More than 370 visitors and 1300 online viewers watched 50 domestic and foreign speakers at the seventh annual Internet conference DIDS 2016. This year’s Serbian Internet Domain Day was held on 15th and 16th March in Belgrade, under the slogan Living the Internet… Globally – Securely – Locally, organised by the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry (RNIDS) Foundation. DIDS was held with the support of ICANN, with an accompanying programme the second day in the form of the Regional Internet Forum – RIF 2016.

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Vojislav Rodić, Chair of the RNIDS Board of Governors, opened DIDS 2016 with an explanation that the role of RNIDS is “management of the national top-level domains”, but “that the essence of this process is facilitating personal and national online identity”. One topic of this year’s DIDS was the future of the Internet at the global level, particularly in connection with the decision of the US government to relinquish supervision of the IANA functions, but also with regard to the security of information and communication systems in Serbia and the region.

“Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.” These poetic lines from the introduction of the twenty-year-old Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace served as the opening words to the first block of the 2016 Serbian Internet Domains Day (DIDS2016) titled Globally.

The topic which imposed itself in the first panel debate, moderated by Vladimir Radunović of the DiploFoundation, was the news that after discussion with representatives of the Internet community and regulatory bodies, the US Government had reached an agreement regarding transfer of the IANA functions to the global Internet community, specifically to ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

ICANN, just like RNIDS in Serbia, operates on a multistakeholder organisational model, which involves a form of self-regulation in regard to the governance of the Internet. This means participation by companies, associations and civil society organisations in taking important decisions and overseeing their implementation while at the same time taking into account the opinions of relevant state institutions.

Gabriella Schittek, GSE Manager, Central & Eastern Europe at ICANN, referring to the news of the agreement, said that before the celebrations could start we needed to wait 90 days for the US to consider all aspects of the agreement and officially ratify it, upon which “the Internet would become truly independent”. She also invited all interested parties to get involved in the work of ICANN, as an organisation that supports the democratisation of Internet governance and which is open to fresh ideas and expertise, both from civil society and the business world. “It may seem like a waste of time to companies, but if you think about it, why would you allow someone else to take decisions regarding the Internet – that you use every day – if you too had the opportunity to take part?” Gabriella asked the audience in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Belgrade Hotel.

Mike Silber from South Africa, member of the ICANN Board, followed on from this, noting that the transfer of supervisory functions to ICANN had been agreed to even by those countries that had felt excluded from the process of the governance of cyberspace, and that probably the best solution for this problem was the transfer of these functions to a global multistakeholder Internet community and to a model that had proven itself successful through the work of ICANN.

Wolf Ludwig, Chair of the European Regional At-Large Organization (EURALO), emphasised the need for everyone to get involved in the governance of the Internet who wanted to, and that it would be good for more people from the CEE region to become active in this too. In this regard one should not rely heavily on those in legislative or judicial power since they, with a few rare exceptions, could not claim extensive knowledge in this area, he said. “Governance of the Internet should be from the bottom up, from the people to those in power, not the reverse. We all need to contribute to the dialogue on the key aspects of the functioning of the Internet, we need to advise but also criticise the decision-makers in order to make the network function better,” said Ludwig, noting that issues such as these were sometimes even addressed via referendum.

Marília Maciel, coordinator of the Center for Technology and Society at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, spoke to the DIDS audience via a Skype call from Brazil, noting that the topic of Internet neutrality was a very important one in her country and that her impression was that governments around the world were finally beginning to understand the importance of working with the civil sector in respect to governance of the Internet.

The topic of the second panel debate, titled Securely, was trends in Internet security, moderated by Slobodan Marković, ICT Policies and Internet Community Relations Advisor at RNIDS. At the beginning of this year, a new Law on Information Security was passed in Serbia, setting out measures to combat security risks in information and communications systems, establishing the accountability of legal entities managing and using these systems and defining which authorities were to be responsible for the implementation of security measures, coordination amongst stakeholders in security and monitoring the proper application of the prescribed security measures. This lays down a legal framework for the future functioning of CERTs – bodies which are set up to prevent security incidents, as well as help minimise their occurrence through education and raising awareness in the general population, in the business world and in public departments, regarding the importance of ICT security.

