue picture here: > > > <http://ipjustice.org/wp/campaigns/igf/igf-2008-hyderabad/>) > > > > An ongoing IGF discussion on kictanet mailing list > mentions you - the > > consumer and in adding your voice onto the > conversation, could I > > request that you raise pressing issues whether > mentioned on Mwende's > > below email or not. > > > > Yes, we have always known too well that official > consumer protection > > failed a long time ago. Consumer empowerment to > face-off aggressive > > and evasive service providers, ever re-inventing > "new" services > > mostly costing an arm and a leg, is what we need and > ICT knowledge is > > the starting point - therefore, recognise CCK's > sharing new Consumer > > Eduction Programs we were invited to a few months ago. > > > > But in view of the backlog of unattended issues, what > else needs to be > > done for the consumer to assert their voice in the ICT > marketplace? > > > > You may opt to raise them online or send me an > off-list message. I > > could frame the issue in the IGF context in our > response to today's > > topic. > > > > View this is an opportunity for your opinion - the > consumer - to reach > > the highest levels at the United Nations;) > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Alex > > > > --- On Mon, 8/18/08, mwende njiraini > <mwende.njiraini(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > From: mwende njiraini > <mwende.njiraini(a)gmail.com> > > > Subject: [kictanet] Day 7 of 10:-IGF Discussion, > Economic Issues > > > To: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > > > Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > > Date: Monday, August 18, 2008, 10:21 PM > > > Morning!! > > > > > > Thank you all for your contribution to various > aspects of > > > internet > > > governance. Today we start our discussions on > economic > > > issues. The > > > internet is increasingly playing a critical role > in > > > economic development > > > specifically in facilitating international trade. > > > > > > > > > > > > The economic issues therefore basically relate to > the > > > framework that makes > > > e-commerce possible. The participation of > developing > > > countries in e-commerce > > > is limited by the lack the appropriate > legislation, > > > authentication > > > technologies and electronic payment methods. The > main > > > limitation however is > > > the lack of appropriate legislation that is > essential in > > > the protection of > > > consumers in relation to confidentiality, > misleading > > > advertising and > > > delivery of faulty products. > > > > > > > > > In your view, who should be responsible for > protection of > > > the consumer in > > > light of the fact that the national legislation > may be > > > faced with the > > > limitation of jurisdiction? Given that mobile > services are > > > available to the > > > majority, should developing countries concentrate > their > > > efforts in enabling > > > m-commerce to overcome the challenges of > e-commerce? What > > > private sector > > > initiatives are there in e-commerce particularly > in > > > e-Payments? > > > > > > Looking forward to hearing from you. > > > > > > Kind regards > > > Mwende > > > > > > > > > > > > Disclaimer: These comments are the author's > own > > > _______________________________________________ > > > kictanet mailing list > > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > > > This message was sent to: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > > ke-internetusers mailing list > > ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > > http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers > > > > -- > Crystal "Naliaka" Watley > Voices of Africa > Mbambe Rural Resource Management Programme > crystal(a)voicesofafrica.org > http://www.voicesofafrica.org/ > http://www.mbamberuralresources.org/ > > "You must be the change you wish to see" - Gandhi

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ACCOUNTS & FINANCE INTERNSHIP POSITION AT KENIC
by Brian Munyao Longwe 19 Aug '08

19 Aug '08

FYI Begin forwarded message: > From: mary mbengi <mary(a)kenic.or.ke> > Date: August 19, 2008 2:59:00 PM GMT+03:00 > To: kenic-announce(a)kenic.or.ke, kenic-board(a)kenic.or.ke, > uonics2000(a)yahoogroups.com, staff(a)kenic.or.ke > Subject: [Kenic-board] ACCOUNTS & FINANCE INTERNSHIP POSITION AT KENIC > >> ACCOUNTS & FINANCE INTERNSHIP POSITION AT KENIC >> >> KENIC invites applications from interested and qualified persons >> for the >> above vacancy. >> >> >> POSITION >> >> The KENIC Internship programme aims at giving the Intern's hands-on >> experience on certain aspects of the working environment. The >> programme >> also provides additional human resources to the existing KENIC >> workforce. The KENIC Internship programme will run on a 3-month >> rotational basis. >> QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS >> >> a) Be an undergraduate student pursuing a business related course >> preferably accounting, Finance or Commerce or just graduated from >> college. >> b) Professional qualification at least CPA Part 1 or equivalent >> c) Proficient in basic Computer packages and Financial applications. >> d) A person of high integrity and hard working >> e) Self driven and can work with minimum supervision >> >> If you know of anyone who fits the above, kindly let them forward >> their >> up-to-date resume to internship(a)kenic.or.ke on or before 29th August >> 2008. >> >> >> Kind Regards, >> >> >> Administrative Manager >> Kenya Network Information Centre >> >> >> >> > > -- > Mary Munene > Finance Manager > KENIC - The Kenya Network Information Center > http://www.kenic.or.ke > mary(a)kenic.or.ke > [T] +254 20 4450057/8 > [F] +254 20 4450087 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Kenic-board mailing list > Kenic-board(a)ole.kenic.or.ke > http://ole.kenic.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kenic-board >

