September 16, 2013
The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) has warned of impostors contacting APNIC members requesting details that could result in the hijacking of registration database records.
APNIC is the regional Internet registry for the Asia Pacific region; which among a number of functions, allocates IPv4 and IPv6 address space and maintains the public Whois Database for the Asia Pacific region.
The APNIC Whois Database contains registration details of IP addresses and AS numbers originally allocated by APNIC. It's a little like the WHOIS database for domains, but just for numbers.
APNIC says its staff do not make unsolicited calls or send emails to individuals not listed as admin or technical contacts in the WHOIS database and would never request any login or password details.
"If you have been contacted and fear information has been lost or provided inadvertently to a scammer, or if you have any concerns regarding an email or voice call from someone claiming to represent APNIC, please contact the APNIC Helpdesk immediately to resolve that issue and verify the staff member's identity," says the advisory.
The APNIC situation serves as a reminder to everyone, whether registrant, registrar, web host or network administrator, to be conscious of the many threats to sensitive information concerning online operations that exist these days.
For businesses, whether its recognising a registrar posing as another or a phisher looking to hijack a site, there is a great deal to be across in terms of security and related issues.
But the effort in learning about the threats is more than worthwhile when you consider the alternative.
For a business to lose control over its domain name for any length of time can be extremely stressful and incredibly expensive; plus can cause damage to the brand - particularly if the domain is redirected to a site containing inappropriate content or malware.
Read more: What Do I Need To Know About Domain Name Security?
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