Cyber cops to crack down on Internet crime with registrars

Domain name registrars have been meeting with cybercrime specialists from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss the growing problem of online offenses.

The meeting took place in Brussels at the end of last week and is the second collaborative cybercrime discussion undertaken by European Union and U.S. experts.

Michele Neylon, managing director of the Irish registrar Blacknight Solutions, said: “We’re trying to get both sides to communicate, so that we on our side have some idea what they’re trying to achieve, and they on their side understand what we’re able to do technically.”

Ms. Neylon said that the increasing cooperation between registrars and law enforcement agencies is a step in the right direction.

According to police in the U.S. and U.K., it is becoming increasingly apparent that domain names are the key to preventing the sale of counterfeit goods and the distribution of copyrighted material.

In the U.K., Nominet is already considering introducing a domain name seizure policy similar to that used by the U.S.’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.