LONDON, UK, August 23, 2018 – DomainTools, a leader in domain name and DNS-based cyber threat intelligence, today announced the results of a survey of 326 security professionals conducted at Infosecurity Europe, which suggests that 77% of security professionals believe it would be very easy for children to venture onto an unscrupulous website. A further 19% suggesting it would be easy, with only 4% of respondents believing it would be difficult or very difficult for children to end up on a potentially malicious website.
These results represent a concerning discovery for parents of children who have grown up with the Internet as a part of everyday life; 47% of the respondents suggested they knew a child or close relative under the age of 11 who used the Internet unsupervised.
“The Internet has the potential to be the greatest educational tool in human history, but for young people to get the most out of it they need to be made aware – as does the entire population – of the dangers that straying onto a malicious website represent” said Tim Helming, director of product management at DomainTools.
DomainTools bolstered this survey using their PhishEye tool to research domains associated with four children’s TV Programmes – Ben 10, Peppa Pig, Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse and Little Einsteins – and found evidence of over 50 domains with a risk score of 70 or above, making it highly likely these domains are used for malicious purposes such as spreading spam or malware.
“If the results of the survey weren’t enough, the fact that malicious websites associated with children’s television shows are currently active shows how seriously Internet safety must be taken by parents – particularly in the wake of GDPR, which has caused a reduction in the domain registration data available for security researchers, governments and law enforcement agencies to investigate this kind of malicious activity” concluded Helming.
The survey was conducted with a group of 326 security professionals at Infosecurity Europe, London between June 5-7, 2018.
For additional information on DomainTools and its suite of products, visit: https://www.domaintools.com.
About DomainTools
DomainTools helps security analysts turn threat data into threat intelligence. We take indicators from your network, including domains and IPs, and connect them with nearly every active domain on the Internet. Those connections inform risk assessments, help profile attackers, guide online fraud investigations, and map cyber activity to attacker infrastructure. Fortune 1000 companies, global government agencies, and leading security solution vendors use the DomainTools platform as a critical ingredient in their threat investigation and mitigation work. Learn more about how to connect the dots on malicious activity at https://www.domaintools.com/ or follow us on Twitter: @domaintools.
