Phishing Activity: Domain Registrars
Quarter over Quarter Comparison:
August 1, 2023 - October 31, 2023
For purposes of observing change over time, it is useful to compare measurements and metrics over successive reporting periods. Such comparisons illustrate whether phishing activities are increasing or decreasing, and where such changes are occurring. Such comparisons can identify suspicious concentrations of phishing domains reported in registrar domain portfolios, and can identify registrars where phishers flock to purchase and manage phishing domains. Investigators or policy makers may focus on these for deeper analyses.
In the table below, we use the measurement reported phishing domains to compare the rankings of registrars during the May 1, 2023 - July 31, 2023 period to the ranking for the August 1, 2023 - October 31, 2023 period.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Phishing Domains, Quarter over Quarter (August to October 2023)
Registrars with a minimum of 30,000 domains under management and 25 phishing domains
| Domains under Management | Number of Phishing Domains | ||||||||
| Rank | Registrar | IANA ID | May to July 2023 | August to October 2023 | May to July 2023 | August to October 2023 ▼ | |||
| 1 | — | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,205,319 | 4,294,461 | (+2%) | 18,525 | 15,220 | (-18%) |
| 2 | — | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 3,521,035 | 4,210,581 | (+20%) | 12,035 | 14,417 | (+20%) |
| 3 | ▲ +1* | NameCheap, Inc. | 1068 | 13,051,112 | 14,687,240 | (+13%) | 9,336 | 12,116 | (+30%) |
| 4 | ▼ -1 | GoDaddy.com, LLC | 146 | 64,115,816 | 65,043,830 | (+1%) | 11,308 | 8,609 | (-24%) |
| 5 | ▲ +3 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 49,925 | 77,648 | (+56%) | 4,299 | 5,571 | (+30%) |
| 6 | ▲ +8 | PSI-USA, Inc. dba Domain Robot | 151 | 1,044,452 | 1,153,017 | (+10%) | 2,052 | 4,917 | (+140%) |
| 7 | ▲ +2 | Gname.com Pte. Ltd. | 1923 | 3,066,248 | 3,719,123 | (+21%) | 3,788 | 4,413 | (+16%) |
| 8 | ▼ -2 | GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com | 49 | 3,794,400 | 4,295,849 | (+13%) | 4,984 | 3,782 | (-24%) |
| 9 | ▲ +1 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,226,401 | 1,284,357 | (+5%) | 3,687 | 3,773 | (+2%) |
| 10 | ▲ +1 | HOSTINGER operations, UAB | 1636 | 1,071,089 | 1,738,104 | (+62%) | 3,332 | 3,634 | (+9%) |
| 11 | ▲ +2 | Dynadot Inc | 472 | 2,652,055 | 3,101,010 | (+17%) | 2,276 | 2,488 | (+9%) |
| 12 | — | Tucows Domains Inc. | 69 | 9,390,685 | 9,591,561 | (+2%) | 2,312 | 2,325 | (+1%) |
| 13 | ▲ +2 | Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn) | 1599 | 1,747,446 | 2,912,901 | (+67%) | 1,734 | 2,288 | (+32%) |
| 14 | ▲ +6 | ALIBABA.COM SINGAPORE E-COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED | 3775 | 542,106 | 606,623 | (+12%) | 1,493 | 2,222 | (+49%) |
| 15 | ▼ -8 | Squarespace Domains II LLC | 895 | 9,020,378 | 9,166,643 | (+2%) | 4,334 | 2,134 | (-51%) |
| 16 | ▲ +8 | FastDomain Inc. | 1154 | 2,291,909 | 2,233,984 | (-3%) | 985 | 1,955 | (+98%) |
| 17 | ▲ +4 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 509,909 | 743,367 | (+46%) | 1,493 | 1,844 | (+24%) |
| 18 | N/R** | Aceville Pte. Ltd. | 3858 | 24,015 | 38,960 | (+62%) | 2,121 | 1,840 | (-13%) |
| 19 | ▼ -2 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 716,182 | 643,299 | (-10%) | 1,580 | 1,831 | (+16%) |
| 20 | ▼ -15 | eNom, LLC | 48 | 4,008,803 | 4,043,151 | (+1%) | 5,639 | 1,829 | (-68%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
** Indicates not ranked in prior quarter; either domains under management or number of phishing domains did not meet minimum threshold for ranking
To allow comparison of large and small gTLD registrars, we rank registrars based on a metric, phishing domain score, which is calculated by dividing the number of domain names reported for phishing in a registrar by the number of domains delegated from that registrar.
gTLD registrar Phishing Score = (number of phishing domains/domains delegated from gTLD registrar) * 10,000
This score can highlight where high-volume phishers place multiple phish on one domain.