Nebojša Jokić, Chief of the MUP-CERT set up by the Serbian Interior Ministry, said at the conference that this CERT had been in existence for a much shorter time than those in the surrounding countries but that in the 20 or so months it had been operating an organisation had been put in place which would be able to face future challenges while at the same time working towards improving the knowledge and awareness of all employees in the police force.

His Slovenian colleague, Gorazd Božič, Director of the SI-CERT in ARNES, shared the experiences of this body, which last year celebrated 20 years since its establishment. He explained that in this time cybercrime had become a great deal more sophisticated and that professionals working in CERTs needed to keep in step with technological advances at the same pace as lawbreakers did. One significant development was the emergence of malicious software created to be leased to others (CaaS – Crime as a Service) for use in attacks on particular locations on the Internet, which had effectively become a new Internet business model. Božič said that in Slovenia banks were the most common targets for hackers, who sought to access data which could be used for the personal gain of the attackers. However, he noted that banks, as well as many other institutions, had become aware of the need to safeguard against hackers and other forms of online attack.

Filip Vlašić, Computer Security Specialist at HR-CERT, CARnet, said that the CERT had officially existed in Croatia since 2008, but had effectively been in full operation since 2010, when a great many changes began to come about in the business of security. Five years ago there was not such a variety of devices capable of accessing the Internet, nor was there such widespread use of smartphones running different types and versions of operating systems. This all made the job of information forensics harder, but also underlined the need for bodies such as CERTs, he added.

Dušan Stojičević, member of the SEEDIG Executive Committee and former Chair of the RNIDS Board added that RNIDS planned to establish its own CERT which would cover the local domain space, i.e. the .RS and .СРБ domains. He criticised the above-mentioned law for not defining critical infrastructure, and stressed that there had to be constant cooperation between the private sector, which owned most of the infrastructure, and the supervisory bodies.

Sava Savić, Deputy to the Serbian Minister for the Information Society, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, touched on the Law on Information Security but also talked about the dilemmas facing Internet users on a daily basis, as well as answering questions such as whether the right to privacy should be subordinated to security concerns. “There is an institution that protects citizens’ rights to privacy, and other state authorities often make compromises with it. However, where data that could save someone’s life are concerned – for example in the event of the kidnapping of a child, whose mobile phone signal can be tracked – then of course saving the person is paramount and nothing can take priority over that,” he said, adding that this did not mean that anybody from the security services could abuse access to data on citizens with impunity.

The third block of DIDS, this time titled Locally, facilitated by Radomir Lale Marković of TAG Media, presented an overview of prominent websites on the national .RS and .СРБ domains. Representatives of 12 home-grown websites and online projects talked about their experiences and their road to growth.

The second day of DIDS comprised the Regional Internet Forum – RIF 2016, bringing together some fifty delegates from national Internet registries from south-eastern Europe, from state bodies, from local Internet communities and from global Internet organisations, as well as legal experts from the region with a wealth of academic and practical experience. Some of the topics of this industry gathering were projects in the area of e-Government, problems concerning IDN domains and copyright and other Internet legal issues, as well as Internet security from the aspect of education, raising awareness and legal compliance. More detailed information about the participants and programme of RIF 2016 can be found on the site at rif.rs and риф.срб.

Program DIDS 2016

09:30
Registration of visitors
10:00
Block 1:
Globally

The “who, what, when, where and how” of running the Internet at the global level: What’s our role?