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Re: [kictanet] Telecommuting Kenya Conference - Call for papers
by waudo siganga 19 Aug '08

19 Aug '08

Great initiative Robert. What are the dates? Waudo Telecommuting from Mukangu Village, Kakamega On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:10:37 +0000 (GMT), "robert yawe" <robertyawe@yahoo .co.uk> said: Hi All, We are in the process of organising a conference and exhibition to show case and discuss the readiness of Kenya to take advantage of telecommuting as a way to ease the traffic congestion issues while taking advantage of the technology. In addition we can reduce staff relocation costs (financial & emotional) as an organisation can get the best staff without having them relocate. There is no reason why your tax accountant cannot work from his farm in Timau or his beach plot on Rusinga. There is no reason why we should not be 1st african country to distribute its parliamentary sessions. We believe that the implementation of distributed workforces will actually result in an increase in savings and indirect wage increases. It was an interesting realisation that my domestic help who earns 3,500/- can save more than my secretary who has a net take home of 15,000/-. Secretary Domestic Tech. Net take home 15000 3500 Expenses Rent 5000 0 Transport 2200 0 Lunch 1100 Dinner/Breakfast 1500 0 Clothing 1000 500 Utilities 1000 0 Makeup/hair 1000 500 12800 1000 Balance 2200 2500 What I realise is that 80% of what my secretary does does not actually require a face to face such as making phone calls, replying to e-mails & editing reports. If she did not need to come to the office and carried out this activities from her house she would principally have a reduction in expenses of between 3,000/- - 5,000/-. Back to our function, to get telecommuting going we need to see where we are and where we are going thus the objective of the conference. So with reference to this we are inviting papers on the follwing issues; 1. Infrastructure readiness (what is available) 2. Legal interpretation (e.g. who is a permanent employee) 3. Managing telecommuters 4. Human Resource issues 5. Tax and accounting (Is rent contribution to telecommuters home allowable for tax as an expense?) 6. Data security and integrity 7. Any other relevant issues Send a short brief on your paper to "telecommuting.Conference(a)tradezone.co.ke" To make the conference practical we propose to run it from 3 locations simultaneously as a way to test the available infrastructure. Regards Robert Yawe Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com People make a plan work, a plan alone seldom makes people work (Confucius).

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Telecommuting Kenya Conference - Call for papers
by robert yawe 19 Aug '08

19 Aug '08

Hi All, We are in the process of organising a conference and exhibition to show case and discuss the readiness of Kenya to take advantage of telecommuting as a way to ease the traffic congestion issues while taking advantage of the technology. In addition we can reduce staff relocation costs (financial & emotional) as an organisation can get the best staff without having them relocate. There is no reason why your tax accountant cannot work from his farm in Timau or his beach plot on Rusinga. There is no reason why we should not be 1st african country to distribute its parliamentary sessions. We believe that the implementation of distributed workforces will actually result in an increase in savings and indirect wage increases. It was an interesting realisation that my domestic help who earns 3,500/- can save more than my secretary who has a net take home of 15,000/-. Secretary Domestic Tech. Net take home 15000 3500 Expenses Rent 5000 0 Transport 2200 0 Lunch 1100 Dinner/Breakfast 1500 0 Clothing 1000 500 Utilities 1000 0 Makeup/hair 1000 500 12800 1000 Balance 2200 2500 What I realise is that 80% of what my secretary does does not actually require a face to face such as making phone calls, replying to e-mails & editing reports. If she did not need to come to the office and carried out this activities from her house she would principally have a reduction in expenses of between 3,000/- - 5,000/-. Back to our function, to get telecommuting going we need to see where we are and where we are going thus the objective of the conference. So with reference to this we are inviting papers on the follwing issues; 1. Infrastructure readiness (what is available) 2. Legal interpretation (e.g. who is a permanent employee) 3. Managing telecommuters 4. Human Resource issues 5. Tax and accounting (Is rent contribution to telecommuters home allowable for tax as an expense?) 6. Data security and integrity 7. Any other relevant issues Send a short brief on your paper to "telecommuting.Conference(a)tradezone.co.ke" To make the conference practical we propose to run it from 3 locations simultaneously as a way to test the available infrastructure. Regards Robert Yawe Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Introducing the next facilitator :- Mwende Njiraini
by John Walubengo 18 Aug '08

