The number of malicious dormant domains is on the rise, and as researchers warn, roughly 22.3% of strategically aged domains pose some form of danger.
This was a realization that struck analysts when it was revealed that the SolarWinds threat actors relied on domains registered years before their malicious activities began.
Based on that, efforts in detecting strategically aged domains before they get the chance to launch attacks and support malicious activities have picked up pace.
A report from Palo Alto Networks' Unit42 reveals their researchers' findings after looking at tens of thousands of domains each day throughout September 2021.
They concluded that approximately 3.8% are straight-out malicious, 19% are suspicious, and 2% are unsafe for work environments.