Look-alike domains pose threats for phishing and other social engineering attacks
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced that it has introduced a new tool, Domain Doppelgänger, which searches for fake web domains. According to Farsight Security, for every top global brand registered today, bad guys have created nearly 20 fake web domains. Of these spoofed sites, more than ninety percent offer some kind of legitimate looking web page with the intent to damage or deceive users.
Domain Doppelgänger is a new web-based, free tool that allows IT professionals to search for these “evil twin”, potentially harmful domains. The no-charge tool 
combines the search, discovery, reporting, risk indicator identification, end-user assessment and training in a single, easy interface. Domain Doppelgänger issues reports with aggregated results that include risk indicators, and based
on these results, generates an online domain safety assessment quiz for an organization’s end users.
“Imitation domains are a risk to organizations because they can prompt phishing scams or can contain malware,” said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. “Instead of using multiple methods to search for at-risk domains, IT professionals can utilize KnowBe4’sDomain Doppelgänger tool as a one-stop shop to identify, aggregate, analyze and assess these domains. By learning the look-alike domains that might impact your brand, you can better protect your organization from cybercrime.”
According to research by Farsight Security, fake internet domain names being used to trick consumers into giving up personal information is more widespread than experts originally thought. Between Oct. 17, 2017 and Jan. 10, 2018, the company observed more than 116,000 look-alike domains of real sites like Facebook, Twitter, Gucci, Wells Fargo and others.
To download the new Domain Doppelgänger tool, please visit https://www.knowbe4.com/domain-doppelganger/.
About KnowBe4
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 20,000 organizations worldwide. Founded by data and IT security expert Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness of ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to security awareness training. Kevin Mitnick, internationally recognized computer security expert and KnowBe4’s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design KnowBe4’s training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations worldwide trust KnowBe4 to mobilize their employees as their last line of defense.
Number 96 on the 2018 Inc. 500 list, #70 on 2017 Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 and #2 in Cybersecurity Ventures Cybersecurity 500. KnowBe4 is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida with European offices in England, the Netherlands, Germany and offices in South Africa and Singapore.
