Security for .au domain names just got a whole lot better with the introduction of a new security measure that will provide an added level of protection against website attacks and hijacking, as well as unintended and self-inflicted technical mistakes.

The introduction comes about, in part, following examples around the world of the devastating impact an attack can have on a business.

In an article on the AusRegistry website, George Pongas writes of “a high profile security incident last year in Ireland led to the unauthorised access of Google’s and Yahoo’s Domain Names. In this case, the nameserver delegation information was maliciously changed to redirect all visitors from the google.ie and yahoo.ie websites to other fraudulent websites, significantly disrupting business operations and damaging the brands’ reputation.”

And Pongas adds that it is for these reasons that he is “proud AusRegistry has got on the front foot and launched a new security measure that will allow .au Domain Name owners to lock their domain’s nameserver delegations and prevent changes other than by pre-authorised Registrars with authenticated access.”

Continuing on, Pongas writes the news service is called .auLOCKDOWN, and is a new Registry level security protocol that will allow .au Domain Name owners to lock their domain’s nameserver delegations and prevent changes other than by pre-authorised Registrars with authenticated access keys.

“While a rare occurrence, cyber attackers can attempt to hijack websites by infiltrating Registrar servers or by fraudulently posing as an authorised employee. While Registrars already have measures in place to counter this type of threat, examples such as the Google and Yahoo incidents demonstrate that another level of protection is warranted for high profile targets.

“.auLOCKDOWN has been developed to add an additional layer of authorisation at the Registry level that protects Domain Names in the unlikely event of a Registrar security incident or website hack that leads to unauthorised access to confidential data and systems. It also stops mistakes from occurring within an organisation, where Domain Names are accidentally updated by employees. This last point is perhaps the most frequent and likely incident to occur. Although innocent in origin, the impact can be just as significant and damaging as those with a malicious origin.

“.auLOCKDOWN provides the added level of protection that I know many CIOs for the largest companies in Australia are looking for. It’s about creating redundancy to deliver multiple layers of protection.

How .auLOCKDOWN works

The namesever details of a .au Domain Name locked through .auLOCKDOWN will only be accessible to authorised individuals through the following strict protocols:

• Registrants must first contact their accredited .au Registrar and request a change.
• Following this initial contact, the Registrar will begin a strictly controlled authentication process between the Registry and Registrar. This protocol has been purposefully designed to involve manual processes and human-to-human contact.
• Only the Registrar’s authorised contact(s) can lock, unlock, and relock a Domain Name with .auLOCKDOWN and these contacts will be verified by the Registry at each request.
• After successfully completing the authentication process, the .auLOCKDOWN is temporarily removed from the domain, the required updates are made, and then the domain is re-locked with .auLOCKDOWN.

More information about .auLOCKDOWN can be found here. An FAQ on .auLOCKDOWN is located here.