Category Archives: general

10 Tips for Data Privacy Day

10Tipsfordataprivacyday

Source: The Internet Society.

January 28 – Data privacy day

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Online harassment and cyber bullying are real. And, some groups, such as women, are targeted more than others. Sadly, who you are affects how you are treated by others online, as well as offline.

A powerful way to counter online abuse, threats and violence is to share our knowledge with each other. So, to mark this year’s International Data Privacy Day, the Internet Society would like to share with you 10 tips to protect yourself and others online:

Know the terrain. The Internet is a powerful tool for communication. Learn how to use the Internet, keep your eyes open for good and bad actors, and make the most of what the Internet offers.

Keep your private life private. Keep your personal information separate from your professional role. Use different personas for different roles.

Protect communications. Use end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication for confidential communications.

Obscure your location. Remove location data from images and videos before posting. Turn off application access to location. Don’t disclose your location in public posts.

Guard your devices. They’re more precious than any jewels. Protect them from both physical and digital tampering. Use encryption and strong access credentials.

Prepare for an attack. Find allies and prepare a plan for dealing with online harassment, doxing and other forms of abuse. Don’t feed the trolls! They don’t deserve your attention.

Stand firm. Don’t let cyber bullies undermine what you are doing. Show them you are not afraid. Others will stand with you. Be willing to ask for help.

Beware of Trojan horses. Look out for spear-phishers. Check before connecting with someone new. If something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t!

Lead. Share your experience with others. Let people know that you are there to help.

Protect others. If you host user-generated content, prevent users from posting derogatory or other abusive messages. Help remove personal information that has been exposed to hurt someone. Report offenders

Share these tips with someone close to you!

And don’t sit by when you see abuse on social media. Offer a helping hand.

Finally Independent: Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), ICANN and DNS

Over the weekend, despite the misconceptions of some politicians and their followers, the US government let the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) contract lapse, and non-profit organization ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will now ensure independence in the operation of maintaining DNS core files, ensuring internet device addresses work globally and cataloging details of protocols that define how internet communications take place.

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What the IANA and ICANN transition means (and doesn’t mean)

 

ICANN has explained that this transition will ensure the internet of tomorrow remains as free, open and accessible as the internet of today.  Although some US politicians (Senator Ted Cruz) mistakenly believe that autocratic governments from China, Russia and the Middle East could somehow take control over the Internet and censor content, ICANN has explained that this will not happen because “ICANN is a technical organization and does not have the remit or ability to regulate content on the internet”.  ICANN policy is decided by ‘multi-stakeholderism’ where all interested parties, from governments to engineers to corporations to domain name owners, can have a say.

“The IANA ( Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) transition marks an important milestone in Internet Governance, and as Internet usage is expected to touch 4 billion by the end of 2016, creates the foundation for ‘multi-stakeholderism’ in keeping with the Internet Society’s mission of Internet for everyone” – Indranil Mukherjee, Vice-President, Internet Society Singapore Chapter

One fact remains the same: “There is nothing about ICANN or its contract with the US government that prevents a country from censoring or blocking content within its own borders” However, the structure of the internet means that (for example) China cannot block the content within the USA’s borders.

Singapore’s role in the IANA transition

The Internet Society Singapore Chapter was part of this transition, as coordinator of the secretariat.

“It’s not a well-known story but Singapore has played a supporting role in the IANA. The last Forum on the White Paper (FWP), the final meeting of the Internet community in its attempt at Internet governance was held here; and so was the first ICANN meeting. ISOC.SG’s role as Secretariat in the Transition deliberations completes the process. It’s wonderful to know that we have contributed a universal good.” – Prof Ang Peng Hwa, Past President, Internet Society Singapore Chapter

“This marks an important step into a greater level of participation in the Internet and with greater power, comes greater responsibility. The ISOC Singapore chapter is proud to have played a role on coordinating the secretariat for this process.” – Bryan Tan, President, Internet Society Singapore Chapter

The Future of Internet Governance

The global headquarters of the Internet Society has congratulated global the Internet community on successful IANA stewardship transition. In particular, the Internet Society endorses that the “best approach to address challenges is through bottom-up, transparent, and consensus-driven processes”.

