Are you vigilant about domain name management?

DarkReading.com reported that “Expired domains can pose a significant cyber-risk for organizations. Vigilant domain management is the first step for sustainable mitigation.” The March 10, 2025 article entitled “Why You Should Track Down Expired Domain Names” (https://www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/why-you-should-track-down-expired-domain-names) included these comments:

Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to access business systems, data, and credentials. And expired domain names — domain names your business purchased but no longer uses — can be the bad apple that spoils all your cybersecurity efforts and gives threat actors an attack route you and your users may not see coming.

To help you improve your defenses, I'll explore the domain name buying process and discuss what happens when domain names expire. I'll also share some real-world examples of attackers using expired domain names as attack paths and pinpoint ways a cybersecurity expert can reduce risk originating from such domain names.

The Domain Name Life Cycle

When your business registers a domain, you're effectively leasing it for a set period. If you fail to renew, the domain goes through several stages:

• Grace period: A short window to renew without additional fees.

• Redemption period: Renewal is still possible but at a higher cost.

• Pending delete: A five-day period before the domain becomes available again.

• Drop list: The domain is released on the open market for anyone to purchase.

Hackers and malicious actors use tools to monitor drop lists, identifying and acquiring potentially valuable domains. Once acquired, cybercriminals weaponize these domains in various ways — and they move quickly.

What are you doing about your domain names?