eco’s topDNS Initiative, in cooperation with KOR Labs, NetBeacon Institute, and URLAbuse, hosted the ninth in a series of topDNS Best Practice webinars, exploring how DNS abuse is actually measured and what that means for improving mitigation across the domain industry.
The session brought together experts Prof. Maciej Korczynski (KOR Labs), Sourena Maroofi (URLAbuse), and Rowena Schoo (NetBeacon Institute), who discussed the complexity of measuring DNS abuse and introduced the NetBeacon MAP (Measurement & Analytics Platform).
Key topics included:
- How different data sources, blocklists, and aggregation methods affect abuse statistics
- The importance of distinguishing between maliciously registered and compromised domains
- Measuring the time to mitigation and how operator performance can be benchmarked
- The challenge of attribution—identifying who actually mitigates the abuse (registry, registrar, or host)
- Using transparent methodologies to improve consistency across measurement projects
The speakers presented MAP as a new framework that repeatedly monitors reported phishing and malware domains over time to measure mitigation rates and speed. This approach enables registries and registrars to track their performance and identify opportunities for faster, more effective abuse response.
The discussion underscored that while accurate measurement of DNS abuse is challenging, transparency, standardized methods, and data sharing are essential to drive meaningful progress across the DNS ecosystem.