A study by Interisle Consulting reveals a troubling trend: although new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) account for just 11% of the market for new domain registrations, they represented 37% of all cybercrime domains reported between September 2023 and August 2024.

Sponsored by anti-spam organizations like the Anti-Phishing Working Group and CAUCE, the study highlights how cheap registration fees and lax identity verification make new gTLDs attractive to scammers. For instance, many gTLDs with high cybercrime activity offer domains for under $2, whereas the cheapest .com domains start at nearly $6. Despite such findings, ICANN plans to introduce more gTLDs by 2026, a move critics argue will further facilitate cybercrime without stricter policies.

The report also details an alarming rise in phishing hosted on subdomain providers such as blogspot.com and pages.dev. Interisle tracked over 1.18 million phishing incidents involving subdomains in the past year—a 114% increase—often targeting brands like Apple, Google, and PayPal, with the U.S. Postal Service emerging as a frequent victim. Cybercriminals exploit free services to create multiple accounts rapidly, complicating mitigation efforts. The report recommends limiting automated account sign-ups and enforcing stricter controls on subdomain creation to curb abuse. For more insights, read Brian Krebs' detailed coverage on his blog KrebsOnSecurity.