Phishing Activity: Domain Registrars
Quarter over Quarter Comparison:
November 1, 2023 - January 31, 2024
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, 2023 - October 31, 2023 period to the ranking for the November 1, 2023 - January 31, 2024 period.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Phishing Domains, Quarter over Quarter (November to January 2024)
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 2023 | November to January 2024 | August to October 2023 | November to January 2024 ▼ | |||
| 1 | ▲ +99* | URL Solutions, Inc. | 1449 | 201,740 | 221,393 | (+10%) | 50 | 27,931 | (+55,762%) |
| 2 | — | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 4,210,581 | 4,641,195 | (+10%) | 14,417 | 20,634 | (+43%) |
| 3 | ▲ +5 | GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com | 49 | 4,295,849 | 5,001,877 | (+16%) | 3,782 | 15,680 | (+315%) |
| 4 | — | GoDaddy.com, LLC | 146 | 65,043,830 | 66,048,332 | (+2%) | 8,609 | 15,138 | (+76%) |
| 5 | ▼ -2 | NameCheap, Inc. | 1068 | 14,687,240 | 16,138,203 | (+10%) | 12,116 | 12,483 | (+3%) |
| 6 | ▼ -5 | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,294,461 | 4,431,133 | (+3%) | 15,220 | 12,024 | (-21%) |
| 7 | ▼ -2 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 77,648 | 91,220 | (+17%) | 5,571 | 11,333 | (+103%) |
| 8 | ▼ -1 | Gname.com Pte. Ltd. | 1923 | 3,719,123 | 4,285,752 | (+15%) | 4,413 | 10,654 | (+141%) |
| 9 | ▲ +5 | ALIBABA.COM SINGAPORE E-COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED | 3775 | 606,623 | 616,139 | (+2%) | 2,222 | 7,180 | (+223%) |
| 10 | — | HOSTINGER operations, UAB | 1636 | 1,738,104 | 2,063,655 | (+19%) | 3,634 | 7,047 | (+94%) |
| 11 | ▲ +1 | Tucows Domains Inc. | 69 | 9,591,561 | 9,922,915 | (+3%) | 2,325 | 6,966 | (+200%) |
| 12 | ▼ -6 | PSI-USA, Inc. dba Domain Robot | 151 | 1,153,017 | 1,253,870 | (+9%) | 4,917 | 5,719 | (+16%) |
| 13 | ▲ +8 | Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu | 1647 | 1,191,135 | 1,298,011 | (+9%) | 1,568 | 5,369 | (+242%) |
| 14 | ▼ -3 | Dynadot Inc | 472 | 3,101,010 | 3,488,820 | (+13%) | 2,488 | 5,255 | (+111%) |
| 15 | ▲ +3 | Aceville Pte. Ltd. | 3858 | 38,960 | 179,375 | (+360%) | 1,840 | 4,294 | (+133%) |
| 16 | ▲ +3 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 643,299 | 610,902 | (-5%) | 1,831 | 3,725 | (+103%) |
| 17 | — | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 743,367 | 808,397 | (+9%) | 1,844 | 3,603 | (+95%) |
| 18 | ▼ -9 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,284,357 | 1,391,881 | (+8%) | 3,773 | 3,318 | (-12%) |
| 19 | ▲ +17 | Internet Domain Service BS Corp | 2487 | 390,139 | 384,631 | (-1%) | 458 | 2,998 | (+555%) |
| 20 | ▲ +2 | Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNic.cc | 460 | 780,221 | 721,152 | (-8%) | 1,557 | 2,802 | (+80%) |
* 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, 2023 - October 31, 2023 period to the November 1, 2023 - January 31, 2024 period.
Ranking of Domain Registrars by Phishing Domain Score, Quarter over Quarter (November to January 2024)
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 2023 | November to January 2024 | August to October 2023 | November to January 2024 ▼ | |||
| 1 | ▲ +75* | URL Solutions, Inc. | 1449 | 201,740 | 221,393 | (+10%) | 2.5 | 1261.6 | (+50,771%) |
| 2 | ▼ -1 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 77,648 | 91,220 | (+17%) | 717.5 | 1242.4 | (+73%) |
| 3 | ▼ -1 | Aceville Pte. Ltd. | 3858 | 38,960 | 179,375 | (+360%) | 472.3 | 239.4 | (-49%) |
| 4 | ▲ +2 | ALIBABA.COM SINGAPORE E-COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED | 3775 | 606,623 | 616,139 | (+2%) | 36.6 | 116.5 | (+218%) |
| 5 | ▲ +9 | TLD Registrar Solutions Ltd. | 1564 | 66,884 | 72,166 | (+8%) | 26.6 | 106.4 | (+300%) |
| 6 | ▲ +22 | Internet Domain Service BS Corp | 2487 | 390,139 | 384,631 | (-1%) | 11.7 | 77.9 | (+564%) |
| 7 | ▲ +39 | Danesco Trading Ltd. | 1418 | 77,757 | 78,486 | (+1%) | 7.6 | 66.3 | (+773%) |
