Attacks & Threats
Domain Hijacking
Definition
The unauthorized takeover of control over a registered domain name at the registrar or registry level, allowing an attacker to redirect traffic, email, and trust to malicious infrastructure.
Examples
- Attackers phish a domain owner's email, log into the registrar, and transfer the domain to attacker-controlled DNS to harvest credentials.
- A registrar breach lets an adversary modify NS records for hundreds of customer domains.
Related terms
DNS Hijacking
An attack that redirects DNS resolution to attacker-controlled answers by modifying client settings, router configurations, resolver responses, or authoritative DNS records.
DNS Spoofing
An attack that injects falsified DNS responses to redirect victims from a legitimate domain to an attacker-controlled IP address.
Cybersquatting
Registering domain names that contain trademarks or well-known brand names without authorization, typically to extract money from the rights holder or to deceive users.
Phishing
A social-engineering attack in which an attacker impersonates a trusted party to trick a victim into revealing credentials, transferring money, or running malware.
Business Email Compromise
A targeted fraud in which an attacker impersonates or takes over a corporate mailbox to trick an employee into wiring money, changing payment details, or sending sensitive data.
Supply Chain Attack
An attack that compromises a trusted third-party software, hardware, or service provider in order to reach its downstream customers.