18 Aug '08

I am pleased to introduce, Mwende Njiraini, an Electrical and Communications Engineer who happened to be my Supervisor when I undertook the 4months training on Internet Governance. You can check the rest of that story at http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig/IGCBP/display.asp?Topic=Team She has a wealth of information in Internet Governance issues but I have asked her to break it down in very small dozes to avoid over-saturation. She will facilitate the rest of the IG Discussion (Tue-Friday) where she will take us through the Economic and Socio-cultural Issues starting tomorrow. Over to you Mwende. walu. nb: I will now temporarily join the silent majority who are enjoying themselves lurking in the background ;-)

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Re: [kictanet] Introducing the next facilitator :- Mwende Njiraini
by Florence Etta 18 Aug '08

18 Aug '08

Well done Walu. You do a fine job! Welcome mwalimu Mwende! Cheers, FE ----- Original Message ---- From: John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> To: florence.etta(a)gmail.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, 18 August, 2008 15:56:58 Subject: [kictanet] Introducing the next facilitator :- Mwende Njiraini I am pleased to introduce, Mwende Njiraini, an Electrical and Communications Engineer who happened to be my Supervisor when I undertook the 4months training on Internet Governance. You can check the rest of that story at http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig/IGCBP/display.asp?Topic=Team She has a wealth of information in Internet Governance issues but I have asked her to break it down in very small dozes to avoid over-saturation. She will facilitate the rest of the IG Discussion (Tue-Friday) where she will take us through the Economic and Socio-cultural Issues starting tomorrow. Over to you Mwende. walu. nb: I will now temporarily join the silent majority who are enjoying themselves lurking in the background ;-) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: florence.etta(a)gmail.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/florence.etta%40gmail.… Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Fwd: Draft of Cyber security law
by Brian Munyao Longwe 18 Aug '08

18 Aug '08

Hi all, Here is the Botswana Cybercrime and Computer Related Crimes Act of 2007. This is a clear example of a concise set of legislation dealing with the very unique and specific nature of computer/network related crimes. Any comments from our learned friends?

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Day 5 of 10: IG Discussions, Legal Issues
by John Walubengo 18 Aug '08

18 Aug '08

Mornings, Today and next Monday, we intend to thrash out the legal dimensions of Internet Governance. The typical issues revolve around: -Jurisdiction & Arbitration (who resolves e-disputes) -Copyright & IPR (are they pro or anti-development?) -Privacy and Data Protection (how is the e-Citizens data abused/protected?) I do hope the 'learned' friends will chip in since I cannot pretend to be an expert here as I introduce the general legal principals. Basically, dispute resolutions can be done through, · Legislation; · Social norms (customs); · Self-regulation; · Regulation through code (software solution); · Jurisprudence (court decisions); · International law. There is however two broad conflicting schools of thought when it comes to resolving disputes occasioned by the Internet. One group claims that whatever happens online does have an equivalent ‘off-line’ characteristics and as such existing laws can easily be applied. E.g stealing money electronically is no different from stealing money physically and so Robbery charges and subsequent jurisdictional procedures could apply. However, the second group feels that electronic crimes have a totally different context and must have a separate and totally new set of legislation or methodologies for resolutions. The borderless nature of the Internet brings to fore the Challenges of Jurisdiction and Arbitration as in yesterday’s example, where content in one country may be illegal but is legal in another. Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights issues are also explosive as demonstrated by the Napster Case, where some young software engineers created software that facilitated sharing of (SONY) Music files across the Internet. Also related was the case of Amazon.com trying to Patent the ‘single-click’ method of buying goods online. Other cases touch on Data Privacy where Business Companies have been known to sell customer records to Marketing firms without express authority from the Customers. Other times customer data is simply hacked into and Businesses are unable to own up (going public) to the detriment of the Customer. Most of these issues are under discussion internationally at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) amongst other fora. They present emerging legal challenges and it would be interesting to know if stakeholders in the East African region are/should be involved in shaping the outcomes of any of these issues. 2days on this one, today and next Monday and feel free to belatedly respond to Day 1 through Day 5 issues. References: http://www.diplomacy.edu/ISL/IG/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster

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[Fwd: Re: Day 6 of 10: IG Discussions, Legal Issues]
by alice 18 Aug '08

