Domain Monitoring and Domain Abuse Management
Interview with Rickard Vikström, Founder at Domain Crawler
Interviewer: Rickard, you have a remarkable career as a Swedish entrepreneur. Could you start by sharing some highlights of your professional journey?
Rickard Vikström: Absolutely. Over the years, I’ve founded and served on the boards of several companies, including Stay Secure, Holm Security, Wincher, and Internet Vikings. Internet Vikings, in particular, has grown into one of Europe’s leading domain registrars for the iGaming industry. In 2008, I founded Domain Crawler with the goal of indexing the entire internet, and it has since become a pioneer in domain data collection.
The role of domain monitoring and abuse management
Interviewer: How important is domain monitoring and abuse management for businesses today?
Rickard Vikström: Domain monitoring is crucial for both registrars and brand owners. It helps reduce support needs and catch issues early. For businesses, your domain represents your brand online. Without proper monitoring, you risk problems like cybersquatting, business impersonation, and revenue loss. We often see that weak domain management leads to significant challenges.
Interviewer: Can you explain the current landscape of DNS abuse?
Rickard Vikström: DNS abuse is more common than people might think. Around 0.3% of domain names are listed in DNS abuse reports. This number may seem small, but it highlights a regular problem, especially for top-level domains (TLDs). Malicious activities online, such as phishing and malware distribution, pose ongoing threats to both users and third parties. Unfortunately, there’s no universal agreement on what exactly constitutes DNS abuse, which complicates efforts to address it.
Defining DNS abuse
Interviewer: What exactly qualifies as DNS abuse?
Rickard Vikström: DNS abuse involves using a domain for malicious or illegal activities. The DNS Abuse framework identifies phishing, malware, spam, botnets, and pharming as key forms of abuse. These activities are illegal or harmful in most countries. However, this definition has its critics. It doesn’t cover trademark or copyright infringement, cybersquatting, or website content abuse, which are also significant issues.
Monitoring from different perspectives
Interviewer: How do registrars and registries approach domain monitoring differently?
Rickard Vikström: Registrars focus on reducing issues for their customers, such as spam or blocked IP addresses. Their goal is to ensure a smooth experience for users. Registries, on the other hand, use monitoring to analyze their networks and understand how their TLDs are being used. They create statistics to assess the health of their domain zones and identify any risks.
Global approaches to DNS abuse
Interviewer: How do different countries and registries address DNS abuse?
Rickard Vikström: Policies vary by region. For example, the .eu registry follows Directive 2013/40/EU, which requires clear policies for identifying and managing abusive domain registrations. Internationally, treaties recognize the importance of combating DNS misuse, but they often leave it to individual countries to shape their own policies. Many registries use tools to monitor domain abuse within their networks, but approaches and technologies differ widely.
gTLD vs. ccTLD registries
Interviewer: Is there a difference in how gTLD and ccTLD registries handle DNS abuse?
Rickard Vikström: Yes, there are differences. Both types of registries must provide a method for accessing WHOIS information while complying with data protection laws. This helps attribute abused domains to the right registrars. Interestingly, a recent EU study showed that EU-based ccTLDs experience less abuse compared to gTLDs. This is likely due to stricter compliance within the EU.
Improving DNS abuse management
Interviewer: What can registries and registrars do to better manage DNS abuse?
Rickard Vikström: They need to look beyond their immediate environment and adopt a more global, coordinated approach. Abusers operate across borders and domains. Adopting best practices that are widely published could significantly reduce DNS abuse and improve online security. Collaboration and information-sharing between stakeholders are key to making progress in this area.
The need for better communication
Interviewer: Is deeper communication among registries necessary? And is it legally feasible?
Rickard Vikström: Absolutely, deeper communication is crucial. To effectively fight DNS abuse, everyone in the ecosystem—from registries to resellers—needs to be on the same page. Sharing information can help address abuse more effectively. However, legal issues, especially those related to GDPR, currently hinder this kind of collaboration. It’s a complex challenge, but one that needs to be addressed.
The role of technology and collaboration
Interviewer: How can technology and collaboration help in the fight against DNS abuse?
Rickard Vikström: Registries and registrars should focus on validating registrant details to ensure accurate information is on record. This reduces the effort spent on chasing false leads. Additionally, adopting common good practices across the board can help mitigate DNS abuse. While we may not be able to prevent all abuse, these steps can significantly reduce its impact.
Interviewer: Is it possible to prevent DNS abuse entirely?
Rickard Vikström: Preventing it entirely may not be realistic, but reducing it is certainly achievable. By using the right tools, monitoring proactively, and following best practices, we can make a significant difference. Improvements in DNS metadata research, validation of contact information, and training can all contribute to a safer online environment.
Conclusion
Interviewer: Thank you, Rickard, for these valuable insights into DNS abuse and domain monitoring. It’s clear that while challenges remain, proactive measures and collaboration can lead to significant improvements in online security.
Rickard Vikström: Thank you. It’s an ongoing battle, but with the right approach, we can continue to make the internet a safer place for everyone.
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About Domain Crawler
Founded in 2021, Domain Crawler combines industry expertise, a global approach, and up-to-date innovative solutions. With one of the most comprehensive and frequently updated databases in the world, Domain Crawler is able to provide enterprises with accurate web data, allowing them to fight cyber fraudsters, prevent brand infringements, conduct comprehensive market research, understand the competition, and enable the best data-driven businesses decisions.
