{"id":8779,"date":"2020-03-26T09:22:22","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T13:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cscdigitalbrand.services\/blog\/?p=8779"},"modified":"2020-03-31T12:19:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T16:19:59","slug":"coronavirus-online-threats-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cscdbs.com\/blog\/coronavirus-online-threats-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Online Threats Going Viral, Part 1: Domain Names"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Dr. David Barnett
subject matter expert – brand monitoring<\/i> Share this post<\/strong> \n<\/a>\n<\/a>\n<\/a>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\n

As news of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to emerge, CSC has undertaken the first in a series of studies looking at how the development of the crisis has affected online content. This first article looks at the numbers of registered domains with names containing coronavirus-related strings\u2014\u201ccoronavirus\u201d or \u201ccovid(-)19\u201d (optional hyphen)\u2014and analyzes the types of content present on the associated websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our investigation, we found 6,341 domains containing the string \u2018covid(-)19\u2019, and 11,552 domains containing \u2018coronavirus\u2019[1]<\/sup>. Many of these registered domain names include other terms, implying that the associated websites feature neutral or informational content. However, significant numbers incorporate particular keywords suggesting that they could have been registered to take advantage of people\u2019s fears surrounding coronavirus to attract web traffic. These domains may be used to create websites associated with scams, or with the intention of generating revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table 1:<\/strong> Total number of coronavirus-related domains containing keywords of\nparticular interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Keyword<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n No.<\/strong> coronavirus-related domains containing keyword1<\/sup><\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Treatment-related keywords:<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n  <\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   anti (excl.\n \u201cquarantine\u201d<\/em>)\n <\/td>\n 187\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Beat\n <\/td>\n 40\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   treatment\n <\/td>\n 80\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Cure\n <\/td>\n 197\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   surviv-\n <\/td>\n 283\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   vaccin-\n <\/td>\n 227\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n  \n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Tracking and testing-related keywords:<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Detect\n <\/td>\n 15\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Track\n <\/td>\n 90\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Test\n <\/td>\n 801\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n  \n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n eCommerce-related keywords:<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Buy\n <\/td>\n 38\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Mask\n <\/td>\n 415\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   Kit\n <\/td>\n 316\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   suppl- (for\n \u201csupply,\u201d \u201csupplies,\u201d or \u201csupplier\u201d<\/em>)\n <\/td>\n 130\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n  \n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Health organization keywords:<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   CDC\n <\/td>\n 19\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n   WHO\n <\/td>\n 19\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n  \n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Total no. domains with keywords (excl. duplicates)<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n 2,646<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We further analysed this set of domains to determine[2]<\/sup> when the domains were registered. This analysis shows that of the 2,000 plus domains for which creation dates were identifiable, only 17 domains (0.8%) were registered before 2020, and 68% (1,400+ domains) were registered since the start of March\u2014that\u2019s just two weeks prior to the date of analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figure 1:<\/strong> Daily numbers of registrations of coronavirus-related domains featuring keywords of relevance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

N.B. We\ntruncated the graph at three days prior to the date of analysis, as there can\ntypically be a delay of around two to three days between the date of domain registration\nand its inclusion and detection in the published zone file. Accordingly, the\nnumbers of registrations shown for (at least) the two or three days prior to\nanalysis are likely to be underestimates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

–\n– –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These figures provide a striking\nillustration of how escalating real-world issues can produce a flurry of\ncorresponding activity online, with an enormous increase in registrations as countries\nbegan to announce lockdown measures throughout March. We can also see spikes in\nthe domain-registration graph associated with specific events:<\/p>\n\n\n\n