New ZIP domains spark debate among cybersecurity experts

Lawrence Abrams  / Reporter

Source : https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-zip-domains-spark-debate-among-cybersecurity-experts/

Cybersecurity researchers and IT admins have raised concerns over Google’s new ZIP and MOV Internet domains, warning that threat actors could use them for phishing attacks and malware delivery.

Earlier this month, Google introduced eight new top-level domains (TLD) that could be purchased for hosting websites or email addresses.

The new domains are .dad, .esq, .prof, .phd, .nexus, .foo, and for the topic of our article, the .zip and .mov domain TLDs.

While the ZIP and MOV TLDs have been available since 2014, it wasn’t until this month that they became generally available, allowing anyone to purchase a domain, like bleepingcomputer.zip, for a website.

However, these domains could be perceived as risky as the TLDs are also extensions of files commonly shared in forum posts, messages, and online discussions, which will now be automatically converted into URLs by some online platforms or applications.