18 Aug '08

And more on DNS security http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/experts-accuse.html Experts Accuse Bush Administration of Foot-Dragging on DNS Security Hole By Ryan Singel Email <mailto:[email protected]>August 13, 2008 | 3:44:24 PMCategories: Hacks and Cracks <http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/hacks_and_cracks/index.html>, Threats <http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/threats/index.html> Roots Despite a recent high-profile vulnerability that showed the net could be hacked in minutes, the domain name system -- a key internet infrastructure -- continues to suffer from a serious security weakness, thanks to bureaucratic inertia at the U.S. government agency in charge, security experts say. If the complicated politics of internet governance continue to get in the way of upgrading the security of the net's core technology, the internet could turn into a carnival house of mirrors, where no URL or e-mail address could be trusted to be genuine, according to Bill Woodcock, research director at the nonprofit Packet Clearing House <http://www.pch.net/home/index.php>. "The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency of the Department of Commerce, is the show-stopper here," Woodcock said. At issue is the trustworthiness of the domain name system, or DNS, which serves as the internet's phone book <http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/06/dayintech_0623>, translating queries such as wikipedia.org into the numeric IP address where the site's server lives. Just weeks ago, security researcher Dan Kaminsky announced he'd discovered a way for hackers to feed fake info into DNS listings, which would allow hackers to redirect web traffic at will -- for example, routing every person attempting to log in to the Bank of America to a fake site controlled by the attacker. Kaminsky quietly worked with large tech companies to build patches for the net's name servers to make the attack more difficult. But security experts, and even the NTIA, say those patches are just temporary fixes; the only known complete fix is DNSSEC <http://www.dnssec-deployment.org/> -- a set of security extensions <http://www.dnssec-tools.org/> for name servers. Those extensions cryptographically sign DNS records, ensuring their authenticity like a wax seal on an letter. The push for DNSSEC has been ramping up over the last few years, with four regions -- including Sweden (.SE) and Puerto Rico (.PR) -- already securing their own domains with DNSSEC. Four of the largest top-level domains -- .org, .gov, .uk and .mil, are not far behind. But because DNS servers work in a giant hierarchy, deploying DNSSEC successfully also requires having someone trustworthy sign the so-called "root file" with a public-private key. Otherwise, an attacker can undermine the entire system at the root level, like cutting down a tree at the trunk. That's where the politics comes in. The DNS root is controlled by the Commerce Department's NTIA, which thus far has refused to implement DNSSEC. The NTIA brokers the contracts that divide the governance and top-level operations of the internet between the nonprofit ICANN and the for-profit VeriSign, which also runs the .com domain. "They're the only department of the government that isn't on board with securing the Domain Name System, and unfortunately, they're also the ones who Commerce deputized to oversee ICANN," Woodcock said. "The biggest difference is that once the root is signed and the public key is out, it will be put in every operating system and will be on all CDs from Apple, Microsoft, SUSE, Freebsd, etc," says Russ Mundy, principal networking scientist at Sparta, Inc, which has been developing open-source DNSSEC tools for years with government funding, He says the top-level key is "the only one you have to have, to go down the tree." A European networking group known as RIPE called in June 2007 for the root to be signed, with Swedish and British representatives echoing the call in October. But NTIA is not moving quickly enough to sign the root, given the looming threat, even after the final technical problems have been resolved, according to Woodcock and others. "A few years ago, there were still technical hurdles to actually signing and using DNSSEC, but in the past few years, a lot of software tools, both commercial and open-source, have come out, and now it's a completely solved problem," Woodcock said. "All that's left is the far less tractable, purely political problem." "Arguing over who gets to hold the cryptographic keys in the long run [should] wait until we're not facing a critical threat," Woodcock said. But the NTIA insists it is moving at just the right pace. "We are committed to taking no action that would have the potential to adversely affect the operational stability of the DNS," says spokesman Bart Forbes. "While there is increasing pressure to secure the DNS, NTIA must work with all stakeholders and consider all possible solutions." Olaf Kolkman, a Dutch networking export, says there's no time to waste. The only way for DNSSEC to work is for the top-level zone file -- which lists the specifics for top-level domains like .gov -- to be signed by a trusted authority. "Currently DNSSEC is the only mechanism known to protect against the Kaminsky attack," Kolkman said. "It is not clear that other solutions will provide the same level of protection as DNSSEC." Without such extensions, a hacker eager for trade secrets could hijack the DNS listing for Apple's e-mail server and insert the number for a server he controls instead. He could then keep a copy of every message sent to the company and forward them all. No one would likely to be any wiser until a human looked closely at the mail headers. Still, even DNSSEC's most fervent backers admit that signing the root won't instantly secure the net. Installing the extensions internet-wide will be costly and time-intensive, but proponents say that getting the root signed will turbocharge the process. