Leading Web Domain Name Registrars Disclose Data Breach

The world’s top domain registrars Web.com, Network Solutions,
and Register.com disclosed a security breach that may have resulted
in the theft of customers’ account information.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida,
Web.com is a leading web technology company that owns both
Network Solutions and Register.com. The companies offer web
services like web hosting, website design, and online marketing to
help people build their own websites.

What happened? — In late August 2019, a third-party gained
unauthorized access to a “limited number” of the company’s computer
systems and reportedly accessed millions of records for accounts of
current and former customers with Web.com, Network Solutions, and
Register.com.

The company said it became aware of the security intrusion only
on October 16, 2019, but did not disclose any details on how the
incident happened.

What type of information was compromised? — According to
the affected domain registrars, the stolen information includes
contact details of their customers, such as:

• Names
• Addresses
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• Information about the services offered to a customer.

What type of information was not compromised? — The
companies also confirmed that no credit card information was
compromised as a result of the security breach incident since they
claim to encrypt their customers’ credit card numbers before
storing them on their databases.

To be noted, the passwords for account logins of affected
customers were also not compromised, which otherwise could have
allowed attackers to permanently hijack domain names by
transferring them to an account owned by attackers with a separate
service.

What are the affected companies now doing? — The
companies took necessary steps to stop the security intrusion upon
discovery and immediately launched an investigation by engaging a
leading independent cybersecurity firm to determine the scope of
the incident.

The companies have also notified all the relevant authorities
and already started working with federal law enforcement.

All three affected domain registrars are also in the process of
contacting affected customers through email and via their
websites.

What affected customers should do now? — As a precaution,
affected customers are encouraged to change passwords for their
Web.com, Network Solutions, and Register.com accounts and for any
other online account where you use the same credentials.

Do it even if you are not affected—just to be on the safer
side.

Since the exposed data includes personal identifying information
(PII), affected customers should mainly be suspicious of phishing
emails, which are usually the next step of cybercriminals in an
attempt to trick users into giving away their passwords and credit
card information.

Although the data breach did not expose any financial
information, it is always a good idea to be vigilant and keep a
close eye on your bank and payment card statements for any unusual
activity and report to the bank if you find any.

This is not the first time Web.com has disclosed a security
incident. In August 2015, the company suffered a major
data breach^[4] that had compromised
personal and credit card information belonging to nearly 93,000
customers.