What is Domain Hijacking?

Domain hijacking, also referred to as domain theft, refers to the act where the registrant of a domain name has their domain name taken over without their permission.

This happens when a hacker somehow gets into the account of the owner of a particular domain and then proceeds to change the ownership of the said domain to himself or another person.

This often covers activities like phishing or identifying flaws in the domain name registration databases with the purpose of altering registration details without the owner’s authorization.

Once an attacker gains control of a hijacked domain, he becomes authorized for the site linked to the domain, reroutes traffic to the malicious domain, interferes with e-mail services, or sells the domain to another party.

How Does Domain Hijacking Work?

The first step is usually to compromise the domain owner’s credentials either by phishing or sending the owner a link that looks and feels like one belonging to the registrar’s Login page with the intent of getting the owner to surrender their username and password to the registrar’s website.

For instance, if the domain owner sets a password to the account, which is weak or frequently used by many users, the attackers can take advantage of such weaknesses, where they employ brute force or any other hacking methods to gain access to the account.

Further, there may be use of social engineering tricks to gain control of the domain, where the attackers try to assume the identity of the domain owner and directly contact the registrar’s customer support to change the password to the account, stating wrong information, or by answering security questions.

Once the attacker gains control of the login credentials of the domain owner, the attacker starts a domain transfer process that transfers the domain from the current registrar to another registrar or other account controlled by the attacker.

By changing such details as the e-mail address of the administrative contact so that the owner of the domain is unlikely to notice the transfer.

Administrative control enables the attacker to modify DNS records associated with the domain and intercept traffic destined for the original website or intercept and manipulate the domain-related e-mail messages, as well as the services offered via this domain.

Impact of a Domain Hijacking Attack

Domain hijacking is a deeply invasive cyber risk and essential to understand for those seeking protection against similar threats. Here are some of the key consequences:

Financial Loss

Customers are affected through loss of service, loss of sales, and reduced confidence in an organization, hence organizations incur high losses. Other costs potentially linked with the recovery of the domain and the strengthening of security are also possible.

Reputation Damage

With domain hijacking, users may be redirected to other dangerous websites or may not be able to get any services offered on the domain.

This could prove disastrous to an organization’s image, and in the end, customers would be hesitant to continue doing business with the organization in question.

It can take a long time and still be rather arduous to repair a damaged or negative image of a company that takes some time and a lot of effort to correct.

Data Breaches

This leads to the unauthorized control of the email accounts and other services that are linked with the domain that has been hijacked; this may likely cause data breaches.

Data belonging to clients or the business, strategies, and other communications can be leaked or compromised through such hacking, thus creating a privacy and security issue.

Operational Disruptions

Using the example of domain hijacking, it can be concluded that a domain that is hijacked can severe create havoc in the daily functioning of businesses and organizations since it would mean a lot of things: email, website, and many other online services.

Also Read: Session Hijacking: Safeguarding Your Online Interactions

This may disrupt business development and cause such organizations complications in their functionality, given the fact that they largely depend on the internet.

Legal and Compliance Issues

In some cases, where businesses are involved, legal action may be taken, and regulatory bodies may question the event that led to the hijacking of the site and the data that was exposed.

If customer data is not adequately protected, it may also be subject to penalties, lawsuits, and noncompliance with data protection laws.

What is Reverse Domain Hijacking?

Reverse domain hijacking is also referred to as reverse cybersquatting. This refers to a situation where the trademark owner takes unlawful actions to regain possession of a domain name.

This is done by producing artificial allegations of trademark infringement against the actual holder of the domain name. This tactic is applied in the event that the domain belongs to a rightful owner who has no justification for its possession.

This use of the term ‘reverse’ suggests that the action is being transacted by a party who arguably does not have legitimate grounds to protect their trademark.

Also Read: How to Trademark Your Brand Logo to Qualify for Verified Mark Certificate?

In reverse domain hijacking, the complainant attempts to use the UDRP system, which is an institution aimed at resolving disputes about the ownership of domain names.

They may argue that the present owner of the domain sued it in order to sell it to the owner of the trademark at an inflated price ,despite this not being true.

The final objective is to make the UDRP panel award the domain name to the complainant even though the current owner has lawful rights over the name.

