Domain Names

Growing Popularity of .AI and Domain Security

I recently had the opportunity to speak on a podcast with Dave Bittner at CyberWire to discuss how .AI is giving cybercriminals a new avenue to take advantage of some of the largest companies in the world based on research findings from CSC's 2023 Domain Security Report. Below is a summary of the key points discussed during this podcast. more

CENTR Releases 2024 TLD Insights

The CENTR Global TLD Report 2024 highlights a modest growth in registered domains across the EU, with a notable increase in Poland, France, and Italy, primarily through their national ccTLDs. more

ICANN’s Registration Data Request Service: Open Working Session at ICANN79

Last November, ICANN launched a ticketing system for those interested in obtaining domain name registration data ("WHOIS"). Titled Registration Data Request Service, or RDRS, the portal aims to direct requests for WHOIS data to participating registrars, who then decide whether or not to disclose the data. more

Are You Prepared for a New Turkish Delight? .TR Domain Name to Be Released

In the last year, the company that runs the Turkish Domain Registry has made many changes to how the extension is run. First, it has a brand new portal for registrars to interact with, liberalizing the extension .COM.TR, so registrants are no longer required to meet local presence rules, and it has launched a new dispute process to help brand holders recover domain names.  more

CENTR Unveils Key Principles for Internet Policy Ahead of 2024 EU Elections

This follows a general meeting on November 14, 2023, and comes ahead of the 2024 EU elections. The initiative outlines strategies for protecting Europe's digital future in the coming decade, especially considering potential strategic shifts in the next legislative term. more

Rise in Cybercrime Exploiting Artificial Intelligence Hype Leads to Growing Threats Within the .ai Domain Space

Cybercriminals are leveraging the growing popularity of artificial intelligence to perpetrate attacks, capitalizing on the surge in interest following the release of chatbot technologies like ChatGPT. New research by Netcraft reports on the increasing use of .ai domain names where criminals use malicious websites around AI to draw in victims. more

Researchers Uncover Massive Underground Link-Shortening Service Used by Malicious Actors

New research indicates that the .US top-level domain contains numerous domains linked to a malicious link-shortening service dubbed 'Prolific Puma' promoting malware and phishing. Infoblox has been monitoring this three-year-old service, which uses short domains hosted on uncooperative providers to disguise harmful landing pages. more

.COM - a Return to Balance at Mid-2023

Here are the mid-year trends of the the .COM Top Level Domain. Our analysis is based on data transmitted by Verisign, the company tasked with the management of .COM, to ICANN, as of 30/06/23. To conduct our study, we will be using two performance indicators taken from the reports sent by Verisign to ICANN and published in its 'Registry transactions Reports'1: stocks at 30/06 and 31/12 of each year and monthly creations consolidated over a 12-month period. more

Web3 Domain Seller, Unstoppable, Enters .com Namespace

Unstoppable Domains, a leading Web3 domain provider, has expanded its domain offerings by incorporating traditional ".com" addresses. The integration bridges the gap between traditional and decentralized web domains. more

New CSC Report Emphasizes Need for Holistic Domain Security Amid Surge in Popularity for AI

It seems that every day, a new artificial intelligence (AI) capability emerges, posing exciting possibilities for technological advancements -- but also great potential to equal or greater risks. Cybercriminals have taken notice of this rapid surge in the popularity of AI technologies and are attempting to take advantage. more

European Domain Growth Shows Positive Signs Amid Challenges in 2023

CENTR, the association which represents European country code top-level domain name registries (ccTLDs), such as .de for Germany or .no for Norway, has published the latest edition of its quarterly CENTRstats TLD Market Report, covering the global status and registration trends in all top-level domains (legacy gTLDs, new gTLDs and ccTLDs), with a specific focus on the European ccTLD market. more

Balancing Digital Integrity: CENTR Critiques EU’s Insolvency Proposal

CENTR, the leading body representing European national domain registries, has voiced concerns over the European Union's insolvency proposal. The group emphasizes that the current proposal places an undue strain on country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registries by demanding excessive data about domain name holders. more

Phishing Attacks Surge Despite Increased Awareness, New Strategies Needed

The alarming rise of phishing attacks has been underscored by a recent study "Phishing Landscape 2023: An Annual Study of the Scope and Distribution of Phishing conducted" by the Interisle Consulting Group, revealing a tripling of such attacks since May 2020. Despite efforts by companies and policymakers to combat this cybercrime, the data suggests that the prevailing strategies are ineffective and worsening each year. more

Verisign Will Help Strengthen Security With DNSSEC Algorithm Update

As part of Verisign's ongoing effort to make global internet infrastructure more secure, stable, and resilient, we will soon make an important technology update to how we protect the top-level domains (TLDs) we operate. The vast majority of internet users won't notice any difference, but the update will support enhanced security for several Verisign-operated TLDs and pave the way for broader adoption and the next era of Domain Name System (DNS) security measures. more

GoDaddy Lists Controversial ‘.sucks’ Domain: Brands Advised to Bolster Monitoring

The '.sucks Top Level Domain (TLD), by Vox Populi, which initially faced criticism from brands due to its launch fee of $2,499 is now listed on the world's largest domain registrar, GoDaddy. more