Clarivate put out a press release today with regards to domain management and security. No surprise as domain names become more valuable and meaningful to organizations around the world.

The 2020 survey was conducted by independent research firm Vitreous World and surveyed 1100 IT, legal and marketing decision-makers around the world from seven countries, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.K. and U.S.

The new report explores the role of domains in IP management as well as the most significant domain challenges in 2020 and beyond. ‘2021 Global Business Survey: The growing role of domains in IP’ surveyed IT, legal and marketing decision makers worldwide and revealed a third of organizations suffered a cyber attack on their domains last year. Domain security is cited as the biggest challenge in domain management by over half (56%) of all respondents.

Security: a dominant domain management issue

As a result, organizations have boosted their investment in domain management in order to secure those domains that are of paramount importance to their operations. 52% of respondents were spending more than $25,000 annually managing domain portfolios in 2020, up from 39% in 2019.

The most popular methods used to secure domains have evolved. While two-factor authentication remains the most popular option, increasing from 41% in 2019 to 53% in 2020, registry locking leapfrogged into third place, up substantially to 39% in 2020 compared to 28% in the previous year, reflecting a growing understanding and awareness of registry locks.

Furthermore, organizations realize that external expertise can help them navigate today’s domain security challenges, particularly so with global domain ownership. However, 41% of respondents cited difficulties in overseeing security of numerous global domains and identifying trusted, reputable registrars or providers in each global region.

Protecting brand value with domain management

With the steady rise in cybersquatting case filings observed by WIPO, organizations are prioritizing brand protection to mitigate the growing risks of infringement, fraud and other abuse. Mitigating brand abuse is the biggest motivator driving domain registrations, according to 50% of respondents in 2020, a significant rise from 27% in 2019.