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Cyber Crime runs rampant on the web. To add to the ever growing list of counterfeiters and scammers is the practice of domain hijacking which risks the very brand you have worked so hard to build.

The act of domain hijacking or Domain Theft which it is commonly called is when someone changes the domain name’s registration without the knowledge or permission of the rightful owner and registrant. The financial losses can prove to be devastating to the rightful domain holder who has probably earned income from the site that was hosted at that domain.

How domain theft is done?

The new gTLDs offers opportunities on one side, but also more risks of domain theft on the other.

There are several ways that domain name hijacking can be done, but most of the time the thief exploits a vulnerability that exists in the Domain Name Registration System. This illegal action is essentially a type of identity theft and when their actions are completed successfully, the hijacker is awarded full control of that domain and can utilize it for their own misdoings or even sell it to 3^rd parties.

There is no easy fix to prevent domain hijackings and reactions to this cyber crime varies. There are some occasions when the registration info is able to be set back to its original status by the registrar. However, this can prove to be increasingly difficult if the domain name had been moved over to another registrar, especially if that registrar resides  in a different country. In many cases the rightful owner of the domain is unable to get their domain back.

Reverse Domain Hijacking

Another form of domain hijacking is known as reverse domain hijacking or reverse cybersquatting. This is not quite legitimate but it is when a large corporation or a well-known individual tries to secure a domain name by accusing the rightful domain owner of cybersquatting. The smaller rightful domain owners are often intimidated by legal action and much of the time give up the rights to that domain. Reverse domain name hijacking does not usually entail dealing with cyber thieves but could be just as damaging to your brand.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is very vulnerable to attacks such as Domain Hijacking and Reverse Domain Hijacking and other domain related security issues. Especially with the introduction of some 1,400 new gTLDs. What to do? These security problems could present your domain with malicious attacks that can lead to a decline in revenue and your brand’s equity. By using a system that secures a domain name once it is in the registrar, it prevents unauthorized parties from violating a brand’s account and changing the domain settings so that it would be ripe for hijacking.

Another feature that you should be looking into is one that performs monitoring of the domain name registry. It is also safeguards brands and aims to prevent thefts, domain name hijacking, and any changes that can disable or hijack a company’s website. These types of attacks  usually emanate from the TLD (Top Level Domain) registry. Such a feature monitors the databases belonging to the top 200 registries that hold responsibility for managing domain extensions.

Brandshield offers smart solutions for Brand protection and monitoring.