“It is very satisfying to be able to see the successful conclusion of the transition of IANA stewardship. IANA has a long and wonderful heritage and the critical functioning of the role is important for the Internet to continue to bring the value to all of us.”, Harish Pillay, Board of Trustees, Internet Society.

While it is disconcerting that some politicians today might base their actions on a fundamental misunderstanding of the issues involved in Internet Governance, we hope that more members of the public in every country, their elected officials, and policy makers, will take some time to learn what is actually happening in the IANA transition and ICANN. We recommend you read these reputable news sources

 

 

AGC and IPOS move to ensure copyright holders do not abuse process

INTERVENING

The story so far: Last year, lawyers had issued letters threatening criminal proceedings, fines, and prison, against Internet users who they accused of pirating the film Dallas Buyers Club. We (Internet Society Singapore Chapter) formally complained to the Law Society of Singapore that these threats are not allowed under the Law Society’s Practice Directions here. These Internet users are innocent until proven guilty and should be allowed to use the Internet without fear –  details  at this page

The Law Society reviewed the claim and directed that the lawyers “should be given a warning, reprimand or order to pay a penalty of not more than S$10,000” – details at this page

This year, lawyers representing the same rights owners started legal proceedings in respect of two more films, Queen Of The Desert and Fathers And Daughters, and applied to Court to make ISP’s disclose identities linked to Internet protocol (IP) addresses. This is despite recent cases that have ruled that IP addresses do not sufficiently identify which individuals committed copyright infringement, but may belong to innocent home or business owners. Therefore we wrote an op-ed in The Straits Times on August 20, 2016, with the headline ‘Don’t punish innocent Internet users

Now, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) are applying to the courts to intervene in these proceedings to ensure a fair process, which may include reviewing the letters of demand to prevent abusive practices

“Abusive practices include “speculative invoicing”, also known as “copyright trolling”, where a party pursues quick settlements from alleged copyright infringers, by launching legal action against them and taking advantage of their reluctance to pursue their rights fully before the courts, said IPOS.”

You can read the full details published in TODAY news, Authorities move to ensure illegal downloaders get fair processalthough we respectfully suggest that the headline could be ‘Authorities move to ensure copyright owners do not abuse innocent Internet users’

The Internet Society (Singapore) has played a modest role in this, as noted in the article

“[Last year] the Internet Society (Singapore) filed a complaint with the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc), alleging that [the lawyers] had issued letters threatening criminal proceedings against the alleged downloaders, to advance the civil claims. This goes against the LawSoc’s Practice Directions and Rulings Guide … In May, LawSoc said it was taking action against two lawyers over their conduct in dealing with illegal downloaders of Dallas Buyers Club … Intellectual property lawyers who spoke to TODAY welcomed it as a move to ensure a fair process.”

We will continue to watch this case closely and we welcome your feedback as Internet users.

Notes from our Net Neutrality Seminar and Discussion 2016

ISOC SG Net Neutrality Seminar and Discussion - 27 July 2016

ISOC SG Net Neutrality Seminar and Discussion – 27 July 2016

This research into Net Neutrality in Singapore was sparked by an online advertisement: SingTel music plan allows you to pick from Amped, Spotify or KKBox or radio without further data charges. This is a zero-rated plan – plan that exempts data from counting against a user’s data cap, or from accruing any excess charges.
If you believe in Net neutrality – then ISPs should treat all data equally. ZR provides unfair advantages to certain content providers, certain ISPs, creates walled garden

History

2010 IDA consultation on N/N
2011 IDA issued N/N Paper
– fast lanes are permitted, no banning of throttling
– access to legitimate websites should not become unusable
2014 MWC
– Singtel called regulators to give ISP permission to charge Whatsapp
Parliament: Gerald Giam raised the question
MCI replied: ISPs are concerned with competition

Case studies

India – Facebook introduced Free Basics app and internet.org to provide free access to FB and 36 other sides in the app, optimized for feature phones, if they subscribe to certain operators
This raised concerns: users have limited view of internet chosen by FB
FB counter argument – target market was people in poverty who have no access anyway and did not know the benefits of the internet; it would be better to give them some form of access first, and full access was unsustainable for a private company
But Free Basics is now banned in India because India’s IT sector opposed

