Last month, CSC and SecurityScorecard—the global leader in cyber security ratings for enterprise organizations—released an important piece of research in a whitepaper that shows a company’s choice of domain registrar really does matter when it comes to cyber security.

A company’s total security rating on average is one-half to one whole letter grade higher if using an enterprise-class registrar (ECR).

SecurityScorecard’s research has shown unequivocally that there is a link between the digital security of your company and using an enterprise-class domain registrar like CSC. But why is this the case?

One of the most common attack vectors is phishing, which often enables other attacks, such as ransomware and business email compromise. Most ransomware protection measures don’t adequately address domain security risks in the early stages of an attack. That’s because they don’t include measures to protect against the most common phishing tactics targeting domain security. Consumer-grade registrars do not offer advanced domain security protection to mitigate against phishing attacks.

We’ve advised in previous blogs about how domain names are the foundation of online security, as most cyber attacks start with a single domain name. Research shows that phishing attacks most commonly occur from a maliciously registered, confusingly similar domain name, a compromised or hijacked legitimate domain name, or via email spoofing. ECRs offer domain monitoring and enforcement services, stopping phishing at the earliest stage of an attempted attack.

This explains why companies engaging with an ECR are gaining higher grades. ECRs can help defend against cyber risks because they have a mission and focus on cyber security and IP protection with strong emphasis on domain security via advanced services and tools. And these are things that consumer-grade providers simply don’t offer.

We’re here to help – If you’re concerned about your company’s domain security, CSC is here to help. You can also download our domain security checklist or complete this form and one of our consultants will contact you to discuss your security landscape.