Domain abuse is an unfortunate drawback of the domain system. This abuse occurs when a domain name is registered for malicious purposes or any other kind of unethical activity.

Unless detected and punished promptly, this may lead to a lot of damage to the reputation of the rightful owner of the domain name.

In this blog, we’ll talk more about domain abuse and how you can prevent getting hit in the first place.

Key Takeaways

Domain abuse can have significant repercussions on a brand’s reputation, leading to loss of customer trust.
Typosquatting and phishing are common tactics employed in domain abuse that exploit user mistakes and trust.
Implementing security protocols like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM is essential for protecting domains from unauthorized use.
Continuous monitoring of WHOIS data and domain activity is crucial for early detection of potential abuse.
A proactive strategy involving both preventative and reactive measures can help mitigate the risks associated with domain abuse.

An Overview of Domain Abuse

Domain abuse is a common form of cybercrime, with increasing attacks being reported.

Domain abuse occurs when a domain name is used for an illegal purpose or a purpose that is not consistent with the intended use of the domain name. The owner may have no intention or knowledge of such use.

ICANN developed the Domain Abuse Activity Reporting (DAAR) System to identify and track various types of domain abuse. They recognize some main types of security threats in their system:

SEO spam – Using a domain to manipulate search engine rankings by creating low-quality pages that link back to other websites.
Link schemes – Creating links between unrelated websites for the sole purpose of increasing traffic to those sites.
Malware distribution – Hosting malware on a website to infect visitors.
Spam emails – Sending spam emails from domains that appear legitimate.

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Most common Types of Domain Abuse

The most common forms of domain abuse are:

Typosquatting

Typosquatting is a form of cybersquatting that involves registering domain names similar to those of well-known organizations, hoping that users will incorrectly type the URL and end up at the typosquatter’s website.

The typosquatter may then try to sell advertising space on the site or use it for another internet scam.

Phishing

Phishing attacks involve sending emails or texts that look from a trusted source but contain malicious links or attachments.

They are often used with typosquatting to trick users into clicking on links in emails or on social media profiles.

Cybersquatting

Cybersquatting refers to registering trademarked names as domain names to profit from them by reselling them later or using them as a platform for spamming and other abuses.

Detrimental Impacts of Domain Abuse on Brand Trust and Reputation

Domain abuse, including typo squats and impersonations, poses significant security challenges for organizations of all sizes.

Adversaries exploit lookalike domains to target customers and employees, leading to credential theft, reputational harm, and potential financial losses.

The difficulty in identifying and addressing typosquatting lies in the lack of visibility into new domain registrations, resulting in reactive removal of malicious content, often after significant damage.

Unraveling Domain Abuse: Advanced Techniques for Detection and Identification

Domain abuse detection and identification is a complex process that involves multiple components.

DNS Forensics and Analysis

DNS forensics examines DNS activity for evidence of unauthorized domain name registrations, transfers, or other domain abuse.

Threat Intelligence Integration

Threat intelligence integration enables organizations to identify new domains being used for malicious purposes by leveraging third-party data sources with historical threat intelligence data.

This provides an additional layer of assurance against attack vectors that have not previously been identified within your environment.

Behavioral Analytics for Domain Activity

Behavioral analytics provides visibility into the activities of domains within your environment by monitoring the following behaviors:

Activity on IP address ranges owned by the domain (e.g., C2 host IP addresses)

Domain name server (DNS) requests to resolve backdoors on subdomains of primary domains (e.g., www.<malicious_domain>).

WHOIS Data Monitoring and Analysis

A common way to detect domain abuse is by monitoring WHOIS data for domains registered with your own or other domains you own.

It’s important to know that many domain registrars provide premium services that require you to pay a monthly fee (like GoDaddy) or charge you a fee every time you want to monitor specific information about the domains they host (like Namecheap).

Machine Learning-based Domain Reputation Scoring

Machine Learning algorithms, such as Support Vector Machines (SVM) or Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), are used to detect patterns in domain name strings. These patterns can detect domains likely to be used for malicious purposes.

The patterns can be detected by analyzing the WHOIS information associated with a domain name (registrant information, registrar information, and so on). This type of analysis is known as Fingerprinting.

Domain Fingerprinting and Pattern Recognition

In fingerprinting, a set of attributes is determined for a given domain name (e.g., the number of letters, hyphens, etc.).

Then, when a new domain is encountered, it is compared against this fingerprint to determine if it matches one of the known bad domains.

In pattern recognition, a set of known bad patterns (e.g., “xyz” as part of the third-level domain) is used to determine if an unknown domain matches one.

Guarding Against Domain Abuse: Effective Strategies for Protection

To protect your customers, employees, and partners from this threat, you must implement a series of best practices in your domain management strategy.

Triple Defense for Domain Abuse Protection: Implementing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM

Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) is a comprehensive policy framework that leverages both SPF and DKIM to protect against domain abuse. With DMARC, domain owners can specify the actions to be taken on emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks.

They can choose to monitor, quarantine, or reject such emails. Additionally, DMARC allows domain owners to receive reports from email providers about authentication results for emails sent from their domain.

These reports provide valuable insights into unauthorized email usage and potential domain abuse attempts. By leveraging DMARC, domain owners can actively prevent unauthorized use of their domain for malicious activities like phishing and email spoofing.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email validation system administrators use to prevent unauthorized use of their domains. SPF is a powerful defense against domain abuse as it helps prevent email spoofing. By specifying authorized email servers for a domain, SPF ensures that only legitimate servers can send emails on behalf of that domain.

