In its ongoing fight against cybercrime, DNS Belgium is continuously taking new initiatives to this end . Our system currently checks the registration data of registrants before a domain name becomes active to prevent domain name abuse.
We consider it our mission to guarantee a secure internet in Belgium. One of the ways we do this is by actively checking the data you have to provide when you register a domain name. When we determine that a .be domain name was registered using incorrect data, the domain name holder will be asked by e-mail to correct this data. If this is not done within 14 days, the domain name is deactivated and the website made unavailable.
However, cybercriminals can do considerable damage in 14 days. They register - obviously using false data - a domain name, send huge numbers of phishing mails and steal money from unsuspecting people via a fake webshop or they get hold of your personal data via a site that is very similar to your banking platform, for example. This makes it worthwhile for fraudsters to put their sites online, however briefly. To avoid this from happening, we now check the registration data before a domain name becomes active.
To avoid this from happening, we now check the registration data before a domain name becomes active.
Registrant verification
When someone registers a .be domain name, DNS Belgium immediately checks whether the registrant 's data are correct. With more than 20,000 new domain name registrations a month, it makes sense to use an automated system to screen registrants. A series of parameters determines whether it concerns a suspicious registration.
If we believe this to be the case, the registrant still has 14 days to correct the data. Anyone who registers a domain name with the e-mail address anonymous@doesnotexist.be and then also gives a Russian phone number and Chinese address, will undoubtedly be asked to change the data or prove that the data are indeed correct. The domain name will not be activated as long as this has not happened.
People with bad intentions will of course not accept the invitation to use their correct data. A domain name that is registered for example to deceive people through phishing, will thus no longer be activated and can no longer cause damage.
.be is safe
DNS Belgium remains committed to a secure internet. That's the goal behind this new initiative. But also by proactively detecting and taking action against cybercrime, by collaborating with the authorities and through technical innovations that guarantee the security of the .be zone. This ensures as many fraudulent sites as possible are taken offline and cyber criminals are not given a chance. And that's how .be becomes a real quality guarantee.
This autumn we're launching a light-hearted social media campaign to further increase consumer confidence in .be domain names. In short, vlog-style videos, a friendly influencer will experimentally find out whether something is safe or not. Among other things, it shows you whether it's a good idea to be tackled by a rugby team or to eat bananas for a week. You can probably guess the answer, the message of the autumn campaign comes down to 'if only everything was as safe as .be’.
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.