• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

2

Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich

3

A Trump Account could make your kid a millionaire by 45—but financial experts say the app's projections come with a catch

1

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

2

Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich

3

A Trump Account could make your kid a millionaire by 45—but financial experts say the app's projections come with a catch
Tech

3 Popular Domain Name Providers Confirm Data Breach

By
Alyssa Newcomb
Alyssa Newcomb
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Alyssa Newcomb
Alyssa Newcomb
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 31, 2019, 1:25 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Web.com and two domain name providers it owns, NetworkSolutions.com and Register.com, suffered a security breach that experts say opens the door to hackers commandeering websites to steal customer information.

Domain name registrars, a vital cog in Internet infrastructure, reserve domain names and assign unique IP addresses on behalf of their customers.

The Web.com breach, which was first reported by Krebs on Security, happened in August, it but wasn’t detected into earlier this month, according to a notice from Web.com.

The breached information “includes contact details such as name, address, phone numbers, email address and information about the services that we offer to a given account holder,” according to the company. Web.com says it does not believe passwords or credit card information were accessed, however it is requiring its estimated 8.7 million customers to reset their passwords the next time they log on.

While the password reset could be merely a precaution, Bob Rudis, chief security data scientist at Rapid7, says it’s unusual if the company insists that passwords were not compromised.

“Anyone that uses these organizations should be really concerned. Double check your records,” he says.

Shuman Ghosemajumder, chief technology officer at Shape Security, tells Fortune that a breach like this is essentially exposing “the keys to your kingdom” for those operating a website.

“If an attacker has control over how your domain name is set up, they can impersonate you or your company, and redirect your real users to whatever site they want, in a way that most security controls cannot detect,” he says.

For instance, hackers could redirect users or employees to phishing sites that look just like a legitimate website’s login page and trick them into sharing their usernames and passwords. Or they could divert users to a page that may show content that would embarrass a company, Ghosemajumder says.

A domain breach became a real-life nightmare for a Brazilian bank and its customers in 2016. Hackers tricked customers into entering their login credentials on dummy websites that looked legitimate and also placed malware on their devices, according to researchers from Kaspersky Labs. Another domain hack happened last April when hackers breached ICS-Forth, the domain registrar in Greece that controls .gr and .el domain names, leading to customers having to reset their passwords.

The threat was enough for the Department of Homeland Security to issue a warning in January about domain hijacking campaigns and to encourage people domain owners to use multi-factor authentication, which requires a website administrator to use at least two passwords—including a code sent to their phone or email accounts—before they can log into a site.

It’s a threat that is only becoming more pervasive, Rudis says.

“Over the course of the past three or four years, there have been a number of successful attacks against domain name registrars,” he says. “Once they (hackers) are in, they can do lots of things.”

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—AT&T’s CEO appeased activist investor Elliott Management
—The wireless industry needs more airwaves, but it’s going to be costly
—Spotify’s way to convert free users to paying customers: even more freebies
—Apple looks ahead to augmented reality
—Lyft tries again with monthly memberships. Here’s how much it costs
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.


About the Author
By Alyssa Newcomb
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Trinidad and Tobago signs deals with U.S. companies for data centers, despite history of chronic water shortages and intermittent supply
AIData centers
Trinidad and Tobago signs deals with U.S. companies for data centers, despite history of chronic water shortages and intermittent supply
By Anselm Gibbs and The Associated PressJuly 12, 2026
15 hours ago
Want to earn nearly $100,000 within 5 years of graduating? Study engineering, Fed research says
SuccessThe Promotion Playbook
Want to earn nearly $100,000 within 5 years of graduating? Study engineering, Fed research says
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 12, 2026
18 hours ago
A girl looking at her laptop screen
InnovationEducation
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich
Big TechTech
Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Zhenghua Yang
SuccessSmall Business
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeJuly 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Photo: James Murdoch
Big TechJames Murdoch
James Murdoch may have reaped as much as $7.5 billion from his pre-IPO investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX
By Claire AtkinsonJuly 12, 2026
19 hours ago

Most Popular

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
Innovation
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 12, 2026
18 hours ago
Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich
Big Tech
Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 12, 2026
18 hours ago
A Trump Account could make your kid a millionaire by 45—but financial experts say the app's projections come with a catch
Personal Finance
A Trump Account could make your kid a millionaire by 45—but financial experts say the app's projections come with a catch
By Sydney LakeJuly 12, 2026
19 hours ago
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
Middle East
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
By Jason MaJuly 11, 2026
1 day ago
Trump’s time is running out to avoid a nightmare Strait of Hormuz scenario
Energy
Trump’s time is running out to avoid a nightmare Strait of Hormuz scenario
By Jordan BlumJuly 12, 2026
23 hours ago
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
Environment
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 10, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.