Internet domain name management body Icann has issued advice to help firms avoid problems caused by lost or maliciously registered domain names.
In a report compiled for Icann by the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), released in July, the body warned that hijacked domain names could disrupt firms' business, enable phishing attacks, deny - or steal - emails, and cause damage to reputations and brands. It added that problems are often caused by firms mis-managing their own domains.
SSAC said that managers should keep accurate and up-to-date records of their firms' domain names and account information, and only grant access to this information to appropriate parties. It added that firms should request their domain names be placed under "Registrar Lock", meaning the domains cannot be modified or deleted unless the registrant explicitly requests it.
SSAC recommended that all commercial registries make it a top priority to set up systems to support the above procedures. SSAC added that it would also be good practice for commercial registries to alert domain name owners when requests to transfer their domains are received, and that emergency support staff should be made available and easily contactable.
Separately, in a case that may set a precedent, Google this month won a significant domain name dispute. It was awarded control of the googkle.com, ghoogle.com, gfoogle.com and gooigle.com domains, prompting suggestions that firms may not need to aggressively register mis-spelled variations of their own brands.
This month the US National Arbitration Forum ruled that Google could assert legal rights to URLs bearing close resemblance to its own. The arbitrator decided the registrant did not have legitimate rights to the addresses, the addresses were too close to Google's own, and they were probably registered in bad faith.
