How the World’s Largest Country-Code Domain Approaches Security, Trust, and Brand Protection

As one of the largest and most strategically significant country code domains, .CN offers an important view into how registries are balancing growth, governance and brand safety at scale.  

We’re pleased to present this partner article from CNNIC, the registry behind China’s .CN country code top-level domain, about the growing sophistication of abuse, the increasing need for cross-border cooperation, and the rising expectation from global brands for proactive protective mechanisms within complex national markets. 

A Trusted Digital Identifier  

.CN is China’s country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) and is operated and managed by CNNIC. It has be­come one of the world’s largest and most dynamic ccTLDs by registration volume. For the local commu­nity, .CN represents the core identifier of China’s digital identity. It is the primary entry point for corporate branding, government services, and public online ap­plications, offering strong security, high recognizability, and public trust. As such, it serves as a critical internet infrastructure resource supporting the development of China’s digital economy.  

.CN has four core strengths. First, it benefits from a large market scale and broad reach, supported by the world’s largest internet user base and a wide range of application scenarios. Second, it is secure and stable, with reliable operations backed by a robust technical  

architecture and strong security protection capabili­ties. Third, it is well governed and highly trusted, with strict registration review and real‑name verification requirements in place. Fourth, it has strong local rel­evance and a business‑friendly environment, making it highly trusted by Chinese enterprises and users and the preferred domain name choice for entering the Chinese market.  

Abuse is Evolving Beyond Traditional Cybersquatting  

In the early stages, domain name abuse was primarily characterized by malicious registration of well‑known trademarks. In recent years, it has gradually shifted toward activities such as phishing scams, imper­sonation websites, spam, and large‑scale malicious registrations, showing increasing traits of automation, tool‑driven operations, and cross‑border activity. 

At the same time, we have observed that abusive behavior has become more covert, bulk registrations more concentrated, and the need for cross‑border collaborative governance more pressing.  

Through sustained mitigation efforts, the overall abuse rate of .CN domains has remained at a relatively low level globally.  

The key risks and challenges currently facing this space include several areas. Cross‑border phishing and online fraud continue to evolve rapidly, requir­ing faster and more agile response capabilities. The increase in automated, large‑scale malicious regis­trations has made mitigation efforts more complex and difficult. Finally, cross‑border enforcement and cooperation face challenges due to differences in processes, legal frameworks, and coordination mech­anisms across jurisdictions.  

CNNIC has established a full-process, institutionalized domain name abuse governance system. It fully en­forces real‑name registration verification to ensure that registration information is authentic and traceable. A 24/7 monitoring and response mechanism is in place to promptly identify suspicious domain names, and CNNIC works in close coordination with regulatory authorities and registrars to form a closed‑loop gov­ernance model.  

CNNIC places a high priority on the protection of intel­lectual property rights and addresses IP infringement within the .CN namespace through multiple mecha­nisms. It supports and implements the WIPO Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to efficiently resolve domain name disputes related to cybersquatting, while maintaining close cooperation with global brand owners, law firms, and registrars to jointly prevent and curb infringement activities. 

Building More Proactive Protection for Global Brands 

We place great importance on the global internet community, particularly the intellectual property (IP) community. The IP community plays a critical role in combating cybersquatting, brand infringement, and online abuse. CNNIC has long maintained close communication and pragmatic cooperation with WIPO, national IP authorities, global registrars, and registries, working together to safeguard a fair, healthy, and se­cure global domain name ecosystem.  

To better protect the legitimate rights and interests of brand owners worldwide, reduce the cost of rights enforcement, and improve efficiency, CNNIC has worked together with registrars to deliver domain registration services that enable enterprises to adopt a more proactive, efficient, and comprehensive domain registration strategy within the .CN namespace.  

Through the brand protection service and our part­nership with GlobalBlock, we aim to achieve three key objectives. First, to provide global brand owners with professional, efficient, and trustworthy brand protection within the .CN namespace. Second, to con­tinuously reduce the scope for malicious registrations and infringement activities, thereby further improving and safeguarding the .CN domain name ecosystem. Third, to deepen collaboration with global partners such as the Brand Safety Alliance to jointly build a strong security defense.  

Looking ahead, we will continue to enhance our tech­nical capabilities, optimize service processes, and expand international cooperation, positioning .CN as the safest, most reliable, and most preferred ccTLD for global brands.  

In the future development of .CN, we aim to contin­ue maintaining its position as a secure, stable, and trusted leading ccTLD globally. We will further en­hance our international service capabilities to better support Chinese enterprises “going global” as well as global enterprises “entering China.” We will continue to strengthen brand protection and infringement gov­ernance to build a healthier domain name ecosystem. Finally, we will deepen international cooperation, po­sitioning .CN as a top‑tier domain name that is trusted by users worldwide, easy to use, and supported by high‑quality services.