It’s almost time to say goodbye to another year, but first, let’s reflect on a year filled with milestones and challenges. From events like the Paris Olympics and the U.S. Presidential Election to evolving cybersecurity policies and industry advancements, this year underscored the critical importance of strategic domain security and brand protection measures.
Throughout 2024, CSC’s research and expertise provided insights for businesses to act on when navigating the complex intersection of cybersecurity, domain management, and brand integrity. In this look back, we highlight some of the most momentous stories, trends, and developments that shaped the digital landscape this year.
1. “2024 Domain Security Report”
For the fifth year in a row, CSC delivered startling insights into domain security trends among Forbes’ Global 2000 companies. We scored companies on how well they performed in domain security, depending on how many of the recommended security measures they’ve adopted. We also ranked the companies by industry and region. How does your business stack up?
2. Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Events like the Olympics are a reminder that anyone can register any available domain name at any time. Using keywords and search terms like “Olympic” and “Paris2024,” CSC used its proprietary platform DomainSec℠ to uncover domain names that were registered to potentially impersonate the legitimate 2024 Paris Olympics event and related organizations. Find out what CSC uncovered in its investigation.
3. 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
Like the Olympics, the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election drove a surge in domain registration activity. In our research, CSC identified 59,000 unique domain names registered by third parties. But what role did these domains play? Among the findings was the emergence of “dormant domains,” registrations that may seem inactive but could hold major implications for cybersecurity and brand protection.
4. Network and Information Security Directive 2 (NIS2) from the European Union (EU)
NIS2 was a new expansion of the original directive that was first introduced by the EU in 2016. Although it was first announced back in 2020, it gained significant attention in 2024 due to the EU’s deadline of October 17, 2024, for all member states to incorporate the directive into their national legislation. CSC’s Global Director of Security Services Mark Flegg shared his thoughts on the new policies and what they mean for global brands. He also outlined three key actions that companies must take to be NIS2 compliant.
5. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Annual General Meeting
ICANN81 Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place in Istanbul, Turkey, in November 2024. In a recent webinar, CSC Vice President of Policy Gretchen Olive shared her insights on the important industry policy developments that will affect companies’ online domain names, brand protection, and cybersecurity strategies. Highlights included upcoming new global top-level domains (gTLDs), policy development and implementation updates, and DNS abuse mitigation.
6. Apple joins the trend for 90-day certificate life cycles
In 2023, we highlighted Google’s announcement to shorten the maximum lifespan of transport layer security (TLS) certificates, also commonly known as secure sockets layer (SSL) or digital certificates. This year, Apple followed suit by proposing a ballot at the Certification Authority Browser Forum to implement similar changes. What do these evolving certificate policies mean for organizations, and how can they prepare for the shift?
7. Dos and don’ts of domain name system (DNS) services
In our most watched webinar of the year, CSC Product Sales Engineer Bobby Huff reveals what organizations should do to ensure the security of their DNS, as well as practices and mistakes they should avoid. He uncovers some of the biggest threats to business that come from DNS vulnerabilities, and how compliance to directives like NIS2 from the EU cannot be overlooked.
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