WhoisXML API Blog

The SPF Onion: Enter the World of SPF Chaos

Authors:
Ed Gibbs, Field CTO, WHOIS API Inc.
Jeff Vogelpohl

Introduction

It was late in the evening on September 25, 2024, when I received a suspicious email in my personal inbox. It was cleverly disguised as a message from an insurance company I currently do business with, but something felt off—the usual company icon didn’t look quite right. Normally, I verify the sender by clicking on the icon to check the email address, but this time it wouldn’t pop up. Sensing something was amiss, I decided to dig deeper.

APTLD86 Recap: ccTLD Trends and Takeaways

WhoisXML API is honored to have been represented at the recent APTLD86 conference, the 86th members meeting of the Asia Pacific Top Level Domain (APTLD) Association. Held on 17–20 September 2024 in Da Nang, Vietnam, the event took on a hybrid format, with 110 participants on-site and 50 others online.

Our Head of APAC and Global Partnership, Ching Chao, participated in the conference and shared in-depth insights into DNS abuse, contributing to the discussions and knowledge exchange among the APTLD members.

In this post, we’ll share some of the most notable takeaways from the APTLD86 conference.

August 2024: Domain Activity Highlights

The WhoisXML API research team analyzed more than 7.4 million domains registered between 1 and 31 August 2024 to identify the most popular registrars, top-level domain (TLD) extensions, and other global domain registration trends.

We also determined the top TLD extensions used by the more than 59.2 billion domains from our DNS database’s A record full file released in the same month.

Next, we studied the top TLDs and associated threat types of more than 1.0 million domains detected as indicators of compromise (IoCs) in August.

Finally, we summed up our findings and provided links to the threat reports produced using DNS, IP, and domain intelligence sources during the period.

WhoisXML API Ranked in Inc. 5000 2024 Fastest-Growing Companies in America

WhoisXML API is proud to be named one of the 2024 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies in America once again, specifically ranking 26th in the security category, 281 in California, and 1,847 overall.

The ranking is based on three years of annual revenue growth and has strict requirements, including a minimum revenue of US$100,000 in 2020 and US$2 million in 2023.

“We are delighted and honored to be on Inc. 5000 for the seventh year now. What led WhoisXML API to this prestigious list is our entire team’s dedication to helping our customers enrich security platforms and solutions with high-fidelity cyber intelligence to help make the Internet a safer environment for everyone worldwide,” says WhoisXML API CEO Jonathan Zhang.

Black Hat 2024: Key Takeaways and Trends

WhoisXML API representatives were among the more than 20,000 security professionals from 117 countries who gathered at Black Hat 2024 held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas on 3–8 August 2024.

The annual conference once again delivered on its promise of showcasing the latest security advancements and exposing emerging threats. As our team continues to absorb the valuable insights gained from Black Hat 2024, we put into writing this recap to capture the key themes and highlights of the conference.

July 2024: Domain Activity Highlights

The WhoisXML API research team analyzed more than 7.3 million domains registered between 1 and 31 July 2024 in this post to identify five of the most popular registrars, top-level domain (TLD) extensions, and other global domain registration trends.

We also determined the top 5 TLD extensions used by the more than 58.1 billion domains from our DNS database’s A record full file released in July 2024.

Next, we studied the top 5 TLDs and associated threat types of more than 1 million domains detected as indicators of compromise (IoCs) in the same month.

Finally, we summed up our findings and provided links to the threat reports produced using DNS, IP, and domain intelligence sources during the period.

What Are the Priorities for the U.S. Administration Cybersecurity Spending in 2026?

The White House has laid out a road map on how executive departments and agencies should plan to spend their cybersecurity dollars in the coming years. On 10 July 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memorandum outlining the administration’s cybersecurity investment priorities. The memo intends to guide relevant government entities as they prepare their 2026 budget submissions to the OMB.

The U.S. government is taking a page out of its own National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) playbook, wrapping its investment priorities around five pillars to improve the country’s cybersecurity posture, namely:

Making Email Security Smarter with Domain Intelligence

More than 4 billion people checking their emails daily represents a goldmine for attackers. No wonder phishing remains one of the biggest threats today, pushing email security to the top of organizations' cyber priorities.

But here's the kicker—90% of malicious emails can slip through email security standards, such as the Sender Policy Framework (SPF); the DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM); or Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC).

While many email security providers are out there, those offering a multilayered approach can offer more.