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority -- which coordinates the internet -- has been prototyping a system to sign the root-zone file for the last year, but they can't do the same for the internet's top servers without approval from the Department of Commerce. That's where the rub is, according to Kolkman. "Then the issue becomes political because there seems to be the perception that the introduction of a key guardian changes the current policies," Kolkman said That could also simplify how top-level zone files are created, according to Richard Lamb, a technical expert at IANA. Currently companies that manage top-level domains like .com submit changes to ICANN, which then sends them to NTIA for approval, before they're forwarded to VeriSign. VeriSign actually edits the root file and publishes it to the 13 root servers around the world. "We would want to bring the editing, creation and signing of the root zone file here," to IANA, Lamb said, noting that VeriSign would likely still control distribution of the file to the root servers, and there would be a public consultation process that the change was right for the net. But changing that system could be perceived as reducing U.S. control over the net -- a touchy geopolitical issue. ICANN is often considered by Washington politicians to be akin to the United Nations, and its push to control the root-zone file could push the U.S. to give more control to VeriSign, experts say. VeriSign did not respond to a request for comment, but its CTO said earlier this year that it was creating its own root-zone file-signing test bed. The root-zone file, which contains entries for the 300 or so top-level domains such as .gov and .com, changes almost every day, but the number of changes to the file will likely increase radically in the near future, since ICANN decided in June to allow an explosion of new top-level domain names. Woodcock isn't buying the assurances of NTIA that it is simply moving deliberatively. "If the root isn't signed, then no amount of work that responsible individuals and companies do to protect their domains will be effective," Woodcock said. "You have to follow the chain of signatures down from the root to the top-level domain to the user's domain. If all three pieces aren't there, the user isn't protected." Brian Munyao Longwe wrote: > So does Cyber War bring out any legal issues? This is a slightly > chilling summary of the current crisis in Georgia and the central role > that the internet had before the hostilities escalated. > > *Longtime Battle Lines Are Recast In Russia and Georgia's Cyberwar* > > By Kim Hart > Washington Post Staff Writer > Thursday, August 14, 2008; D01 > > As the violence unfolded between Russia and Georgia during the past > week, hackers waged war on another front: the Internet. > > The Georgian government accused Russia of engaging in cyberwarfare by > disabling many government Web sites, making it difficult to inform > citizens quickly of important updates. Russia said that it was not > involved and that its own media and official Web sites had suffered > similar attacks. Although a cease-fire has been ordered, major > Georgian servers are still down, hindering communication in the country. > > Some Georgian officials, bloggers and citizens were able to work > around the disruptions, sending text messages to friends in other > countries using Web sites hosted by servers in the United States, > Poland and Estonia that are less likely to fall victim to a cyberattack. > > Concerted online attacks have been a threat for years. But security > experts say the "cyberwar" between Russia and Georgia underscores the > havoc that can spread on a digital battlefield. It also highlights how > vulnerable Web-reliant countries are to assaults that could cripple > military communications or a national banking industry. > > The attacks against Georgia's Internet infrastructure began nearly two > months before the first shots were fired, according to security > researchers who track Internet traffic into and out of the countries. > Such attacks, known as "denial of service" attacks, are triggered when > computers in a network are simultaneously ordered to bombard a site > with millions of requests, which overloads a server and causes it to > shut down. > > "In terms of the scope and international dimension of this attack, > it's a landmark," said Ronald J. Deibert, director of the University > of Toronto's Citizen Lab, which has nearly 100 researchers mapping Web > traffic through several countries, including Russia and Georgia. He > said small-scale attacks have occurred between the countries since > June. "International laws are very poorly developed, so it really > crosses a line into murky territory . . . Is an information blockade > an act of war?" > > Cyberattacks can be launched cheaply and easily, with a few hundred > computers and a couple of skilled hackers. Simpler tactics are even > easier to mount by hacking into a server and deleting files, > reconfiguring