Moderator: Vladimir Radunović
Director of the cyber-security and e-diplomacy programme at the DiploFoundation, Serbia

“Apple refuses to weaken its encryption algorithm to help the FBI”, “India bans free Facebook access packages”, “Obama and Xi Jinping discuss a halt to cyber-espionage”, “‘Safe Harbour’ data protection agreement between the European Union and the US declared invalid”, “Wikileaks publishes list of governments that bought software to hack citizens’ devices”, “Will the ICANN transition succeed? Who will coordinate key Internet resources?”, “Anonymous declares war on ISIS!”, “BlackEnergy virus causes power outage in Ukraine”, “Besides the ‘right to be forgotten’, the battle is on for the ‘right to be disconnected’ from the Internet”…

The news media, at least those outside our country, are more and more often bringing us news from the virtual world. However for us ordinary users it all often just seems like high-level politics. Still, in some cases we have to ask ourselves, do they have any impact on us – and do we have any impact on them? Not only that, but we need to ask questions of our own – ones that concern us personally: who decides what can and can’t be done on that new .cool domain? Are providers allowed to throttle traffic for some applications? How is it that YouTube videos can disappear when they are perhaps not to someone’s political liking? How can we stop Facebook recognising us automatically on other people’s images, and Google from showing results related to our personal profile?

In fact “high politics” directly affects trends and precedents: from decisions on global regulation, to the rights and obligations of companies, to acceptable practices of security services in regard to surveillance – and the rights (and obligations) of users, too. The first block will be an opportunity to chat about subjects such as:
– What are the major cyber issues at the global level, in Europe, Latin America and Africa, as well as Brazil, South Africa, Switzerland and Serbia?
– Multistakeholder approach to addressing cyber-challenges and the bottom-up approach to policy-making: is this realistic, and if so how does that work in practice on global and local levels?
– And anyway, do we even have any influence on the creation of the policies that decide on the future of the Internet, or all this is just another playground for the big players?

Introductions:

 

Panel debate:

  • Gabriella Schittek, Global Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Central & Eastern Europe, ICANN, Poland
  • Mike Silber, Member of the ICANN Board and Head Legal and Commercial at Liquid Telecom, South Africa
  • Wolf Ludwig, Chair of the European Regional At-Large Organization (EURALO) within ICANN and Program Coordinator of the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG), Switzerland
  • Marília Maciel, Coordinator of the Center for Technology and Society at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil (remotely)

 

Video footage of the 1st block:

11:45
Coffee break
12:00
Block 2:
Securely

Online security trends: A view from the control room

Moderator: Slobodan Marković ICT Policies and Internet Community Relations Advisor at RNIDS, Serbia

At the beginning of 2016, Serbia finally got a Law on Information Security, which envisages the establishment of CERTs – Centres for the Prevention of Security Risks in ICT Systems – as well as the implementation of a range of measures aimed at reinforcing the security of critical areas of the information and communications infrastructure in our country.

In this session we will discuss the plans for the implementation of this law in practice and the experiences of similar organisations in the region. We will also talk about the changes that have taken place in recent years in the area of Internet security and what we can expect in the next few years.

Panel debate:

  • Gorazd Božič, Director of SI-CERT, ARNES, Slovenia
  • Filip Vlašić, Computer Security Specialist, HR-CERT, CARnet, Croatia
  • Sava Savić, Deputy to the Minister for the Information Society, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Serbia
  • Nebojša Jokić, Chief of Interior Ministry CERT, Ministry of the Interior, Serbia
  • Dušan Stojičević, Executive Committee Member, SEEDIG, Serbia

 

Video footage of the 2nd block:

13:30
Coffee break
13:50
Block 3:
Locally

Successful sites, portals and online projects on the national .RS and .СРБ Internet domains.

Moderator: Radomir Lale Marković
co-founder and manager, TAG Media, Serbia

The third block of DIDS is traditionally reserved for prominent websites on the national .RS and .СРБ domains. Representatives of 12 home-grown websites and online projects will talk about their experiences and their road to growth.

Sites, portals and projects:

 

Video footage of the 3rd block:

15:30
Cocktail

Participants DIDS 2016

Sava Savić

Sava Savić

помоћник министра за информационо друштво, Министарство трговине, туризма и телекомуникација, Србијa
Volf Ludvig

Volf Ludvig

председавајући European Regional At-Large Organization (EURALO)
Vojislav Rodić

Vojislav Rodić

I Net doo
Slobodan Marković

Slobodan Marković

Digital Advisor with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia
Vladimir Radunović

Vladimir Radunović

Director, Cyber-security and E-diplomacy Programmes, Diplo Foundation
Politika
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Umrežen
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Fundraising
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Платформа „Фандрејзинг“ је покренута са циљем да фандрејзерима BELhospice центра пружи неопходну подршку у вођењу њихових личних фандрејзинг кампања и да својим донаторима олакша процес уплате донација.

