/ Industry Updates

Unlike Its Namesake, Aoqin Dragon Isn’t Mythical

Aoqin Dragon, like the mythical character it's named after, has recently been unearthed after nearly a decade of flying under the cybersecurity community's radar. Now believed to have been active since 2013, the advanced persistent threat (APT) group has targeted various organizations in the government, education, and telecommunications sectors. more

Matanbuchus with Cobalt Strike: Not Your Favorite Combo

For US$2,500, threat actors can employ Matanbuchus, a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) package found delivering Cobalt Strike beacons through phishing and spam messages. Cobalt Strike is a powerful security tool that threat actors are increasingly using as a reconnaissance and post-exploitation weapon. more

DNS Business Impersonation Landscape Report – 2022 Edition

Threat actors are increasingly impersonating businesses in phishing attacks. In May 2022, 52% of business email compromise (BEC) scams impersonated third-party organizations, exposing businesses to supply chain attacks. more

Conti Ransomware: Still Alive and Kicking

Conti ransomware surfaced as far back as 2020. Believed to have been created by Russia-based cybercriminal group Wizard Spider, it has been involved in a multitude of double extortion campaigns over the years. more

Predator Surveillance Software May Not Be Lawful at All

As technology advances, so does the world of espionage. That has given birth to several companies, such as Cytrox, that specialize in creating spyware. Predator, along with other applications of its kind, has been advertised as legal spyware-for-hire. more

Insights From the Brand Registry Group’s New President

The Brand Registry Group (BRG) is the global association of companies and organisations working together to champion the use of .brand top-level domains and includes some of the world's most recognised consumer and B2B brands. more

Public Interest Registry Now Offers .CHARITY, .FOUNDATION, .GIVES as Part of Its ‘.ORG Family of Domains’ Portfolio

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the non-profit organization behind .ORG and leading provider of mission-driven domains, today announced its .ORG family of domains now includes: .CHARITY, .FOUNDATION, and .GIVES. Following PIR's acquisition of .CHARITY, .FOUNDATION and .GIVES, the TLDs are now officially available through PIR. more

GALLIUM APT Group and Other Threat Actors in Disguise

Two cyber threats recently caught the attention of WhoisXML API researchers, primarily since parts of their infection chain hide behind legitimate services. This tactic is tricky for security teams because blocking the domains involved means blocking legitimate applications, too. more

Both Aged and New Domains Play a Role in the NDSW/NDSX Malware Campaign

Cyber attackers typically use newly registered domains (NRDs) in their campaigns to evade detection, particularly since the implementation of privacy protection in WHOIS records. But some also use aged domains like the SolarWinds hackers to render a sense of legitimacy to their pages. more

Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief: 350.5 Million Domain Name Registrations in Q1 2022

Today, we released the latest issue of The Domain Name Industry Brief, which shows that the first quarter of 2022 closed with 350.5 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains, an increase of 8.8 million domain name registrations, or 2.6%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. more