INDUSTRY UPDATES
Nominet steps up activity against coronavirus domains
Nominet, the U.K.’s domain name registry, has increased its efforts to tackle the spike in malicious websites created to scam the public and capitalize on fears surrounding the COVID-19 virus—for example, those selling fake vaccines, fake protective equipment, and fake testing kits. It has implemented more radical measures to stop such sites, even going live as opposed to taking down malicious domains after they have been reported.
There is extra scrutiny of any websites with a URL containing “coronavirus,” “covid,” or other selected terms related to the pandemic.
Coronavirus threats going viral
CSC experts have been monitoring the uptick in domain, counterfeit, and phishing activity surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, and have released a series of five blogs looking at the impact. You can read them here:
IN THE NEWS
Hackers are using coronavirus concerns to trick you, cyber security pros warn
Hackers and cyber criminals have been leveraging the hype and fear connected with the growing COVID-19 pandemic as a tool to steal passwords and data. Read here.
Tokyo domain buying spikes after Olympics postponed
A minimum of 59 domain names containing phrases related to the Tokyo Olympics and 2021 were registered on the day the event was postponed, which could be used for fraudulent purposes. Read here.
DOMAIN UPDATES
General availability for dot gay delayed
The registry for .GAY announced delays in their launch of the new gTLD. The first Sunrise phase, for applicants with valid Trademark Clearinghouse filings, closed on March 31, 2020. The Limited Registration Phase, Sunrise B, began as planned on April 6, 2020 for all other trademark holders. Sunrise B will proceed indefinitely until a new General Availability (GA) date is determined—hopefully by mid-September. The first seven days of GA will still comprise the Early Access Phase, and associated pricing will apply. We will communicate new dates as soon as the registry announces an updated plan.
Compare and select your new domains
Neustar registry announced plans to launch two previously closed generic top-level domains (gTLDs), .COMPARE and .SELECT. The Sunrise phase for trademark holders for both TLDs began April 6, 2020, with General Availability on May 6, 2020. CSC is still collecting launch details and requirements, and we’ll communicate additional information as it becomes available.
Still launching
The following TLDs have launch phases (Pre-General Availability) that are currently still in progress: .GAY, .BASKETBALL, .MT, .BOT, .RUGBY, .PA, and .NEW. If you are interested in participating in any of these launches, please contact your CSC client service partner.
New gTLD dot dealer announces launch plans
Intercap Registry Inc. announced plans to launch the new gTLD, .DEALER, with a first-come, first-served Sunrise phase for trademark holders on April 29, 2020. Domains will be allocated on June 1, 2020. With the uncertainty surrounding the global pandemic of COVID-19, the registry has postponed this launch for a more stable time. CSC is communicating with the registry to understand any postponement and its impacts. We’ll announce any new details when, and if, this information becomes available.
Dot bank and dot insurance verifications
The registry for .BANK and .INSURANCE is going through its annual verification of all names and WHOIS details. If you are a .BANK or .INSURANCE client, please contact us about how we can help.
If you’d like to receive a weekly update on all extensions, subscribe to our Weekly Launch Guide.
CSC NEWS
Key considerations for a domain portfolio review
If you’re planning a spring cleaning for your domain portfolio, then we have five key security considerations for you to consider:
- Look beyond the assets within your control
- Focus on the domains that are vital to your business
- Know your trademark portfolio and business plan for new brands and markets
- Understand how industry trends affect your business and its operations.
- Rinse and repeat; find new ways to streamline, automate, and conduct reviews more regularly
For more detail on auctioning each of these points, read the full article here.
Security focus
With people being forced to stay at home or being furloughed due to COVID-19, it’s important to review your users. CSC Security CenterSM can quickly help you get insight into who has access and can make critical updates to the portfolio. Please reach out to your CSC representative if you would like to review the users and CSC Security Center data for your organization to ensure you have the right support in these challenging times.
Publish zones for customer API and new zone change statuses in CSCDomainManager
This month, we’re introducing the ability to publish zone changes through the customer API. Users with the appropriate access to the customer API will now have the ability to add, remove, and edit zone records to domain names hosted on CSC servers. To support this function in the customer API, we have added two new statuses to the CSCDomainManagerSM UI for zone changes; propagating, and propagating failed. We have added these statuses to allow users more visibility into the progress of submitted zone changes.
Global FMCG company Danone endorses CSC
Danone, the global fast-moving consumer goods company with brands such as Activia, Cow & Gate, Volvic, and Evian, uses CSC to manage their domains and digital assets around the world. Click here to watch their endorsement video.
UPCOMING WEBINARS
Live webinar: Industry Updates, May 7, 2020
Join our next Industry Updates webinar, where our team will be talking about the latest phishing attacks and anti-phishing solutions. Join one of these sessions:
- 9 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. London | 3 p.m. Paris)
- 11 a.m. SGT (1 p.m. Melbourne)
Live webinar: DNS Hijacking, May 12, 2020 (French)
In our French-language webinar, we’ll discuss recent domain name system hijacking events and CSC’s recommendations to stay secure. Register here.
Live webinar: DNS Hijacking, May 14, 2020 (German)
We’re holding a German-language webinar, where our team will discuss recent domain name system hijacking events and CSC’s recommendations to get secure. Register here.