In the table below, we use the metric phishing domain score to compare and rank registrars for the May 1, 2023 - July 31, 2023 period to the August 1, 2023 - October 31, 2023 period.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Phishing Domain Score, Quarter over Quarter (August to October 2023)
Registrars with a minimum of 30,000 domains under management and 25 phishing domains
| Domains under Management | Phishing Domain Score | ||||||||
| Rank | Registrar | IANA ID | May to July 2023 | August to October 2023 | May to July 2023 | August to October 2023 ▼ | |||
| 1 | — | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 49,925 | 77,648 | (+56%) | 861.1 | 717.5 | (-17%) |
| 2 | N/R** | Aceville Pte. Ltd. | 3858 | 24,015 | 38,960 | (+62%) | 883.2 | 472.3 | (-47%) |
| 3 | ▲ +20* | Hongkong Kouming International Limited | 3972 | 32,182 | 38,584 | (+20%) | 13.4 | 62.7 | (+369%) |
| 4 | ▲ +41 | Key-Systems, LLC | 1345 | 239,106 | 254,330 | (+6%) | 7 | 48.8 | (+594%) |
| 5 | ▲ +10 | PSI-USA, Inc. dba Domain Robot | 151 | 1,044,452 | 1,153,017 | (+10%) | 19.7 | 42.6 | (+117%) |
| 6 | ▲ +3 | ALIBABA.COM SINGAPORE E-COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED | 3775 | 542,106 | 606,623 | (+12%) | 27.5 | 36.6 | (+33%) |
| 7 | ▼ -4 | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,205,319 | 4,294,461 | (+2%) | 44.1 | 35.4 | (-20%) |
| 8 | ▼ -4 | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 3,521,035 | 4,210,581 | (+20%) | 34.2 | 34.2 | (+0%) |
| 9 | ▼ -2 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,226,401 | 1,284,357 | (+5%) | 30.1 | 29.4 | (-2%) |
| 10 | ▲ +30 | MAT BAO CORPORATION | 1586 | 256,433 | 170,394 | (-34%) | 7.6 | 28.6 | (+274%) |
| 11 | ▲ +2 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 716,182 | 643,299 | (-10%) | 22.1 | 28.5 | (+29%) |
| 12 | ▲ +4 | Atak Domain Bilgi Teknolojileri A.Ş. | 1601 | 258,645 | 211,396 | (-18%) | 18.6 | 28.3 | (+53%) |
| 13 | ▲ +45 | West263 International Limited | 1915 | 357,814 | 218,783 | (-39%) | 5.1 | 27.8 | (+445%) |
| 14 | ▼ -12 | TLD Registrar Solutions Ltd. | 1564 | 51,038 | 66,884 | (+31%) | 47.8 | 26.6 | (-44%) |
| 15 | N/R | Spaceship, Inc. | 3862 | 7,650 | 85,574 | (+1,019%) | 176.5 | 25.7 | (-85%) |
| 16 | ▼ -8 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 509,909 | 743,367 | (+46%) | 29.3 | 24.8 | (-15%) |
| 17 | ▼ -7 | NETIM SARL | 1519 | 68,745 | 72,018 | (+5%) | 24.4 | 24 | (-2%) |
| 18 | ▼ -4 | Cosmotown, Inc. | 1509 | 221,762 | 258,676 | (+17%) | 21 | 23.5 | (+12%) |
| 19 | ▼ -13 | HOSTINGER operations, UAB | 1636 | 1,071,089 | 1,738,104 | (+62%) | 31.1 | 20.9 | (-33%) |
| 20 | ▼ -8 | Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNic.cc | 460 | 706,026 | 780,221 | (+11%) | 24.2 | 20 | (-17%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
** Indicates not ranked in prior quarter; either domains under management or number of phishing domains did not meet minimum threshold for ranking
The final table compares and ranks gTLD registrars by malicious domain registrations.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Malicious Domain Registrations, Quarter over Quarter (August to October 2023)
