The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has warned businesses to improve their websites’ cyber resilience ahead of major changes in the coming weeks.
On March 24, non-government regulator .au Domain Administration (auDA) introduced a new system that allows businesses, associations, individuals, or organisations with a connection to Australia to register using the new shorter category domain name. For example, clothes.com.au may be changed to clothes.au.
Last week, the ACSC warned that the new domain name category might enable cybercriminals to facilitate fraudulent activity like business email compromise, which might lead to invoice fraud.
“Opportunistic cybercriminals could register your .au domain name in an attempt to impersonate your business,” the ACSC warned, as reported by news.com.au.
The auDA said Australian businesses with an existing domain name only have until September 20, 2022, to reserve or register their equivalent “.au” domain name before it becomes available to the public.
As cyber resilience concerns intensify in Australia, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson commented that the “last thing anyone needs is someone ripping off their domain name.” Therefore, he advised small business owners to work out if they want the shortened “.au” domain or will be unhappy for someone else to have it.
“If you want it, small business owners, I urge you to take a few minutes and few dollars to register it or potentially face someone else grabbing it and using it to digitally ambush your business to demand big dollars later to surrender it to you or misuse it to masquerade as you or to help them engage in cybercrime,” he said, as reported by news.com.au.
In a letter to the auDA, Billson urged the regulator to extend the deadline. However, the regulator rejected the request.
“So, all I can do is try and make sure small and family businesses are not caught short when it comes to the shortened .au domain name,” Billson said. “The consequences of not registering your existing business name by this deadline could be catastrophic for a business if a rival or someone else took their online name. Domain names are very much the identity of a business and are critical to its success. Small businesses cannot afford to have their identity sold to someone else.”