settings and altering photos. Compared with expensive > military attacks, cyberwar tactics "seems like the kind of thing that > a sophisticated military would want to experiment with," said Ben > Edelman, assistant professor at Harvard Business School who has > studied cyberattacks. > > "Imagine how devastating it would be to a military commander to lose > access to a server that tells him where his troops are stationed and > where he has resources," he said, adding that "this is the first time > we've had such strong evidence of cyberwarfare." > > Instructions on how to mount such attacks are readily available on > blogs, making it easy for a grass-roots effort to quickly escalate > into a crippling assault, said Evgeny Morozov, a technology consultant > based in Berlin who has tracked blogs in Georgia and Russia. > > Figuring out who is behind the attacks has been difficult, Deibert > said, because of complex routing methods and a multitude of connection > exchanges. The Internet's infrastructure is a maze of lines laid by > different service providers traversing many countries, masking how > information is traveling -- or blocked. > > "It's an ongoing battle in documenting where it's coming from and > helping people get around it," he said. > > In Georgia, which is not as dependent on the Internet as other > nations, the cyberattack mainly hindered the government's ability to > communicate with its citizens and others during the fighting. The > Georgian Foreign Ministry's Web site, for example, was disabled except > for a collage that compared Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to > Adolf Hitler. > > "Battles today are as much about ideas and images as they are > territories," Deibert said. "If you're a military and intelligence > agency, you're going to take down information that is in opposition > and control the message." > > To get around the blockade, Georgian officials relocated national Web > sites to addresses hosted by Google's Blogspot, whose U.S. servers are > more immune to attack. Citizens used blogging platforms such as > LiveJournal -- the dominant platform in Russia and Georgia -- to post > their own reactions during the fighting. > > For example, a Georgian refugee from Abkhazia who blogs under the name > Cyxymu on LiveJournal posted photos of Russian troops entering the > Georgian town of Gori. The blogger said the photos were taken after > Russia had announced its withdrawal, proving, he said, that fighting > continued. > > Morozov said only a few hundred Georgians used blogs to communicate > with people outside the country. Even that tool was threatened, he > said, when a group of Russian bloggers sent a letter asking Sup, the > Russian company that owns and manages LiveJournal, to censor posts > with pro-Georgian sentiment. Sup did not comply. > > Givi Bitsadze, in Tbilisi, used microblogging site Twitter to share > updates about the fighting in English and Russian. > > "Tbilisi is still safe, but other cities are under attack, bombs kinda > stopped, but Russian soldiers are breaking in a houses," one post read > yesterday. He also noted an Olympic victory: "Georgia beats Russia in > beach volleyball." > > The cyberwar will most likely serve as a Web security wake-up call, > Morozov said. > > "Georgia was completely unprepared to the fact that all this > information was on the Internet," he said. "I think it taught them -- > and a lot of people -- a lesson." > > > > > On Aug 18, 2008, at 9:00 AM, John Walubengo wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> Hpe u had a good weekend. Today is day 6 of 10, but the theme is >> still on legal issues. >> >> I still cant believe the learned friends have not spoken and left >> everything to Alex and Mike. If any of you runs into Evelyn R., >> Kihanya J., Omo J. or Clara R. just to mention a few, ask them if >> they can give us a shout without us having to 'open a file' >> >> We have only today for this since tomorrow we move into the Economic >> Issues to be facilitated by a renowned IG expert to be unveiled in >> due course. >> >> walu. >> >> --- On Sat, 8/16/08, Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >>> From: Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com <mailto:[email protected]>> >>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 5 of 10: IG Discussions, Legal Issues >>> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com <mailto:[email protected]> >>> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>> Date: Saturday, August 16, 2008, 11:17 AM >>> G8 links! >>> >>> The introduction to this topic was on the presumption that >>> consumers were the criminals proceeding to outline law >>> enforcement challenges. The most convenient and common form >>> of misrepresenting cyber crimes and law -- first take away >>> all their rights then they struggle to regain one after the >>> other... It is good that Mike presents both sides of the >>> story. >>> Telecommunication companies hold massive data on all >>> individuals and they ensure that their on their "Terms >>> of Use" and contracts users are "guilty until >>> proven innocent" and the companies are at liberty to do >>> whatever they please with our personal data. >>> >>> Consider below extract from a local telecommunication >>> company's Terms of Use: - >>> ------------ >>> 5. Use of your information >>> >>> (The Company) may hold and use information provided by you >>> for a number of purposes, which may include: >>> >>> (a) Carrying out any activity in connection with