Phishing Activity: Domain Registrars
Quarter over Quarter Comparison:
November 1, 2022 - January 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 August 1, 2022 - October 31, 2022 period to the ranking for the November 1, 2022 - January 31, 2023 period.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Phishing Domains, Quarter over Quarter (November to January 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 | August to October 2022 | November to January 2023 | August to October 2022 | November to January 2023 ▼ | |||
| 1 | ▲ +5* | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,732,711 | 4,647,019 | (-2%) | 8,297 | 38,114 | (+359%) |
| 2 | — | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 4,507,830 | 4,435,176 | (-2%) | 16,539 | 30,368 | (+84%) |
| 3 | — | NameCheap, Inc. | 1068 | 14,325,755 | 14,539,475 | (+1%) | 15,132 | 14,230 | (-6%) |
| 4 | — | GoDaddy.com, LLC | 146 | 65,778,642 | 65,549,799 | (-0%) | 15,089 | 12,549 | (-17%) |
| 5 | ▲ +9 | Google LLC | 895 | 8,086,099 | 8,143,743 | (+1%) | 3,542 | 5,393 | (+52%) |
| 6 | ▲ +82 | West263 International Limited | 1915 | 734,773 | 753,511 | (+3%) | 70 | 5,141 | (+7,244%) |
| 7 | ▲ +8 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 749,164 | 740,237 | (-1%) | 3,173 | 4,246 | (+34%) |
| 8 | ▲ +2 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 817,907 | 948,017 | (+16%) | 4,710 | 3,988 | (-15%) |
| 9 | ▼ -2 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 33,957 | 41,615 | (+23%) | 5,842 | 3,973 | (-32%) |
| 10 | ▼ -9 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,465,306 | 1,537,868 | (+5%) | 22,290 | 3,442 | (-85%) |
| 11 | ▲ +7 | Hostinger, UAB | 1636 | 877,610 | 960,997 | (+10%) | 2,351 | 3,247 | (+38%) |
| 12 | ▼ -4 | GMO Internet, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com | 49 | 4,753,774 | 4,619,970 | (-3%) | 5,488 | 3,208 | (-42%) |
| 13 | ▼ -1 | Tucows Domains Inc. | 69 | 9,778,324 | 9,689,178 | (-1%) | 3,828 | 3,041 | (-21%) |
| 14 | ▲ +6 | Name.com, Inc. | 625 | 2,230,367 | 2,189,113 | (-2%) | 1,890 | 2,984 | (+58%) |
| 15 | ▲ +2 | Dynadot, LLC | 472 | 3,122,969 | 3,111,664 | (-0%) | 2,360 | 2,982 | (+26%) |
| 16 | ▼ -7 | eNom, LLC | 48 | 4,422,183 | 4,343,412 | (-2%) | 4,900 | 2,765 | (-44%) |
| 17 | ▼ -4 | Porkbun LLC | 1861 | 998,854 | 1,054,734 | (+6%) | 3,558 | 2,239 | (-37%) |
| 18 | ▲ +1 | Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNic.cc | 460 | 947,972 | 956,261 | (+1%) | 2,264 | 2,101 | (-7%) |
| 19 | ▼ -14 | Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn) | 1599 | 3,216,834 | 3,303,160 | (+3%) | 12,251 | 1,893 | (-85%) |
| 20 | ▲ +6 | Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. | 1556 | 1,752,618 | 1,760,417 | (0%) | 914 | 1,848 | (+102%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
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 August 1, 2022 - October 31, 2022 period to the November 1, 2022 - January 31, 2023 period.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Phishing Domain Score, Quarter over Quarter (November to January 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 | August to October 2022 | November to January 2023 | August to October 2022 | November to January 2023 ▼ | |||
| 1 | — | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 33,957 | 41,615 | (+23%) | 1720.4 | 954.7 | (-45%) |
| 2 | ▲ +18* | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,732,711 | 4,647,019 | (-2%) | 17.5 | 82 | (+368%) |
| 3 | ▲ +6 | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 4,507,830 | 4,435,176 | (-2%) | 36.7 | 68.5 | (+87%) |
| 4 | ▲ +109 | West263 International Limited | 1915 | 734,773 | 753,511 | (+3%) | 1 | 68.2 | (+7,082%) |
| 5 | — | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 749,164 | 740,237 | (-1%) | 42.4 | 57.4 | (+35%) |
| 6 | ▼ -2 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 817,907 | 948,017 | (+16%) | 57.6 | 42.1 | (-27%) |
| 7 | ▲ +6 | Hostinger, UAB | 1636 | 877,610 | 960,997 | (+10%) | 26.8 | 33.8 | (+26%) |
| 8 | ▲ +14 | iNET CORPORATION | 3234 | 61,088 | 65,207 | (+7%) | 17 | 31.4 | (+85%) |