If the sending server is not authorized, the email is flagged as suspicious or rejected altogether, thwarting attempts at domain abuse through email forgery.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a cryptographic method for verifying the source of emails sent over the Internet. DKIM provides an additional layer of protection against domain abuse by ensuring email integrity. It confirms that the email content hasn’t been altered in transit and that the email indeed originates from the claimed domain. This helps prevent domain abuse related to tampered emails and strengthens email trustworthiness.

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC form a robust trio of email authentication mechanisms that collectively combat domain abuse. They prevent unauthorized parties from sending emails on behalf of a domain, ensure email integrity, and provide valuable feedback on potential abuse attempts.

DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions)

DNSSEC is a suite of extensions to the Domain Name System (DNS) allowing for authentication of DNS data by public key cryptography instead of trust based on IP address alone.

It was created to prevent DNS spoofing and other DNS poisoning attacks, such as cache poisoning, that could be used to redirect users to malicious websites or intercept sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers by cybercriminals.

Related Read: What is DNS Authentication?

TFA/MFA (Two-Factor Authentication/Multi-Factor Authentication) for Domain Management

TFA/MFA is a security feature requiring two or more different verification methods to access an account or service.

This helps prevent unauthorized access by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple channels before granting access.

This can be done by using physical hardware tokens or SMS codes, which are used with passwords or PINs (Personal Identification Numbers).

Related Read: Email Multi-Factor Authentication

TLS/SSL Certificates and HTTPS Enforcement

A TLS/SSL certificate is used to protect sensitive data transmitted over the Internet by encrypting it so that only those with the right keys can read it.

It ensures that data sent between a web server and a browser remains private and secure. At the same time, it’s being transmitted over the Internet, preventing third parties from accessing this information during transmission.

Related Read: What Is TLS Encryption?

DDoS Mitigation and Traffic Filtering

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack occurs when multiple computers flood a website with so much traffic that it becomes inaccessible to regular users.

This type of attack aims to take down websites by overloading them with traffic from compromised computers belonging to victims who were tricked into participating in the attack.

DDoS mitigation services can help prevent this attack by filtering out malicious traffic before it reaches your website or application servers.

Related Read: Understanding DoS and DDoS attacks

Using DRS with TI Integration

When it comes to preventing or mitigating domain abuse, there are two main strategies: preventative measures and reactive measures.

Preventative measures focus on stopping bad actors before registering domains or performing other malicious activities online; reactive measures focus on detecting bad actors after they’ve already committed fraud or abuse.

How to report domain abuse?

Reporting domain abuse is an essential step to help maintain a safe and secure online environment. Domain abuse can take various forms, such as spam, phishing, malware distribution, copyright infringement, and other malicious activities. If you come across a domain engaged in abusive behavior, follow these steps to report it:

Gather Information: Before filing a report, collect as much relevant information as possible about the abusive domain. This may include the domain name, specific URLs, screenshots, email headers, and any other evidence that can support your claim.
Identify the Abusing Activity: Determine the type of abuse the domain is involved in (spam, phishing, malware, etc.), as different types of abuse may require reporting to different entities.
Contact the Domain Registrar: Start by reaching out to the domain registrar. You can find the registrar’s information using WHOIS lookup tools, such as ICANN’s WHOIS Lookup (https://whois.icann.org/). Look for the “Registrar Abuse Contact Email” or “Registrar Abuse Contact Phone” in the results. Contact them and provide the evidence of abuse along with the details of the abusive domain.
Contact the Hosting Provider: If the abusive activity involves hosting content, contact the hosting provider responsible for hosting the website or content in question. Similar to finding the registrar, use WHOIS information to identify the hosting provider and look for their abuse contact details. Provide them with the evidence of abuse as well.
Report to Appropriate Authorities: Depending on the nature of the abuse, you may need to report it to relevant authorities. For example, phishing attacks should be reported to organizations like Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States. In cases of copyright infringement, you can reach out to the website’s hosting provider, or if it’s a significant violation, file a DMCA takedown notice.
Use Online Abuse Reporting Forms: Many organizations and companies provide online forms to report abuse. For instance, Google has a dedicated form for reporting phishing sites and other types of abuse.
Inform Internet Service Providers (ISPs): If the abusive domain is sending spam or conducting other abusive activities through an ISP, contact the ISP directly and provide them with the necessary evidence.
Report to CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team): CERTs are teams that handle cybersecurity incidents in specific regions or sectors. If your country or organization has a CERT, you can report domain abuse to them as well.

Final Words

understanding domain abuse is crucial for safeguarding the integrity of the digital landscape. The internet has become an indispensable part of our daily lives, and with its increasing prominence, domain abuse has emerged as a significant threat. From phishing scams and malware distribution to counterfeit websites and intellectual property infringement, domain abuse takes many forms, and its impact can be devastating.

As users, website owners, and organizations, we must remain vigilant and proactive in combating this menace. Employing robust security measures, regularly monitoring domain activities, and promptly reporting suspicious behavior are essential steps in curbing domain abuse. Moreover, raising awareness about the risks associated with domain abuse among individuals and businesses can foster a safer online environment for everyone.

By collaborating with domain registrars, law enforcement, and internet governance bodies, we can collectively strive to make the digital realm a place of trust, innovation, and opportunity for all. Let us work together to protect the sanctity of domain names and preserve the open, accessible, and secure internet we cherish today and for generations to come.

About
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Ahona Rudra

Domain & Email Security Expert at PowerDMARC

Ahona is the Marketing Manager at PowerDMARC, with 5+ years of experience in writing about cybersecurity topics, specializing in domain and email security. Ahona holds a post-graduation degree in Journalism and Communications, solidifying her career in the security sector since 2019.

What is Domain Abuse?