USA – T-Mobile binge-on plan provided ZR video content from a limited no of content providers
Resolution limited to 480p, unlimited streaming
common concerns: T-mobile might shape the environment
Unusual that it was praised for creating technical standards and in theory any content provider could stream on the Binge On Plan

Regional (S-E Asia)
ZR is a concern today – see the SingTel Amped ZR plan
FB is active in PH, TH, IN and Myanmar
MY provides access to FB, Whatsapp, Waze all under ZR plans

Net Neutrality in Singapore

Based on interviews by the researchers, who is closest to the purist (EFF) definition of Net Neutrality?
1. Civil Society (ISOC)
2. Industry players
3. IDA

Discussion in SG tends towards the fact that we have very good broadband infrastructure
IDA notes that there are 5 prominent ISPs – consumers can choose between them
Even industry players say SG has abundant bandwidth, no need to prioritize
ISOC view: many have accessibility to high-speed Internet so users can still get to the content; all were aware of negative concept of ZR but felt it was not an issue in SG

ISOC view: there should not be traffic prioritisation; there should not be ZR; but in Singapore it may not be an issue because of high bandwidth
IDA goals
– to ensure competition
– to ensure high speed, low latency
IDA considers ZR to be only a theoretical problem but not a real problem in SG, they are monitoring and will step in if there are complaints

Industry players argue that ISPs should be transparent.
ZR is a competition issue
ZR has different meanings in developed and non-developed countries

 

Conclusion

ZR has not been discussed much in Singapore
No -ve feedback from consumers
No noise from industry players
Is it really a problem for SG?

Q. Should the NN debate be driven by the outcome or the principle?

A. IDA says this is a theoretical problem, no one has complained yet!

Q. Why are we nonchalant about NN in SG?

A. IDA is aware, monitoring, they have broad powers, consumers not complaining

Q. What if ISPs start to slowly degrade and consumers are not aware?

A. We need to study this as there is no data available now

Q. Is it possible that there are startups who cannot get started because of throttling? Given that ISPs are also moving into content plays, will that mean that independent content startups are at disadvantage?

A. There are no complaints so far from start ups

 

Q. Can we practically measure throttling?no answer

A. No answer. If you can’t quantify a problem then we will struggle to convince the regulator

 

From the floor: Telefonika (Spain) 2014 wanted to charge $1 for Google because they lost SMS business
So now phone calls and text are free, but data packages cost more

Q: Does that amount to net economic benefit? Then there is no competition law issue.

A. We should have a project to measure ISP speed for different sites and apps

We should encourage ISPs to be like T-mobile and make it available to all content providers

Meeting concluded at 8:30 pm

Background of the Seminar / Discussion

[Posted previously]

Net Neutrality is a controversial issue in other countries, with Internet users (like you and me), Internet Service Providers, and governments, often disagreeing on whether they should treat all data on the Internet neutrally, or if they should charge different rates for different uses and users.

What does Net Neutrality mean in the Singapore context?
Would it benefit or hinder Internet use in Singapore?
Should some online services or users have priority or preferential (or heavier) pricing?
Is it time to review the official policies on Net Neutrality that were issued in 2011, before the exponential growth of streaming services like Netflix and Spotify?

Learn more about these issues and join the discussion at our event

NET NEUTRALITY – WILL IT WORK FOR SINGAPORE?

27 July 2016, 7 pm, at APAC Meeting Room, Red Hat Asia Pacific, 8 Shenton Way #10-00, AXA Tower, Singapore 068811

Agenda:

7.00 pm Registration and coffee

7.15 pm Briefing by TNG YING HUI and TAN MIN-WEI (Institute of Policy Studies)

7.45 pm Discussion and Q&A with GREG MITTMAN, CTO of MyRepublic, moderated by BRYAN TAN (Pinsent Masons MPillay)

9.00 pm End

Admission

Admission is free for members of the Internet Society

You can join the Internet Society when you register at the door

Register here

Send us an email at [email protected] to register for this event and to reserve your seat.

