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A six year study of Global 2000 firms finds progress on email authentication but worrying gaps elsewhere. Despite rising DMARC adoption, falling DNS redundancy and uneven regional uptake leave companies exposed to domain based attacks. more
ICANN will open applications for new top-level domains in April 2026, offering brands a rare chance to secure custom domain names to enhance trust, marketing flexibility, and long-term online security. more
DOTZON's 2025 study analyzes over 410 corporate dotBrands to reveal how companies strengthen digital identities through custom top-level domains. Audi retains first place, while newcomers like CRS and rising performers such as Schwarz demonstrate growing strategic use. more
As artificial intelligence reshapes how users navigate the web, domain names may undergo explosive growth, potentially reaching tens of billions. A new infrastructure of trusted digital identities could become essential for AI agents. more
Many previous pieces of research have focused on the desirability of a comprehensive scoring system, to be used for ranking results identified as part of a brand-protection solution, according to their potential level of threat. Such scoring systems offer the capability for identifying prioritised targets for further analysis, content tracking or enforcement actions. more
As published on June 24, 2025, it is with no surprise that the AFNIC was renewed as the backend registry provider of the .PARIS new generic Top-Level Domain. What caught my attention in the announcement was this paragraph: “Afnic’s remit will also be expanded to include communication and promotion of the .paris TLD, as well as the development of initiatives designed to increase its adoption by businesses and private individuals.” more
The ability to rank results according to the level of threat they pose (based on factors such as, for example, the extent to which a webpage relates to a brand of interest) is a key component of many brand protection services. The prioritisation process has a number of purposes, including the identification of: (a) priority targets for further analysis; (b) candidates for content tracking (i.e. regular reinspection of content or configuration, and the generation of an alert if high-concern findings are identified) - as may be appropriate in cases where a domain name presents a high potential level of risk but is not currently associated with any live site content; and (c) priority targets for enforcement actions. more
When major events like the Super Bowl are on the horizon, cybercriminals exploit public trust by creating fraudulent domains for fake betting sites, phishing, and malware distribution. CSC's research into top online sportsbooks highlights the hidden risks of dormant domains, which, though inactive, can quickly be repurposed for cyber attacks. Overlooked yet dangerous, these domains play a key role in impersonation, misinformation, and scams targeting event-driven traffic, underscoring the need for continuous monitoring of lookalike, dropped, re-registered, and newly registered domains. more
One major element of many brand-protection programmes is the use of an algorithm to sort the findings identified through monitoring, according to their relevance or level of potential threat. This prioritisation process offers a number of benefits, including the identification of priority targets for further analysis, content tracking, or enforcement. more
As counterfeit networks grow more elusive, AI-driven clustering could revolutionize brand protection. By linking disparate findings, identifying serial infringers, and enabling bulk enforcement, AI offers a smarter approach to monitoring and takedown efforts. Yet, challenges remain - from data reliability to analyzing complex content. Companies that master AI-driven clustering may gain a significant advantage in the fight against brand abuse. more
The global debate over Internet privacy and security took center stage in a webinar hosted by CircleID in partnership with the Edgemoor Research Institute. The event marked the first in a series exploring the delicate balance between safeguarding personal data and ensuring legitimate access to domain name registration details. As governments, cybersecurity experts, law enforcement, and intellectual property holders grapple with the evolving regulatory landscape, Project Jake seeks to establish a framework that prioritizes policy clarity, efficiency, and adaptability. more
The UnregisteredGems.com series of articles explores a range of techniques to filter and search through the universe of unregistered domain names, in order to find examples which may be compelling candidates for entities looking to select a new brand name (and its associated domain). The previous instalment of the series looked at the categorisation of candidate names according to the phonetic characteristics of its constituent consonants, using a simple one-to-one mapping between each consonant and a corresponding phonetic group. more
The initial instalment of my recent series of articles on domain name discovery1 considered the use of phonotactic analysis - that is, the measure of the similarity of a string to the 'corpus' of other words in a language - to identify available unregistered candidate domains which may be of interest for potential brandability. more
The cybersecurity landscape in 2024 has been characterised by unprecedented complexity and rapidly evolving threats, presenting significant challenges for organisations across all sectors. As the digital attack surface expands and threat actors employ increasingly sophisticated techniques, domain security has emerged as a critical component of a robust cybersecurity strategy. more
For any entity looking to launch a new company or other initiative, a primary requirement is often the selection of an appropriate brand name and the acquisition of a relevant associated domain name. In light of the increasing shortage of short, unregistered memorable names on popular domain name extensions (TLDs), many organisations are choosing to adopt novel or invented brand names and/or consider the use of alternative TLDs. more