Anti-Abuse Metrics and Process
.ORG Anti-Abuse Metrics
One of the best things about the .ORG domain is that it consistently ranks highest from a quality standpoint, especially when it comes to abuse. PIR works hard to make sure that the .ORG name space is the cleanest domain space in the industry. When you choose a .ORG domain, you know you’re getting the highest quality domain possible. Check out our metrics and you’ll see how we rank and compare with other domains
Abuse and Suspensions
(through October 9, 2024)
DNS Abuse
| Abuse Type | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPAM | 17,604 | 6,208 | 16,991 | 18,861 | 22,427 | 5,408 | 121 | 150 |
| PHISHING | 54 | 2,696 | 22,959 | 6,677 | 5,996 | 4,446 | 3661 | 3456 |
| MALWARE | 8 | 114 | 990 | 505 | 653 | 484 | 477 | 329 |
| BOTNET C&C | 1 | 73 | 550 | 350 | 278 | 132 | 1 | 0 |
| OTHER* | 25 | 12 | 31 | 53 | 115 | 14 | 5 | 5 |
| ANNUAL TOTALS | 17,692 | 9,103 | 41,434 | 26,466 | 29,469 | 10,484 | 4270 | 3935 |
| SUSPENDED BY REGISTRAR | 1,601 | 384 | 1,652 | 1,887 | 1,660 | 1,341 | 726 | 854 |
| SUSPENDED BY REGISTRY | 9,160 | 1,809 | 4,982 | 3,094 | 5,478 | 1,503 | 404 | 772 |
| TOTAL SUSPENSIONS | 10,761 | 2,193 | 6,634 | 4,981 | 7,138 | 2,844 | 1130 | 1626 |
* Hacking, Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks, other technical abuses
A natural question from these statistics is: what is the difference between the total number of domains flagged as abusive and the number of domains PIR or the registrar acts upon? Many of the domains flagged for abuse are actually “compromised cases,” where the domains are initially registered for non-abusive purposes, but the registrant’s domain is put to abusive purposes without its consent. Suspension at the registry level is not the appropriate action to deal with a compromised domain; instead the registrar or host should work to get control of the domain back into the registrant’s hands. Additionally, sometimes domains are flagged as abusive by Reputation Block Lists (RBLs) but then “un-flagged” for a variety of reasons.
Court Ordered Actions on Domains
(through October 9, 2024)
Court Ordered Law Enforcement– Botnets
(Botnet domains either suspended or seized by Law Enforcement Agencies)
| Year | Number of Domains |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 30,267 |
| 2018 | 13,927 |
| 2019 | 13,694 |
| 2020 | 86,240 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 YTD | 0 |
Court Ordered Law Enforcement Actions – Non-Botnets
| Year | Number of Domains |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 30 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 50 |
| 2024 YTD | 10 |
Court Ordered Civil Intellectual Property Enforcement
| Year | Number of Domains |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 534 |
| 2018 | 1,128 |
| 2019 | 391 |
| 2020 | 91 |
| 2021 | 150 |
| 2022 | 56 |
| 2023 | 101 |
| 2024 YTD | 51 |
Suspensions for Limited Categories of Website Content Abuse
(through October 9, 2024)
Child Sexual Abuse Material
Red Cross
| Year | Number of Domains |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 YTD | 1 |
Opioid Websites
| Year | Number of Domains |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 YTD | 0 |
Other Limited Content
| Year | Number of Domains |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 20 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 YTD | 0 |