Speakers

Moderator BRYAN TAN is a partner at the law firm Pinsent Masons MPillay. Qualified in both England & Wales and Singapore, Bryan Tan practices in such areas as finance, information technology, telecommunications, biotechnology and bioinformatics, Chinese intellectual property, entertainment law, and corporate and commercial work. He advises corporates, banks, institutions as well as governments and has advised on acquisitions of software systems for hospitals, factories, banks, vessels and defence systems. Bryan has advised multinational technology companies and has also advised numerous start-ups in Southeast Asia and venture capitalists on funding, mergers & acquisitions and exits. His team closed 15 VC-related deals last year. Bryan was also legal advisor to the ASEAN Single Window project, a key initiative for ASEAN 2015. Bryan has also written eight text books on e-commerce, electronic evidence, data protection and higher education.
GREG MITTMAN has over 15 years experience in telecom and technology. He has valuable cross functional experience holding senior positions in business development, regional marketing, strategy, alliances, managed services and complex sales. He is presently Vice President and CTO of MYREPUBLIC, a Singapore-grown startup, which is the world’s first telecom company purpose-built for optical fibre NBNs (National Broadband Networks). MyRepublic now provides fast internet service to over 50,000 homes and businesses in Singapore.

TNG YING HUI is a Research Assistant in the Arts, Culture and Media cluster at the Institute of Policy Studies. Her research areas include Internet regulation and the impact of new media on politics. She has a master’s degree in International Studies from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Before graduate school, she worked at CNBC. Her by-lines have appeared in the Asian Correspondent and Al Jazeera.

TAN MIN-WEI is a Research Assistant in the Politics and Governance Cluster at the Institute of Policy Studies, a think-tank dedicated to fostering good governance in Singapore through strategic policy research and discussion. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Politics from the University of Nottingham, and his research areas include Internet policy and regulation.

net-neutrality

Speaking at IPv6 Share & Learn 2016 at CommunicAsia2016 on #Cybersecurity #IOT #SmartNation

Benjamin Ang, our Education Chair, is speaking at #IPv6 Share & Learn 2016 at #CommunicAsia2016, Marina Bay Sands, Wed 1/6 and Thu 2/6, on #Cybersecurity #IOT #Liability #SmartNation

Venue : Marina Bay Sands
Presentation 1: Cybersecurity and Legal Lessons after Apple v FBI
Date: 1 June 2016, Wed (Day 2)
Speaking Slot: 11.30am – 12.20pm

Presentation 2: IP the in Internet of Things: Smart Nation, Smart Hacks and Legal Liability Cybersecurity breaches
Date: 2 June 2016, Thur (Day 3)
Speaking Slot: 12.30pm – 12.50pm

Slides are available below

CommunicAsia2016


 

 

 

 

ISOC.SG attends IoT Asia 2016

Our External Liaison Officer / Immediate Past President Harish Pillay represented ISOC.SG at IoT Asia 2016

This year’s IoTAsia was all about closing the gap between the vision and the implementation. This IoTAsia Associations Round Table brought together 18 organizations from Singapore, EU, Japan and Taiwan to exchange ideas on how to promote innovation and collaboration across the various associations and societies to spur the adoption of IoT solutions. Discussions narrowed around standards (eg, the Singapore Standard SS584 Multi Tier Cloud Security (http://www.dnvba.com/sg/certification/management-systems/mtcs-ss584/Pages/default.aspx) and the other standards around IoT that has been developed by the Singapore IT Standards Committee (www.itsc.org.sg). These standards if widely adopted across countries will help increase industry and product innovation.

About the event

Since 2014, IoT Asia has been a key industry platform for governments, industry and technology leaders to foster closer partnerships and in turn create opportunities for the public and private sectors to embrace the Internet of Things. There were focused conference tracks on Smart Cities, IoT Data Analytics, Design Applications, Wearables and Industrial IoT. The event was organised by SIAA and SingEx Exhibitions.

Vote Harish Pillay for Internet Society Board of Trustees

We’re very proud that our immediate past president (2013-2015) Harish Pillay has been nominated for the Internet Society Board of Trustees, and we encourage you to vote for him when voting starts on 21 March 2016.