This practice is widely regarded as abusive and is generally known not to be proper within the communities that pertain to domain names and intellectual property.

If a UDRP panel concludes that reverse domain hijacking has occurred, the complaint will be rejected, and it is usually public censure of the complainant that follows.

However, such a scenario is often costly and time-consuming to the rightful owner of the domain, who has to embark on a process of defending his/her rights against the spurious complaint.

Notable Examples of Domain Hijacking

In January 2005, one of the oldest ISPs in New York, Panix, lost its domain. It was transferred to a registrar in Australia through a domain name theft, which caused excessive page downtime as well as interference with email services for Panix’s patrons.

This case thus exposed weaknesses in prior domain registration procedures, with emphasis on the need for enhanced safeguards.

An unknown attacker was able to abuse the Hustmail webmail provider in slightly more than an encrypted email provider in the month of October 2006 through what is commonly known as domain hijacking.

They were then in a position of control over the domain name that had been changed to point to various other servers.

This disrupted the usability of the services for a while for its users and elicited concerns in the security of Such services, such as email services, and vulnerability of such services in the disclosure of information and sensitive data.

On the 12th of December 2008, an online payment services provider company known as CheckFree was attacked, and its domain was seized. The domain was redirected to a malicious site that tried to put unauthorized code on users’ devices.

This attack exposed the millions of users who depend on CheckFree in clearing their bills and any other financial transactions.

Vodafone.co.uk (2013)

The renowned British telecommunication company was under attack and its online identity was stolen in July 2013.

They were able to alter the DNS records of the domain that the company utilizes, thus affecting thousands of customers and disrupting all online platforms owned by Vodafone.

In this case, it highlighted the risks caused by the lack of proper security measures at the domain level.

New York Times (2013)

In August 2013, the website of the New York Times, the most popular international daily newspaper that reports credible news across the world, was compromised by the Syrian Electronic Army, a group of hackers who support the Syrian government.

It is employed to focus on changing the Domain Name System records of the related domain in such a manner that any visitor who tries to access that particular domain will be directed to a different site, one controlled by the attackers.

How to Recover Hijacked Domains?

Identify the Hijacking

The first step is to ensure that the domain was hijacked in the first instance. When suspicious about unauthorized modification of the DNS settings of the given domain, or if access to the domain registrar’s account is compromised.

You should block your domain and notify your domain registrar at once. Give them all the information that you need to provide in order to claim the ownership of the domain, including accounts, invoices issued in the last few months, ID proofs, etc.

It is common for most registrars to possess a set of standard measures and support points in dealing with domain hijacking.

Change Your Account Passwords

Modify your passwords for your domain registrar’s account, your email account, as well as any other related accounts. Make sure that you use good and properly chosen passwords for every account you have to avoid such incidents in the future.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Secure your domain registrar account and every email address used by your district through two-factor authentication. This can go a long way in helping to prevent future hijacking attempts.

Check WHOIS Information

In simplest terms, for domain owners, ensure that you run a WHOIS check to confirm if any changes have been made to the data associated with your domain. If so, demand that your registrar follow the records and substantiate your ownership information.

How to Prevent Domain Hijacking?

Here are key steps to protect your domain from hijacking:

Use Strong, Unique Passwords

It is very important that you utilize a powerful and unique password for the domain registrar account and any related email accounts. Do not select personal or obvious passwords; instead, always change them occasionally.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Make sure to use two-factor authentication for your domain registrar and email accounts. This makes it more secure since there is an added security measure, which is the second factor of the authentication pin, in addition to your password.

Always, twice a year at least, update your contact information with your email addresses and phone numbers with your domain registrar. This is important, especially in subscribing to notifications and alerts concerning your particular domain.

Use Domain Locking

Allow locking of the domain (also known as registrar lock) to make sure that no one can change the registration details of your domain. It can help avoid domain transfers or modifications that you do not necessarily agree with.

Monitor Domain Status Regularly

Check your domain status, the Whois record, and the DNS settings of your domain more often. Always keep an eye on the options for any kind of alteration or any suspicious signs.

Also Read: What is DNS Poisoning or DNS Spoofing?

As part of domain registration and management, there are tools and services out there that can assist in monitoring the changes made to the registration details.

Conclusion

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