In addition, lookalike domains are targeting those companies as well—with 75% of homoglyph registrations being registered to unrelated third parties. That means many of the world’s largest brands contend with maliciously registered domains that look like their brands. The intent of these fake domain registrations is to leverage the trust placed on the targeted brand to launch phishing attacks or other forms of digital brand abuse, or IP infringement that leads to revenue loss, traffic diversion, and a diminished brand reputation. Homoglyph domains are just some of the endless domain spoofing tactics and permutations that can be used by phishers and malicious third parties.
Additional key takeaways from CSC’s research include:
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137 companies (6.8%) had a domain security score of “0”
Not deploying any of the recommended domain security measures puts these companies at risk for a variety of attacks, including but not limited to domain and DNS hijacking attacks, network and data breaches, phishing and ransomware attacks, and business email compromise (BEC). -
45% of companies that use enterprise-class domain registrars also deploy registry lock
Registry lock is a highly cost-effective means to protect domain names against accidental or unauthorized modifications or deletions. Only 5% of companies that use consumer-grade registrars have registry lock deployed. Additionally, only six organizations within the Global 2000 had the highest overall domain security score, which correlates with their use of an enterprise-class registrar. -
DMARC is the only domain security measure with significantly increased adoption this year
Given all the news about phishing attacks—including their increase in volume and complexity—it’s no surprise that domain-based message authentication, reporting, and conformance (DMARC) adoption has increased by 12 percentage points in the last 12 months. However, growth in other domain security measures, such as registry lock, domain name system (DNS) redundancy, DNS security extensions (DNSSEC), and certificate authority authorization (CAA) records saw limited increases year-over-year.
“This report shows that while some progress has been made, a majority of the companies listed in the Forbes Global 2000 are still overlooking full implementation of foundational domain security measures,” says Mark Calandra, president of CSC’s Digital Brand Services. “A focus on securing legitimate domains while monitoring for malicious domains in parallel needs to be a bigger priority for companies that are advocating for a Zero Trust model to stay protected and thwart cyber risk. Otherwise, companies are exposing themselves to significant enterprise risks that can impact their cyber security posture, data protection, intellectual property, supply chains, consumer safety, revenue, and reputation.”
CSC’s report also found that 82% of the third parties registering homoglyph domains are actively masking their identity. This demonstrates the attempt to hide their ownership, showing they may have some nefarious intentions. Additionally, 48% have MX records in 2022, compared to 43% in 2021. MX records can be used to send phishing emails or to intercept email.
To learn more about CSC’s approach to domain security, visit cscdbs.com. Download the Domain Security Report now at cscdbs.com/securityreport.
About CSC
CSC is the trusted security and threat intelligence provider of choice for the Forbes Global 2000 and the 100 Best Global Brands® in enterprise domain names, domain name system (DNS), digital certificate management, as well as digital brand and fraud protection. As global companies make significant investments in their security posture, CSC can help them understand known cybersecurity oversights that exist, and help them secure their online digital assets and brands. By leveraging CSC’s proprietary technology, companies can solidify their security posture to protect against cyber threat vectors targeting their online assets and brand reputation, helping them avoid devastating revenue loss, and significant financial penalties because of policies like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). CSC also provides online brand protection—the combination of online brand monitoring and enforcement activities—taking a holistic approach to digital asset protection, along with fraud protection services to combat phishing. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, since 1899, CSC has offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. CSC is a global company capable of doing business wherever our clients are—and we accomplish that by employing experts in every business we serve. Visit cscdbs.com.