| 9 | ▼ -6 | TLD Registrar Solutions Ltd. | 1564 | 75,836 | 74,637 | (-2%) | 114.6 | 30.6 | (-73%) |
| 10 | ▼ -2 | Cosmotown, Inc. | 1509 | 80,013 | 117,864 | (+47%) | 37.4 | 28.9 | (-23%) |
| 11 | ▲ +13 | DOTSERVE INC. | 1913 | 61,862 | 78,895 | (+28%) | 13.1 | 25.6 | (+96%) |
| 12 | ▲ +6 | Internet Domain Service BS Corp | 2487 | 414,833 | 405,363 | (-2%) | 18.6 | 24.7 | (+33%) |
| 13 | ▲ +3 | CV. Jogjacamp | 1478 | 120,625 | 133,013 | (+10%) | 21.1 | 23.3 | (+11%) |
| 14 | ▼ -12 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,465,306 | 1,537,868 | (+5%) | 152.1 | 22.4 | (-85%) |
| 15 | ▼ -1 | Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNic.cc | 460 | 947,972 | 956,261 | (+1%) | 23.9 | 22 | (-8%) |
| 16 | ▲ +29 | MAT BAO CORPORATION | 1586 | 418,090 | 365,735 | (-13%) | 6.4 | 21.4 | (+234%) |
| 17 | — | Atak Domain Bilgi Teknolojileri A.Ş. | 1601 | 338,316 | 343,598 | (+2%) | 19.5 | 21.3 | (+9%) |
| 18 | ▼ -8 | Porkbun LLC | 1861 | 998,854 | 1,054,734 | (+6%) | 35.6 | 21.2 | (-40%) |
| 19 | ▼ -8 | NETIM SARL | 1519 | 63,214 | 67,265 | (+6%) | 32.4 | 19.9 | (-39%) |
| 20 | ▼ -8 | CNOBIN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED | 3254 | 156,492 | 152,096 | (-3%) | 28.2 | 17.2 | (-39%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
The final table compares and ranks gTLD registrars by malicious domain registrations.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Malicious Domain Registrations, Quarter over Quarter (November to January 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 | August to October 2022 | November to January 2023 | August to October 2022 | November to January 2023 ▼ | |||
| 1 | ▲ +1* | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 4,507,830 | 4,435,176 | (-2%) | 11,823 | 26,831 | (+127%) |
| 2 | ▲ +5 | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,732,711 | 4,647,019 | (-2%) | 4,222 | 15,783 | (+274%) |
| 3 | ▲ +1 | NameCheap, Inc. | 1068 | 14,325,755 | 14,539,475 | (+1%) | 8,366 | 8,235 | (-2%) |
| 4 | ▲ +1 | GoDaddy.com, LLC | 146 | 65,778,642 | 65,549,799 | (-0%) | 7,222 | 6,330 | (-12%) |
| 5 | ▲ +88 | West263 International Limited | 1915 | 734,773 | 753,511 | (+3%) | 27 | 5,099 | (+18,785%) |
| 6 | ▲ +5 | Google LLC | 895 | 8,086,099 | 8,143,743 | (+1%) | 2,801 | 4,328 | (+55%) |
| 7 | ▲ +3 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 817,907 | 948,017 | (+16%) | 2,978 | 3,082 | (+3%) |
| 8 | ▲ +6 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 749,164 | 740,237 | (-1%) | 2,500 | 2,987 | (+19%) |
| 9 | ▼ -1 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 33,957 | 41,615 | (+23%) | 3,885 | 2,980 | (-23%) |
| 10 | ▼ -9 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,465,306 | 1,537,868 | (+5%) | 21,633 | 2,681 | (-88%) |
| 11 | ▲ +5 | Hostinger, UAB | 1636 | 877,610 | 960,997 | (+10%) | 1,779 | 2,414 | (+36%) |
| 12 | ▲ +6 | Dynadot, LLC | 472 | 3,122,969 | 3,111,664 | (-0%) | 1,404 | 1,995 | (+42%) |
| 13 | ▲ +2 | Tucows Domains Inc. | 69 | 9,778,324 | 9,689,178 | (-1%) | 2,138 | 1,860 | (-13%) |
| 14 | ▲ +6 | Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNic.cc | 460 | 947,972 | 956,261 | (+1%) | 1,315 | 1,644 | (+25%) |
| 15 | ▲ +6 | Name.com, Inc. | 625 | 2,230,367 | 2,189,113 | (-2%) | 1,161 | 1,557 | (+34%) |
| 16 | ▲ +8 | Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. | 1556 | 1,752,618 | 1,760,417 | (0%) | 721 | 1,540 | (+114%) |
| 17 | ▼ -5 | Porkbun LLC | 1861 | 998,854 | 1,054,734 | (+6%) | 2,547 | 1,511 | (-41%) |
| 18 | ▼ -5 | eNom, LLC | 48 | 4,422,183 | 4,343,412 | (-2%) | 2,526 | 1,476 | (-42%) |
| 19 | ▼ -16 | Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn) | 1599 | 3,216,834 | 3,303,160 | (+3%) | 10,738 | 1,316 | (-88%) |
| 20 | ▼ -1 | Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu | 1647 | 1,585,107 | 1,451,884 | (-8%) | 1,401 | 1,086 | (-22%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
| Quarterly Update: Registrars |
|||
| Quarter over Quarter: Key Statistics |
Quarter over Quarter: Top Level Domains |
Quarter over Quarter: Registrars |
Quarter over Quarter: Hosting Networks |