Domain name transfer scams
1 November 2021
Domain transfer scam attempts seem to be on the rise. This week several major Australian brands received .au domain password recovery emails from auDA, the administrator of Australia’s .au top-level domain.
Domain name passwords allow domain names to be...
Report: Domain Security and Enterprise Risk Management
Dave Piscitello, Dr. Colin Strutt, and Lyman Chapin of the Interisle Consulting Group released a report (click here) on 28 June 2021 looking at the adverse and costly consequences of domain abuse for enterprise brands. They explore how domain names can be incorporated into an...
Another scam alert from auDA
auDA the administrator of Australia’s .au top level domain issued a scam alert today. We are seeing emails being sent out by someone posing as an auDA employee and asking for either copies of identification documents or verification of contact information. auDA does not...
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
Brand Protection: 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...
.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...
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...
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...
Typosquatting and Traffic Diversion
Despite the popularity of search engines for finding websites, about 20% of online visitors arrive at sites through manually typed URLs. With up to 20% of all hand-typed URLs being misspelled, a large market has emerged for typo domain names that exploit and monetize...