Putuj sigurno
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Moja firma
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Ukus Beograda
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Vinske ture
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Hrono kuhinja
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Mama i tata
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Detozin
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GreenDesign
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Radomir Lale Marković
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Moderator in the Block 2

Radomir Marković is the co-founder and manager of the TAG Media agency, which grew out of IT TV Produkcije, an independent production company founded in 2003. With a Masters in television and video production, with more than 20 years’ experience, Lale Marković has long been the presenter and editor of the popular TV programme eTV, which presents the latest news from the IT market. As of last year he has also authored the programme eJutro, the most watched IT programme in the country.

Alongside his TV activities he also edits the liveTV portal, the first Internet television broadcaster in Serbia. He is a member of the Serbian Association of Managers and the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia.

Dušan Stojičević
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Nebojša Jokić
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Sava Savić
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Од 2012. до 2014. радио је у Управи за дигиталну агенду као помоћник директора. Бавио се успостављањем електронских јавних сервиса и развојем националног портала е-Управа, реформом државне управе и европским интеграцијама кроз увођење информационих технологија. Од 2009. до 2012. радио је у Министарству рада и социјалне политике као пројект менаџер и координатор ИТ компоненте пројекта ДИЛС, под покровитељством Светске банке.

Професионални фокус му је на политикама развоја електронског пословања, сајбер безбедности, информационо-комуникационе инфраструктуре, применом ИКТ-а у систему образовању и развоју сервиса е-Управе. Дипломирао на Електротехничком факултету, Универзитета у Београду. Председавао Радном групом која је израдила Закон о информационој безбедности.

Filip Vlašić
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Gorazd Božič
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Volf Ludvig
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Волф Лудвиг је тренутно председавајући организације European Regional At-Large (EURALO) која је главни регионални форум и седиште за координацију у разматрању јавних предлога упућених ICANN-у. Један је од оснивача и суорганизатора у Европском дијалогу о управљању Интернетом (EuroDIG), а тренутно је и координатор програма и члан Секретаријата EuroDIG-а.

Вoлф је независни новинар и консултант, саветник за ИКТ Комисију у оквиру SATW, и бивши координатор за швајцарски огранак Викимедије.

Majk Silber
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Marilia Masiel
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Vojislav Rodić
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Slobodan Marković
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Slobodan Marković is a Digital Advisor with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Serbia. For the past two decades, he has been actively involved in advocating for and developing ICT policies in Serbia. Prior to joining UNDP, he worked at the Serbian National Internet Domains Registry (RNIDS) as an Advisor for ICT Policy and Internet Community Relations. From 2014 to 2017, he was a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG), which advises the UN Secretary-General on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). From 2008 to 2012, he worked at the Serbian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society, advising the Minister on telecoms liberalization, e-government, and e-business policy. In 2010, he received the „e-Commerce AWARD“ for his ten-year dedication to the development of the e-business in Serbia.

Gabrijela Šitek
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Danko Jevtović
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Vladimir Radunović
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Moderator, panel (Bad) master / (good) servant: Internet

Vladimir Radunović is a lecturer and Director of educational programmes in the areas of Internet governance, cyber-security and e-diplomacy at the Diplo Foundation, an international non-governmental institution.

He was a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise and was a member of the UN Multistakeholder Advisory Group for the Internet Governance Forum. His professional focus is on Internet and broadband access policies, cyber-security, net neutrality and openness, e-diplomacy and e-participation, education and capacity-building for institutions and Internet decision-makers.

He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade and has a Master’s degree in contemporary diplomacy from the University of Malta, and is currently doing his PhD on cyber-security.