| 8 | ▲ +3 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 643,299 | 610,902 | (-5%) | 28.5 | 61 | (+114%) |
| 9 | ▲ +3 | Atak Domain Bilgi Teknolojileri A.Ş. | 1601 | 211,396 | 197,627 | (-7%) | 28.3 | 51.5 | (+82%) |
| 10 | ▼ -5 | PSI-USA, Inc. dba Domain Robot | 151 | 1,153,017 | 1,253,870 | (+9%) | 42.6 | 45.6 | (+7%) |
| 11 | ▲ +5 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 743,367 | 808,397 | (+9%) | 24.8 | 44.6 | (+80%) |
| 12 | ▼ -4 | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 4,210,581 | 4,641,195 | (+10%) | 34.2 | 44.5 | (+30%) |
| 13 | ▲ +12 | Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu | 1647 | 1,191,135 | 1,298,011 | (+9%) | 13.2 | 41.4 | (+214%) |
| 14 | ▲ +6 | Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNic.cc | 460 | 780,221 | 721,152 | (-8%) | 20 | 38.9 | (+95%) |
| 15 | ▼ -11 | Key-Systems, LLC | 1345 | 254,330 | 569,704 | (+124%) | 48.8 | 36.3 | (-26%) |
| 16 | ▲ +3 | HOSTINGER operations, UAB | 1636 | 1,738,104 | 2,063,655 | (+19%) | 20.9 | 34.2 | (+63%) |
| 17 | ▲ +20 | GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com | 49 | 4,295,849 | 5,001,877 | (+16%) | 8.8 | 31.4 | (+256%) |
| 18 | N/R** | CommuniGal Communication Ltd. | 418 | 93,981 | 86,139 | (-8%) | 1.2 | 30.5 | (+2,509%) |
| 19 | ▼ -16 | Hongkong Kouming International Limited | 3972 | 38,584 | 50,152 | (+30%) | 62.7 | 29.9 | (-52%) |
| 20 | ▼ -2 | Cosmotown, Inc. | 1509 | 258,676 | 302,935 | (+17%) | 23.5 | 29.6 | (+26%) |
* 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 (November to January 2024)
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 2023 | November to January 2024 | August to October 2023 | November to January 2024 ▼ | |||
| 1 | ▲ +89* | URL Solutions, Inc. | 1449 | 201,740 | 221,393 | (+10%) | 27 | 26,055 | (+96,400%) |
| 2 | — | NameSilo, LLC | 1479 | 4,210,581 | 4,641,195 | (+10%) | 11,759 | 16,691 | (+42%) |
| 3 | ▲ +4 | GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com | 49 | 4,295,849 | 5,001,877 | (+16%) | 3,446 | 15,215 | (+342%) |
| 4 | ▲ +1 | NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED | 3765 | 77,648 | 91,220 | (+17%) | 4,624 | 10,513 | (+127%) |
| 5 | ▲ +1 | GoDaddy.com, LLC | 146 | 65,043,830 | 66,048,332 | (+2%) | 3,524 | 9,628 | (+173%) |
| 6 | ▼ -5 | PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com | 303 | 4,294,461 | 4,431,133 | (+3%) | 12,046 | 8,867 | (-26%) |
| 7 | ▲ +2 | Gname.com Pte. Ltd. | 1923 | 3,719,123 | 4,285,752 | (+15%) | 2,888 | 7,880 | (+173%) |
| 8 | ▼ -5 | NameCheap, Inc. | 1068 | 14,687,240 | 16,138,203 | (+10%) | 8,777 | 7,705 | (-12%) |
| 9 | ▲ +2 | ALIBABA.COM SINGAPORE E-COMMERCE PRIVATE LIMITED | 3775 | 606,623 | 616,139 | (+2%) | 1,769 | 6,032 | (+241%) |
| 10 | ▼ -6 | PSI-USA, Inc. dba Domain Robot | 151 | 1,153,017 | 1,253,870 | (+9%) | 4,711 | 5,467 | (+16%) |
| 11 | ▼ -1 | HOSTINGER operations, UAB | 1636 | 1,738,104 | 2,063,655 | (+19%) | 2,603 | 4,992 | (+92%) |
| 12 | ▲ +5 | Tucows Domains Inc. | 69 | 9,591,561 | 9,922,915 | (+3%) | 1,254 | 4,565 | (+264%) |
| 13 | ▼ -1 | Dynadot Inc | 472 | 3,101,010 | 3,488,820 | (+13%) | 1,707 | 3,981 | (+133%) |
| 14 | ▲ +5 | Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu | 1647 | 1,191,135 | 1,298,011 | (+9%) | 1,125 | 3,980 | (+254%) |
| 15 | ▼ -1 | Aceville Pte. Ltd. | 3858 | 38,960 | 179,375 | (+360%) | 1,517 | 3,858 | (+154%) |
| 16 | ▼ -1 | Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU LLC | 1606 | 743,367 | 808,397 | (+9%) | 1,468 | 2,958 | (+101%) |
| 17 | ▼ -9 | Sav.com, LLC | 609 | 1,284,357 | 1,391,881 | (+8%) | 3,184 | 2,676 | (-16%) |
| 18 | ▲ +3 | OwnRegistrar, Inc. | 1250 | 643,299 | 610,902 | (-5%) | 1,050 | 2,140 | (+104%) |
| 19 | ▼ -1 | Key-Systems, LLC | 1345 | 254,330 | 569,704 | (+124%) | 1,207 | 2,024 | (+68%) |
| 20 | ▼ -7 | Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn) | 1599 | 2,912,901 | 3,219,314 | (+11%) | 1,649 | 1,882 | (+14%) |
* Indicates change over prior quarter
| 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 |