February 2013

One of the Internet’s founding fathers is set to revive a heated cybersecurity debate over whether to preserve anonymity and the use of pseudonyms in online chat forums and social networks like Twitter.

Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist, is expected to make the case for keeping people’s identity anonymous — particularly on certain Web services — when he delivers the keynote address at the RSA cybersecurity conference. The theme of his address to the RSA cybersecurity conference was outlined in an abstract description released by conference organizers, and it stands out among the other technical-focused speeches planned for the event. Cerf’s keynote illustrates the growing importance of the debate over striking the right balance between the limits countries want to place on cyber aggressors and protecting people’s free speech and privacy rights online. Tension over the issue has been building for years between free speech advocates and those who say tougher steps are needed to boost cybersecurity on the Internet.

According to a new International Telecommunications Union report, communications technology demand and uptake are growing globally, driven in part by a steady decline in price.

The report predicts there will soon be as many mobile cellular subscriptions as people on the planet. It predicts that number of those subscriptions will surpass seven billion by early 2014. Asia now claims more than half of all those subscriptions. By the end of 2013, ITU predicts, overall global penetration will have topped 96%. The report looks at regions, though there are some individual country stats as well. The U.S. fixed wireless and wired broadband service is tops in the Americas in high-speed broadband subscriptions (which ITU defines as at least 10 Mbps downstream) at about 58%, but that puts it in 14th place globally, according to ITU.

The price of mobile devices and services will need to come down to connect the next billion people.

That's according to the CEOs of four major companies in the wireless arena: Nokia, Qtel Group, Bharti Airtel, and Mozilla. "As an operator, we have to package services to the lower segment of the economy," said Nasser Marafih, CEO of the Qtel Group, during a keynote address at this week's Mobile World Congress. Qtel announced a new brand, Ooredoo, which will cover various wireless carrier brands throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Much of the growth over the next few years will come from the regions where Ooredoo (Arabic for "I want") operates.

While most people conversant in technology are familiar with the term "Internet of Everything", do we yet have a common understanding of what it could mean to our daily lives?

Data found on the Internet can be called an “Internet of Information,” while online social networks can be classified as an “Internet of People.” As more objects in the world are equipped with sensors and wireless antennas, there is a growing “Internet of Things.” The Internet of Everything refers to the fact that someday, everything and everyone will be connected to a common backbone, which is the Internet we know today. Though not a new concept, a Wichita State University professor is promoting the development of the Internet of Everything at his institution and around his community. As the cost of sensors drops, creating an Internet of Things becomes more attainable.