David Mitnick on CircleID (original) (raw)

Blockchain Domains and What They Could Mean for Online Scams and Brand Protection

Blockchain domain names, domains that are stored on blockchain or cryptocurrency exchanges, are part of a growing, unregulated, and decentralized internet. Right now, blockchain domains are used mostly by cryptocurrency users, but they are growing in popularity - the Ethereum name service reported over 2.2 million .eth domain name registrations in 2022. At the same time, crypto scams are also exploding, reaching a total of $3.5 billion in losses in 2022. more

New Ad Fraud Schemes Utilize Alpha-Numeric Domains

The breach of the Democratic National Committee e-mail system and a massive digital advertising fraud believed to be run by alleged actors in Russia share a common thread beyond their ability to capture the news cycle. Although each event targeted a different weakness in brand/online security platforms, the common denominator is the use of fraudulent domain names. more

FIFA Scandal is Bad News for Obama Administration and U.S. Proponents of ICANN Internet Transfer

The headlines surrounding bribes and corruption within FIFA are an ominous sign for those in the United States, especially the White House, who are advocating for the transfer of control of the main root zone of the Internet to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"). Specifically, these charges against FIFA are undermining the public's trust in quasi-government organizations like FIFA, ICANN, the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee ("IOC") (to name a few), that operate outside the purview of a national government. more

New gTLDs Race to the Bottom With Domain Giveaways?

The new .BERLIN domain added 67,000 new registrations early this week and another almost 6,000 yesterday. This occurred after a few registrars ran a promotion offering free .BERLIN domains. As reported at DomainIncite, over a 1/3 of these domains were purchased by one registrant - making them the largest "landowner" in .BERLIN. Giving away domains may be a good short term business practice... But the geographical domains are not supposed to be generic... more

New gTLD Brand Congress Emphasizes Consumers and Innovation

The New gTLD Brand Congress held earlier this week in New York provided terrific insight into how brands and New gTLD businesses are approaching the space. We saw evidence of forward movement and decision making. Here are some of the main takeaways from the event. more

ICANN CEO’s Admissions That ICANN Is Not Ready For New gTLDs Should Concern Everyone

ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade gave an alarming assessment of the state of the New gTLD program... It was admirable for Mr. Chehade to stand up and talk frankly about the state of the New gTLD program. It is important for everyone going through the process of applying for a New gTLD to understand the constraints and limitations that ICANN is dealing with as it tries to implement the program, as well as the wider Internet community that will be affected by the new extensions. more

Should “Fake” Oakley Websites Be Insulated From UDRP Law?

Oakley, Inc. ("Oakley"), the maker of some very popular and trendy sunglasses, has also become a trend-setter in the area of UDRP law where it has been involved in two important decisions in the last few weeks. First, Oakley lost a UDRP decision last month for the domain name www.myfakeoakleysunglasses.com. In that case, the panelist Mr. Houston Putnam Lowry denied Oakley's Complaint on the basis that the domain was not confusingly similar to the OAKLEY mark. more

Amazon, Google, And The Prospect of Closed gTLDs - Don’t Believe the Hype

There have been a lot of complaints leveled at companies like Amazon and Google who have applied to register a number of new gTLDs. The criticism is that the public will not benefit from having Amazon own .book, .store, .you, and .grocery if they only use it for their own purposes and don't open them up to sell domains to the broader public, and that allowing these companies to own generic registries will hurt their competitors in that space. Although these arguments are not without merit, there are also positive aspects to having established companies own gTLDs. more