The Beginning In May, Google released eight new top-level domains (TLDs)—suffixes at the end of URLs, like “.com” or “.uk”. These mini-appendices were developed decades ago to expand and organize URLs, and over the years the Internet Foundation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has relaxed the restrictions. restrictions on TLDs so organizations like Google can bid to sell access to more TLDs. But while Google’s announcement includes gentle services like “.dad” and “.nexus”, it also launched a pair of TLDs that are ready to tout online scams and other types of scams: “.zip” and “.mov”.
Both stand out because they are also common file extension names. Formerly, .zip, popular for Data Compression, while .mov is a video format developed by Apple. Concerns have begun to surface that URLs that look like filenames will open more possibilities for digital scams such as phishing scams that trick web users into clicking malicious links masquerading as one. something legal. And the two domains can also extend the problem of bots mistaking filenames to URLs and automatically adding links to filenames. With this in mind, scammers can strategically buy .zip and .mov URLs that are also common filenames—think, springbreak23.mov—for online references to a file with that name. may automatically link to a malicious website.
“Attackers will use anything they can to get inside,” said Ronnie Tokazowski, a longtime phishing researcher and principal threat advisor at cybersecurity firm Cofense. an organization. “God, this has been around for a long time. Nothing changes.”
Researchers have started see malicious actor buy strategic .zip URLs and start testing them in phishing campaigns. However, reactions differ on how negatively affected .zip and .mov domains when scams targeting URL confusion are already an incalculable threat. In addition, proxies and other traffic management tools have implemented anti-phishing protections to reduce the risk of users clicking by mistake—and .zip and .mov will simply be integrated into the measures. that defense.
“The risk of confusion between domain names and filenames is not new. For example, 3M’s Command product uses the domain name command.com, which was also an important program on MS DOS and early versions of Windows,” Google told WIRED in a statement. “Apps have mitigations for this (such as Google Safe Browsing) and these will hold true for TLDs such as .zip.” The company added that the Google Registry already includes mechanisms to suspend or remove malicious domains across all of the company’s top-level domains. “We will continue to monitor the use of .zip and other TLDs, and if new threats emerge, we will take appropriate action to protect users,” the company said.
Providing more TLDs expands the number of URLs available to everyone. This means you have more options and not necessarily a premium to buy the site name you want from an existing owner or speculator who has already purchased a bunch of historical URLs. And some in the security community feel that, given the inherently high risk of phishing attacks, add-ons like .zip and .mov add insignificant danger.