a legal, >>> governmental or regulatory requirement on (The Company) in >>> connection with legal proceedings or in respect of crime or >>> fraud prevention, detection or prosecution. >>> >>> (b) Monitoring or recording of your communications for (The >>> Company)’s business purposes such as marketing, quality >>> control and training, prevention of unauthorised use of >>> (The Company)’s telecommunications system and ensuring >>> effective systems operation in order to prevent or detect >>> crime. >>> >>> --------- >>> >>> "May include" does not mean "limited >>> to" - implying that they are allowed, for example, to >>> share, sell, etc private data to their partners... Exactly >>> what Mike points out to on the Business Week link. >>> >>> Framed in ways suggestive of company "law >>> enforcer" (illegal roles) onto "guilty" >>> users. Notice how "Intellectual Property" is >>> conveniently repeated. Or is it be assumed that consumers do >>> not have any "intellectual property" they would >>> wish protected? the companies should abide to also protect. >>> BTW, There is an IGF Dynamic Coalition movement calling for >>> a balance between Intellectual Property and development >>> which includes Access to Knwoledge >>> (A2K).<http://www.ipjustice.org>. Very resourceful! >>> >>> >>> Supposing earlier proposed M-Medicine went ahead in East >>> Africa? Sold ailments data to pharmaceutical companies, that >>> would hike medicines prices in outbreak zones at selected >>> locations... You go to a bank with a water-tight business >>> proposals and all bank turn you down. Reason? They have >>> shared your medical history and they think you will soon >>> "sleep in the shamba" your excellent business >>> proposals notwithstanding. >>> >>> In summary, unless Data Protection and Privacy Laws are >>> enacted, the default should be to deny all telecommunication >>> companies legal loophole to trade with personal information. >>> And it should be seen to be enforced. >>> >>> On a lighter note, should I sue a WiFi company for >>> trespassing when their signals enter my laptop, or should >>> they sue me for illegally access of their signal? Over to >>> Ben Shihanya. >>> >>> Thanks again Mike! >>> >>> >>> --- On Fri, 8/15/08, Mike Theuri >>> <mike.theuri(a)gmail.com <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> >>>> From: Mike Theuri <mike.theuri(a)gmail.com >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 5 of 10: IG Discussions, >>> Legal Issues >>>> To: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com <mailto:[email protected]> >>>> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" >>> <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>> Date: Friday, August 15, 2008, 2:11 PM >>>> Not a legal opinion: It would be very difficult to >>> apply >>>> existing common law >>>> (analogous to jurisprudence) to electronic crimes >>> committed >>>> in a new era, >>>> atleast within the local context. >>>> >>>> For these reasons it is necessary to define the crimes >>>> under distinct and >>>> separate legislation. Due to the borderless nature of >>> the >>>> Internet (see >>>> shared link), it is necessary for such legislation to >>> take >>>> a broad >>>> approach into account. >>>> >>>> For instance there ought to be provisions that allow >>> local >>>> authorities to >>>> seek the arrest and extradition of foreign based >>> suspects >>>> from other >>>> jurisdictions for electronic crimes committed against >>>> citizens or local >>>> infrastructure owned by individuals or entities even >>> though >>>> the suspects at >>>> the time of commission of the crime were present in >>> other >>>> jurisdictions. >>>> >>>> The same provision can allow private parties to pursue >>>> civil remedies in a >>>> similar matter and give them the basis where possible >>> to >>>> enforce the >>>> judgement in the defendant's jurisdiction. >>>> >>>> This for example would close the possible >>> jurisdictional >>>> loophole >>>> of individuals crossing borders so as to commit >>> electronic >>>> crimes from a >>>> country that lacks electronic crime laws. Current law >>> is >>>> ill equipped in >>>> ensuring civil remedies, prosecution or arrest of >>> local or >>>> international >>>> cyber criminals, 419ers, lurers of minors, harassers, >>>> electronically >>>> transmitted or created threats (threats to a person, >>>> threats to >>>> infrastructure by way of viruses, malaware, DoS etc) >>> etc >>>> neither is it >>>> likely to be in a position to ensure serious >>> consequences >>>> or deterents for >>>> the same or allow for the definition of crimes as >>>> distinguished here for an >>>> international gang of culprits: >>>> >>> http://www.secretservice.gov/press/GPA15-08_CyberIndictments_Final.pdf >>>> >>>> It was recently reported that a bill or regulations to >>>> protect the data of >>>> consumers would be brought about as a means of >>> regulating >>>> the CRBs. This >>>> could be model legislation/regulations to adopt to >>> ensure >>>> that the public >>>> has a say in the manner in which their private >>> information >>>> is used. >>>> >>>> At the same time consumers ought to be able to >>> instruct >>>> companies with whom >>>> they have business relationships with not to share >>> that >>>> same information >>>> with 3rd parties without their prior consent (ie >>>> opt-in/out). This is only >>>> effective if there are laws or regulations to provide >>> for >>>> consequences when >>>> businesses violate the same. >>>> >>>> As CRBs take root, there will be