Why?
The stable, safe and secure operation of the DNS has proven to be the foundation for the global expansion of the Internet as a universal public resource. However, like any other innovation and every technology, the Internet and the DNS are vulnerable to abuse, such as malware, botnets, phishing, pharming or spam. The topDNS initiative and its members are committed to fighting DNS abuse.
How?
To achieve this goal, the topDNS initiative rests on two main pillars:
Education & Awareness
- Promoting existing efforts to fight abuse online
- Educating policy & decision makers
- Involving hosting providers and their abuse teams
- Amplifying the messages of the industry
Collaboration & Operationalisation
- Collaboration with eco, a trusted Internet platform
- Sharing best-practice guidance on abuse management
- Standardising reports, use cases, data & definitions
- Developing a Trusted Notifier Framework
Sponsors
Among the many eco members who are fighting abuse on the Internet every day, we would like to thank our sponsors of the topDNS Initiative.
Please email topdns@eco.de if you are interested in joining!
Steering Committee
The topDNS Initiative is lead and guided by a group of leading industry experts:
Director of Outreach
Cloudflare
Vice President, General Counsel
Public Interest Registry
VP of Policy & Government Relations
Verisign
Chief Technology Officer
IQ Global
CIPP/E Privacy & GRC Officer
Realtime Register
Head of Policy and Compliance – Online Division
Team Internet
Competence Lead DNS & Domain Abuse
SWITCH
CEO
nic.at
Supporters
In addition to the sponsors of the topDNS Initiative, many eco members actively support our work fighting abuse and content-related harms on the Internet.
Please email topdns@eco.de if you are interested in joining!
News & Articles
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ICANN Publishes New Step-by-Step Guide for Submitting DNS Abuse Complaints
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has released a new Step-by-Step Guide: Submitting DNS Abuse Complaints, designed to help Internet users, security professionals, and stakeholders understand when and how to report Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse to ICANN Contractual Compliance. The guide is available on ICANN’s DNS…
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Domain & Emails: Strengthening Your Digital Presence
Gherardo Varani, Head of Business Development at Freename, discusses the essential role of domain and email security in fostering business growth. With the increasing frequency of cyberattacks, businesses must adopt innovative strategies that integrate traditional methods with decentralized technologies for comprehensive protection.
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Fighting DNS Abuse Globally: Insights from the 2025 Abuse Workshop at Nordic Domain Days
At the 2025 Nordic Domain Days Abuse Workshop, eco’s Thomas Rickert and global experts called for unified, cross-sector collaboration, legal harmonization, and automation to combat DNS abuse – moving beyond silos toward a resilient, trust-based ecosystem.
Events
Videos
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topDNS Best Practice Series Improving Abuse Handling Through Trusted Cooperation
On 19 May 2026, eco’s topDNS Initiative, together with the Trusted Notifier Network, hosted the 13th in a series of topDNS Best Practice webinars, focusing on how trusted notifier approaches can contribute to more effective and scalable abuse handling across the Internet infrastructure ecosystem.
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topDNS Best Practice Series: Beyond the Perimeter – Managing Internet Routing as a Supply Chain Risk
On 11 May 2026, eco’s topDNS Initiative, together with the Global Cyber Alliance and MANRS, hosted the 12th topDNS Best Practice webinar, focusing on Internet routing security as a critical but often overlooked enterprise supply chain risk.
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topDNS Best Practice Series: Applying the DTSP Safe Framework to Hosting, Registries, and Registrars: From Compliance to Operational Maturity
On 4 February 2026, eco’s topDNS Initiative, in cooperation with the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP), hosted the first topDNS Best Practice webinar of 2026 (the 11th session overall), focusing on how infrastructure providers can apply the DTSP Safe Framework (ISO/IEC 25389) to strengthen trust and safety practices beyond…