Click here for the voting process

Mr Belmont Lay, Mr Harish Pillay, Mr Nicholas Aaron Khoo

Harish Pillay (centre) in action at our workshop on ‘Are You Charlie’

Harish is now in charge of External Engagements for our Chapter. He has an illustrious history of commitment to technology in Singapore

  • Fellow of the Singapore Computer Society since 2005
  • Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers by the College of Engineering, Oregon State University
  • Red Hat Asia Pacific in Singapore since 2003


“He has been a long time proponent of the use and expansion of the Internet and the technology behind it. His initial experience with the Internet, then known as ARPAnet, was when he was in graduate school in 1985 in Oregon State University. His MSEE thesis centered around the creation of a TCP/IP stack for the then MS OS/2 operating system (tinyurl.com/HarishPillayThesis). He was one of the main organizers of the inaugural APRICOT conference in 1996 held in Singapore.”

We fully support Harish and hope you will too.

safety

ISOC.SG presents Safe Internet Workshops for Schools

As part of our educational outreach in Singapore, our members have been giving talks at schools and businesses on topics related to Safe Internet Use.

safety

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0

We are now happy to offer these workshops to interested schools and businesses on these topics

  • Staying Safe Online
  • Cyber-Bullying and Cyber-Harassment
  • Plagiarism and Copyright

Our speakers

Sanjeev Gupta

Mr Sanjeev Gupta
Vice Chairman of IPv6 Forum (Singapore Chapter)
Communications Officer, Internet Society (Singapore)

Benjamin Ang

Mr Benjamin Ang
Education Chair, Internet Society (Singapore)

For more information and to arrange for a discussion, please email [email protected]

IoT Asia 2016

IoT Asia 2016 - 800x600 pixels (rotating GIF)

30-31 March 2016, Singapore EXPO

www.internetofthingsasia.com  #iotasia

Closing the Gap: From Vision to Reality

The Internet of Things is opening up a world of opportunities for everyone from connected cars to connected healthcare to smart cities and home automation. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2020, about 50 billion things will be connected. In short, the Internet of Things adds an entirely new dimension to transform governments, businesses and societies and advancing humanity in ways we cannot yet imagine.

Since 2014, IoT Asia has been a key industry platform for governments, industry and technology leaders to foster closer partnerships and in turn create opportunities for the public and private sectors to embrace the Internet of Things. This tradeshow will highlight key areas critical to the development and the future of Internet of Things in Asia.

Smart Cities * IoT Data Analytics* Design Applications * Wearables * Enablers *

What to expect at IoT Asia 2016?

 2,500 attendees

 80 sponsors and exhibitors

 More international Country Pavilions

 Thematic Zones for a richer attendee experience

 Live product demos

 New product launches

 Focused conference tracks on Smart Cities, IoT Data Analytics, Design Applications, Wearables and Industrial IoT

Organised by SIAA and SingEx Exhibitions, the 3rd edition of IoT Asia is an event developed by the industry, for the industry.

Online visitor pre-registration and conference registration open in late 2015. For more information, visit www.internetofthingsasia.com

Election Blogging and Social Media Workshop (Sat 29 Aug 2015)

 

electionbloggingThe General Election is coming to Singapore soon, and you have something to say about it!

Polling Day is (apparently) just around the corner, and you must have views about the candidates, the parties, how we can all build a better Singapore, and you have the ultimate tool to share those views: The Internet.

But what can you write / post / tweet / say / share about these issues during an election season, while staying on the “write” side of the law?

Where are the formal / informal / unspoken / official OB markers in the blogosphere?

Come to our Election Blogging and Social Media Workshop and find out from a cutting edge panel of experts listed below

Election Blogging and Social Media Workshop – How to Keep on the “Write” Side of the Law

Date: 29 Aug 2015 Saturday

Time: 9am-1pm

Venue: Drama Centre (National Library Victoria Street level 5)

This workshop is relevant to you if you are likely to do any of the following during election season:

  • Blog / Vlog
  • Post on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube any social media
  • Share / comment on posts

Register here at http://1drv.ms/1JkjNBW

Co-Moderators

Dr Ang Peng Hwa, Chairman, Internet Society [profile]

Mr Benjamin Ang, Education Chair, Internet Society Singapore [profile]

Speakers

On the Singapore Constitution

Mr Jack Lee, Asst Professor of Law, Singapore Management University [profile]

From a Journalism Perspective

Mr P.N. Balji, Senior Consultant for RHT Comms & Relations [profile]