Recently, Symantec updated its certificate issuance controls to pay special attention to domains flagged for excessive abuse, malware, spam, and other suspicious activity. We recently received intelligence that .PW domains had a history of suspicious and abusive behavior. After further analysis, we decided to place a hold on issuing minimally-authenticated Domain Validated SSL/TLS certificates and are instituting a policy of only offering the stronger authenticated Organization and Extended Validation SSL/TLS certificates to .PW domains. Part of this change included the revocation of a small number of domain validated SSL/TLS certificates previously issued for these domains. Additionally, we have engaged with the registry that controls .PW to identify ways that can improve the safety of this top level domain for consumers. Several other country-code and generic top level domains are also special targets for attackers, which we will continue to evaluate on an on-going basis as well.
In contrast, forward looking, security minded registries, such as fTLD Registry Services, the owner of the .bank and .insurance top level domains are raising the bar for security for all of its customers. Considered a best practice, before authorizing a domain sale, these registries ensure that only valid, qualified entities operate on these domains and thereby protect the reputation of these spaces. As the original Certification Authority and the market leader for website security solutions, Symantec believes that verifying identity is critical for establishing trust and for ensuring the security of both consumers and the organizations they connect with online.
Symantec works with the general public to help identify fraudulent websites. If you would like to report SSL/TLS misuse, please log it here.