Registrars with a minimum of 30,000 domains under management and 25 phishing domains
| Domains under Management | Malicious Domain Registrations | ||||||||
| Rank | Registrar | IANA ID | May to July 2023 | August to October 2023 | May to July 2023 | August to October 2023 ▼ | |||
| 1 | ▲ +1* | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,205,319 | 4,294,461 | (+2%) | 8,557 | 12,046 | (+41%) |
| 2 | ▼ -1 | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 3,521,035 | 4,210,581 | (+20%) | 8,743 | 11,759 | (+34%) |
| 3 | — | NameCheap, Inc. | 1068 | 13,051,112 | 14,687,240 | (+13%) | 5,279 | 8,777 | (+66%) |
| 4 | ▲ +8 | PSI-USA, Inc. dba Domain Robot | 151 | 1,044,452 | 1,153,017 | (+10%) | 1,942 | 4,711 | (+143%) |
| 5 | ▲ +1 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 49,925 | 77,648 | (+56%) | 3,276 | 4,624 | (+41%) |
| 6 | ▼ -2 | GoDaddy.com, LLC | 146 | 64,115,816 | 65,043,830 | (+1%) | 4,996 | 3,524 | (-29%) |
| 7 | — | GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com | 49 | 3,794,400 | 4,295,849 | (+13%) | 3,043 | 3,446 | (+13%) |
| 8 | ▲ +1 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,226,401 | 1,284,357 | (+5%) | 2,866 | 3,184 | (+11%) |
| 9 | ▲ +1 | Gname.com Pte. Ltd. | 1923 | 3,066,248 | 3,719,123 | (+21%) | 2,776 | 2,888 | (+4%) |
| 10 | ▲ +1 | HOSTINGER operations, UAB | 1636 | 1,071,089 | 1,738,104 | (+62%) | 2,038 | 2,603 | (+28%) |
| 11 | ▲ +6 | ALIBABA.COM SINGAPORE E-COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED | 3775 | 542,106 | 606,623 | (+12%) | 1,052 | 1,769 | (+68%) |
| 12 | ▲ +1 | Dynadot Inc | 472 | 2,652,055 | 3,101,010 | (+17%) | 1,367 | 1,707 | (+25%) |
| 13 | ▲ +3 | Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn) | 1599 | 1,747,446 | 2,912,901 | (+67%) | 1,066 | 1,649 | (+55%) |
| 14 | N/R** | Aceville Pte. Ltd. | 3858 | 24,015 | 38,960 | (+62%) | 1,857 | 1,517 | (-18%) |
| 15 | ▲ +4 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 509,909 | 743,367 | (+46%) | 988 | 1,468 | (+49%) |
| 16 | ▼ -8 | Squarespace Domains II LLC | 895 | 9,020,378 | 9,166,643 | (+2%) | 2,894 | 1,409 | (-51%) |
| 17 | ▼ -2 | Tucows Domains Inc. | 69 | 9,390,685 | 9,591,561 | (+2%) | 1,217 | 1,254 | (+3%) |
| 18 | ▲ +23 | Key-Systems, LLC | 1345 | 239,106 | 254,330 | (+6%) | 135 | 1,207 | (+794%) |
| 19 | ▼ -1 | Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu | 1647 | 1,080,725 | 1,191,135 | (+10%) | 1,025 | 1,125 | (+10%) |
| 20 | ▼ -15 | eNom, LLC | 48 | 4,008,803 | 4,043,151 | (+1%) | 3,842 | 1,051 | (-73%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
** Indicates not ranked in prior quarter; either domains under management or number of phishing domains did not meet minimum threshold for ranking
| Quarterly Update: Registrars |
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| Quarter over Quarter: Key Statistics |
Quarter over Quarter: Top Level Domains |
Quarter over Quarter: Registrars |
Quarter over Quarter: Hosting Networks |