a likelihood that >>> similar >>>> bureaus or >>>> entities will eventually start sharing information in >>> real >>>> time, for example >>>> an underwriter of an insurance policy might want to >>> check >>>> an individual's >>>> claim history across the industry to determine the >>> level of >>>> risk the insured >>>> poses in determining policy premiums. Similarly an >>>> organization may want to >>>> conduct background checks for prospective employees in >>>> privately maintained >>>> electronic databases. >>>> >>>> It is important that instead of regulations or laws >>> being >>>> formed for sectors >>>> of the economy, that national data privacy laws and >>>> regulations be defined >>>> (or ammended) and on that basis refinement of specific >>>> regulations/laws >>>> could be made for sectors that require specific data >>>> requirements. Such >>>> regulatory foresight can reduce or avert the occurence >>> of >>>> issues such as >>>> those seen here: >>>> >>> http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_31/b4094000643943.htm?campa… >>>> >>>> >>>> On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 12:21 AM, John Walubengo >>>> <jwalu(a)yahoo.com <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Mornings, >>>>> >>>>> Today and next Monday, we intend to thrash out >>> the >>>> legal dimensions of >>>>> Internet Governance. The typical issues revolve >>>> around: >>>>> -Jurisdiction & Arbitration (who resolves >>>> e-disputes) >>>>> -Copyright & IPR (are they pro or >>>> anti-development?) >>>>> -Privacy and Data Protection (how is the >>> e-Citizens >>>> data abused/protected?) >>>>> >>>>> I do hope the 'learned' friends will chip >>> in >>>> since I cannot pretend to be >>>>> an expert here as I introduce the general legal >>>> principals. Basically, >>>>> dispute resolutions can be done through, >>>>> · Legislation; >>>>> · Social norms (customs); >>>>> · Self-regulation; >>>>> · Regulation through code (software >>> solution); >>>>> · Jurisprudence (court decisions); >>>>> · International law. >>>>> >>>>> There is however two broad conflicting schools of >>>> thought when it comes to >>>>> resolving disputes occasioned by the Internet. >>> One >>>> group claims that >>>>> whatever happens online does have an equivalent >>>> 'off-line' characteristics >>>>> and as such existing laws can easily be applied. >>> E.g >>>> stealing money >>>>> electronically is no different from stealing >>> money >>>> physically and so Robbery >>>>> charges and subsequent jurisdictional procedures >>> could >>>> apply. However, the >>>>> second group feels that electronic crimes have a >>>> totally different context >>>>> and must have a separate and totally new set of >>>> legislation or methodologies >>>>> for resolutions. >>>>> >>>>> The borderless nature of the Internet brings to >>> fore >>>> the Challenges of >>>>> Jurisdiction and Arbitration as in >>> yesterday's >>>> example, where content in one >>>>> country may be illegal but is legal in another. >>>> Copyright and Intellectual >>>>> Property Rights issues are also explosive as >>>> demonstrated by the Napster >>>>> Case, where some young software engineers created >>>> software that facilitated >>>>> sharing of (SONY) Music files across the >>> Internet. >>>> Also related was the case >>>>> of Amazon.com trying to Patent the >>>> 'single-click' method of buying goods >>>>> online. >>>>> >>>>> Other cases touch on Data Privacy where Business >>>> Companies have been known >>>>> to sell customer records to Marketing firms >>> without >>>> express authority from >>>>> the Customers. Other times customer data is >>> simply >>>> hacked into and >>>>> Businesses are unable to own up (going public) to >>> the >>>> detriment of the >>>>> Customer. >>>>> >>>>> Most of these issues are under discussion >>>> internationally at the Internet >>>>> Governance Forum (IGF), World Intellectual >>> Property >>>> Organization (WIPO) >>>>> amongst other fora. They present emerging legal >>>> challenges and it would be >>>>> interesting to know if stakeholders in the East >>>> African region are/should be >>>>> involved in shaping the outcomes of any of these >>>> issues. >>>>> >>>>> 2days on this one, today and next Monday and feel >>> free >>>> to belatedly respond >>>>> to Day 1 through Day 5 issues. >>>>> >>>>> References: >>>>> http://www.diplomacy.edu/ISL/IG/ >>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>> >>>>> This message was sent to: mike.theuri(a)gmail.com >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>> >>>> >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mike.theuri%40gmail.com >>>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:[email protected]> >>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> >>>> This message was sent to: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com >>>> <mailto:[email protected]> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:[email protected]> >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >>> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com <mailto:[email protected]> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:[email protected]> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: brian(a)caret.net <mailto:[email protected]> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/brian%40caret.net > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: alice(a)apc.org > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alice%40apc.org >

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