.zip is a

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domain name, domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the DNS root zone, root zone of the nam ...

name operated by

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

. It is a

generic top-level domain Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. A top-level domain is the last level of ev ...

(gTLD) introduced under the

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several dat ...

's new gTLD program. Approved as a part of the program, .zip became available to the general public on May 3, 2023. The qualifier is also associated with the widely recognized .zip file format, commonly used for file compression and archiving, and its approval as a gTLD received criticism for the security concerns that may arise as a consequence.

Security concerns

Google opened registration for the .zip and .mov top-level domains to the general public on May 3, 2023. Its release was immediately met with condemnation from cyber security experts as a result of its similarity with the file format of the same name. Malwarebytes warned against the use of already recognizable filenames and their confusion with top-level domains, as "plenty of users already have a clear idea that .zip means something completely different". Experts cautioned against their use, and noted that the use of .zip filetypes in cybercrime had had "an explosion" in recent years.

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

warned against the potential for leaks for

personal identifying information Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person. The abbreviation PII is widely used in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates has fou ...

. Researchers also registered similar concern about Google's .mov domain. Surveys by security researchers immediately following public release of domain registration found numerous examples of links and domains registered under .zip being used in

phishing Phishing is a form of social engineering and a scam where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as viruses, worms, adware, or ransomware. Phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticate ...

attempts, and the ICSS recommended disabling access to .zip domains until "the dust settles and risks can be assessed".

Usage

Following its release to the general public, .zip domain registrations were one of the most popular new domains registered in mid-2023, during the domain's landrush and early access period. Security researchers noted high levels of phishing domains and high levels of redirection campaigns. Shortly after its release, some security vendors blocked access to .zip domains, and new domains under these TLDs began to be scrutinized more carefully. One month after its public release in June 2023, there were 13,796 .zip domains registered; which rose to over 14,000 . Security researchers found that the rate of malicious registrations for the domain was approximately 0.20%, slightly below the global average of 0.22%. This was still higher than the abuse rate of 0.06% seen in European

ccTLDs A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all tw ...

References

{{Google LLC Generic top-level domains Google top-level domains