Introduction:
security democratic congowhittakertechcrunch – Security commander Fredrik Almroth, security researcher and co-founder of cybersecurity startup Detectify, commandeered congo’s expired top-level domain to save it from hackers. The article below describes the fold of events.
Where Is the Democratic Republic Of Congo?
Central Africa is the home of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is home to more than 100 million people and is the second-largest country in Africa by area. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is renowned for its abundant natural resources. They include gold, diamonds, copper, and cobalt. However, the nation has recently encountered several difficulties. Armed warfare, governmental instability, and pervasive poverty. Despite these difficulties, the DRC has a lively culture and a diversified population. Its residents are striving for a more secure and prosperous future.
What Is A Domain?
- A “domain” is a distinctive address that designates a website or a particular area of a website.
- An IP address is a string of numbers that identifies a machine or network on the internet.
- The domain name is just an IP address in written form. security democratic congowhittakertechcrunch
- Instead of needing to remember a series of digits, a domain name makes a website easier to remember and locate.
- .The top-level domain (TLD), or “com,” at the end of the domain name designates a group of websites with related features.
- A domain registrar, or organization that oversees domain name registration, can help you register your domain name.
Security Commander saved Congo’s expired Domain
A little-known but crucially significant domain name for one country’s internet area started to expire in the middle of October. The domain, scpt-network.com, was one of two nameservers for the. cd country code top-level domain. It was given to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Millions of unaware internet users may be redirected to malicious websites of their choice if they got into the wrong hands.
A domain of such significance wasn’t meant to expire. Someone in the Congolese government presumably failed to pay for its renewal. Fortunately, expired domains don’t disappear instantly. Instead, a grace period for its government owners to repurchase the domain before it was sold to someone else began. security democratic congowhittakertechcrunch
Who Is Fredrik Almroth?
Fredrik Almroth is a security researcher and co-founder of the cybersecurity startup Detectify. He was already examining nameservers of country code top-level domains (or ccTLDs). The two-letter suffixes at the end of regional web addresses, such as.fr for France or. UK for the United Kingdom. Almroth started keeping an eye on this crucial domain name when he saw it was due to expire, expecting the Congolese government would pay to regain it.
But no one ever did!
The clock was nearly up at the end of December, and the domain was ready to disappear from the internet. Almroth swiftly acquired the name as soon as it became available to prevent anyone else from doing so as “the consequences are huge.”
The Government of Congo Did Not Claim The Domain
As he sought to come up with a plan to return the domain, Almroth wound up remaining on it for approximately a week. The domain had been inactive for two months at this time, and nothing major had gone wrong. Websites having a.cd domain may have taken, at most, a little longer to load.
Almroth kept the domain inactive because the other nameserver was still functioning regularly, so if a user tried to access a domain that used the nameserver under his control, it would time out and forward the request to the other nameserver.
The Congolese government ultimately decided not to pursue a request for the domain’s return. It created a brand-new domain with the identical name of scpt-network.net to replace the existing one. security democratic congowhittakertechcrunch
How to Prevent A Domain From Expiring?
A domain that has expired is obviously not what you want for your company. Thus, you should take action to stop domain expiration from occuring. Although you cannot completely prevent expiration dates, you may make sure that you always renew your domain on schedule.
There are two options for doing that: either manually renewing each time, or setting up automatic renewals. The majority of registrars support automatic renewal, relieving you of the burden of keeping track of due dates. Just make sure you allocate enough money for those renewals!
Be sure to set yourself reminders if you decide to manually renew. The majority of the time, registrars will issue reminders, but you don’t want to take the chance of losing your website because an email wasn’t delivered. You should also set your own reminders to ensure that you pay the domain renewal money on time and prevent expiration.
What Happens If You Miss Your Domain Renewal Date?
In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to be concerned about domain expiration. But, there may come a moment when you neglect to renew your domain, resulting in the expiration date being missed. What do you do in the case? Fortunately, you don’t lose sight of the object right away. After your expiration date has passed, numerous phases follow:
Even if you don’t have that setting activated, your registrar could occasionally try to renew your domain for you. In most cases, the registrar will email you or otherwise let you know that your payment is due.
If several days pass, the registrar will “park” your domain, which will cause your website to become inactive. The domain is still registered in your name, though.
Your domain will continue to be stored on your account after a few weeks, but it will go into complete inactivity. There normally is a late renewal fee at this stage.
Your domain is then put up for auction to other companies. If you decide to renew it, you still receive first choice, but your registrar starts letting other interested parties in.
Ultimately, your domain is lost. Your domain will belong to the person who purchases it at auction. It then reverts to the ordinary domain market if no one purchases it. At this point, you’ll need to buy it again and start again with your website if you want it back.
Who Is Zack Whittaker?
Zack Whittaker is a well-known journalist who focuses on writing on privacy and cybersecurity-related issues. He is currently employed at TechCrunch, a well-known technology news website that covers startups, venture capital, and Silicon Valley news, as the security editor.
Whittaker is in charge of covering news on cybersecurity, online privacy, and data breaches for TechCrunch. He has written extensively about prominent hacking incidents and data breaches, as well as the policies and procedures used by computer businesses that have an effect on the privacy and security of their customers.
Whittaker had worked as a security writer and editor at ZDNet, a different technology news website, before joining TechCrunch. Also, he has written for numerous other sites as a freelance journalist, including The Guardian, The Washington Post, and CNET.
Whittaker has won numerous accolades for his work, including the News & Documentary Emmy Award for Best Business and Economic Reporting in a News Magazine. He is widely regarded as a leading authority in the field of cybersecurity journalism. He has also made appearances on numerous television news programmes and podcasts as a regular critic on cybersecurity and privacy concerns in the media.
