Character Insertions
In the context of domains and cybersecurity, character insertions are a type of domain manipulation where an attacker adds one or more extra characters into a legitimate domain name. This is a form of typosquatting that exploits common typing errors. The added character is often a single letter, number, or symbol that makes the fraudulent domain look very similar to the original.
The goal is to trick users who either mistype a domain name or don't carefully check the URL in an email or advertisement. For example, if the legitimate domain is example.com, an attacker could register exxample.com or exampple.com. This simple addition can be very effective in deceiving a user who is in a hurry or on a mobile device. Once the user is redirected to the fraudulent domain, they may be presented with a fake login page designed to steal credentials. This page installs malware or is used for brand impersonation and other malicious activities.
ThreatNG helps with character insertions by proactively discovering and assessing domains that use this manipulation, providing detailed intelligence to mitigate risk before an attack can cause damage.
External Discovery and Assessment
ThreatNG performs a purely external, unauthenticated discovery to find potential threats from an attacker's perspective. For a company, ThreatNG automatically generates and looks for variations that use character insertions, such as myccompany.com or myxcompany.com, which are explicitly categorized as Insertions within its Domain Name Permutations capability.
The platform uses this discovery to assess an organization's susceptibility to risks directly related to character insertions, including:
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: ThreatNG analyzes parts of a web application accessible from the outside world to identify potential entry points for attackers. A fraudulent domain with a character insertion could be used to create a fake login page, which would be identified as a possible web application hijack risk.
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: This score is derived from Domain Intelligence, which includes the Domain Name Permutations capability. This helps identify domains with character insertions that could be used in phishing attacks.
Brand Damage Susceptibility: By identifying domains with character insertions, ThreatNG can determine potential threats that could be used for brand impersonation and to host malicious content, thus protecting the brand's reputation.
Investigation Modules and Intelligence Repositories
The Domain Intelligence module is the primary tool for detecting threats related to character insertions. Within this module, the DNS Intelligence capability specifically detects and groups these manipulations. ThreatNG's platform identifies both available and taken character insertion permutations, providing the associated IP address and mail record for those that are already registered and potentially in use by malicious actors.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories, known as DarCache, provide valuable context. For example, DarCache Rupture (Compromised Credentials) can reveal if a fraudulent domain is tied to compromised user data. At the same time, DarCache Dark Web can show if a planned phishing campaign using such a domain is being discussed in dark web forums.
Continuous Monitoring and Reporting
ThreatNG provides continuous monitoring of the external attack surface and digital risk. This ensures that new domains with character insertions are detected as soon as they appear, enabling a swift and proactive response to mitigate the impersonation before it causes significant damage. The platform's reports, which can be Executive, Technical, or Prioritized, highlight any discovered domains and their associated risks. The Prioritized reports use risk levels to help organizations focus on the most critical risks and make informed decisions about mitigation.
Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG's proactive intelligence makes it a strong complement to other security solutions. For example, if ThreatNG identifies a newly registered domain with a character insertion like myccompany.com and its associated IP address, this information can be used to update a DNS firewall to automatically block internal network traffic from accessing that fraudulent site. Alternatively, if ThreatNG detects that a fraudulent domain has active mail records, this intelligence can be shared with an email security gateway. This allows the gateway to proactively block any emails originating from that domain, preventing a phishing campaign from reaching employees' inboxes before it even begins.
