The introduction of hundreds of new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) is an exciting time for consumers, businesses, and the Internet community as a whole. However, malicious actors seeking new channels to pursue their activities are also rubbing their hands together with the launch of these TLDs.

These actors are organized, persistent and most importantly, aware of market and technology shifts that open potential new opportunities for exploiting end users. Unfortunately, the domain name industry has seen first-hand what unchecked abuse of a TLD can do for that extension’s brand.

In talking with TLD Operators I have identified some confusion as to the requirements for mandatory abuse technical analysis and reporting and the best path to meet these requirements. ICANN compliance and anti-abuse obligations exist for both generic TLDs and .brands alike. While the operational impact differs between generic and .brand TLDs, the base requirement remains the same and in most cases the skills and tools required to monitor and maintain compliance are identical.

While some TLD operators will have internal staff skilled and available to perform the required abuse monitoring, this is not true for the majority of TLD Operators—especially those operating a single or small number of TLDs.

This is where a TLD Operator should consider outsourcing its abuse monitoring to a trusted third party to assess whether domains in the TLD are being used to perpetuate security threats, such as phishing, malware and botnets.

Neustar has provided malicious activity monitoring and its Registry Threat Mitigation Service (RTMS) since 2007 and supports numerous TLDs with these services, effectively and timely identifying security threats, coupled with appropriate logging of activities.

To understand more about how Neustar can help you detect malicious behavior in your TLD, contact [email protected].

Written by Ryan Baker, Advisor, Professional Services at Neustar Inc.