Domain Abuse Counter-Measures
What is Domain Abuse
Domain abuse is the infringement of your intellectual property that is used for illegal, improper, fraudulent or malicious purposes. Cyber-criminals use domain name abuse to steal data, scam the target brand and/or their customers and suppliers or trick...
Brand Protection: The Most Abused TLDs
With the launch of various new TLDs over the last few years, it has become a near-impossible task for Brand owners to protect their brand across new TLDS. Brand owners are faced with huge risks of cyber squatters registering their key brands across various TLDs, and more...
.xxx Sunrise B block expiring in 2021
ICM Registry, which was acquired by MMX in 2018, launched the highly successful dotXXX Sunrise B blocking service for .xxx in 2011. These blocks will expire in 2021.
As a successor to this popular blocking product, MMX is offering AdultBlock/AdultBlock+ service a service,...
Which brand sucks? Australian brands affected by a global domain squatter
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) has recently ruled in favour of Sanofi, a global pharmaceuticals manufacturer involved in producing COVID vaccines, in an important UDRP case.
The 3 member UDRP panel ruled that sanofi.sucks a domain name registered by a third...
ADULT Block – is it worth it?
Several years ago the ICM Registry launched XXX, .SEX, .ADULT and .PORN. In order to protect TM owners, they also introduced a special blocking phase called Sunrise B, which prevented 3rd party registrations.
In 2021, Sunrise B expires and is being replaced by AdultBlock and...
au domain name abuse less than global average
Late last year auDA, the administrator of Australia’s .au top level domain, reported that the au domain name space only had 0.04 percent of its domain names that was involved in a security threat, compared to the global average of other ccTLD that represented 0.25...
Don’t abandon your subdomain either
Subdomain Hijacking
In our last blog we wrote about the risks of culling or abandoning domain names, but what about subdomains? Arguably, abandoned subdomains pose as much a risk as culled domains. This article looks at the risks of not properly administering...
The Risks of Culling Domain Names
Culling domain names needs to be discussed. It is not an activity that should be taken lightly and requires a lot of due diligence and careful planning. This blog discusses the risks of culling domains and outlines the steps brands can take to protect themselves.
Corporate...
AuDA Issue rare scam alert
AuDA issued an alert, via Twitter, of an email impersonation scam targeting .au registrants requesting for scan of personal documents. Note, AuDA notified customers that they would never go directly to Registrants for requests of information.
SCAM ALERT from AUDA:...
Strategies to mitigate cyber security incidents
This guidance is based on the Australian Government best practice guide to mitigating cyber security incidents, performing vulnerability assessments and penetration testing Commonwealth organisations.
Prior to implementing any of the mitigation strategies, organisations need...
Australia: Cybercrime reported every 10 minutes
An average of 164 cybercrime reports are made by Australians every day — about one report every 10 minutes — according to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). The agency is a subsidiary of the Australian Signals Directorate tasked with strengthening the...
Malicious Cybersquatters Targeting Major Brands
According to a report from security company, Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, malicious cybersquatters are actively targeting major brands across various industries.
Almost 14,00 domain names were registered by cybercriminals in December 2019 that appeared to be related to...