Domain Trust Community Meeting (DTCM15) brought together 37 participants from 26 organizations in 11 countries. One question hung in the air: “What will Domain Trust look like a year from now?”
This month, we took two big steps toward answering it. We launched a new API and opened our first-ever call for sponsorships. Together, they mark a turning point in how the project grows, sustains itself, and makes an impact.
More and Better Data, and a New API to Access It All
When Domain Trust first came together just 3.5 years ago, our dataset was a fraction of what it is today. Now, with nearly 40 million unique domains and an average of 800,000 more each month, the scope has transformed.
We needed to add new features, but more importantly we needed to build a platform ready for the future. The demand for improvement from our Community was clear:
- A user interface with dashboards and charts
- New fields in the repository: Abuse Type, Comments, Subdomains, and URLs
- Better ways to connect with other repositories and data-backed initiatives
The new Domain Trust API and interface deliver exactly that. Data will be easier to explore, easier to share, and easier to put to work across the ecosystem. Real-time ingestion speeds are now so fast that we could theoretically add more than a month’s worth of domains in just four minutes.
And with this foundation, the Domain Trust Action Working Group will be better able to move forward on its mission: agreeing on a set of measurable baseline actions that can have a real impact on the way domain abuse is addressed by affected industries.
Mark Your Calendars for a Key Moment
On October 16, we’ll migrate to the new API, and the old version will be deprecated.
All active, inactive, and trial Domain Trust API users will receive an individual reminder to explore the new API documentation and prepare for migration. All other members of our Community are also invited to join the new data platform at its very launch. Contact us to get started if you’re interested (remember it’s free!).
The GCA engineering team is available for direct questions, and on September 30 we’ll host two live Q&A sessions at 08:00 and 20:00 UTC to demo the new API. Watch your email for that invitation!
If you miss the migration date, don’t worry: as long as you have a signed MoA & ToS, your new user will be created immediately on the new platform once you request it.
Growing on Three Fronts
DTCM15 also looked back at the past year, and the growth is undeniable:
- Organic growth: 249 organizations are now aware of our initiative—up 68% from last year. Community meeting turnout is rising too, with about 50 participants on average. API usage is slowly on the rise, with +30% of API users active now vs. 26% in January 2025.
- Mission advancement: The Domain Trust Action Working Group is gaining momentum, with ~100 individuals engaged, spanning registries, registrars, resellers, responders, and experts across four RIR regions. More than 30 actions have already been identified, and we already have one volunteer co-chair from the industry.
- Ecosystem building: An updated ecosystem map is ready, and we continue to reach out to individual organizations on it to ensure the map’s accuracy.
The numbers tell a clear story: Domain Trust is not just expanding in size but in purpose, scope, and influence.
Financially Sustaining the Domain Trust Work
Great data infrastructure is only part of the story. To keep it running, and to keep it free for any qualified organization, we need financial sustainability.
During DTCM15, we launched our first sponsorship campaign. Our goal is to raise $250,000 to cover operations through 2026.
We’re turning to the Community itself, as we believe the organizations that benefit from Domain Trust are the ones best positioned to help sustain it.
There are six sponsorship tiers, from $1,500 to $250,000, each offering increasing levels of visibility—from a logo on our site to a top banner placement as Project Sponsor.
Each Community member will receive an individual invitation to sponsor in the coming weeks. And if you’re not part of the Community yet, contact us to get started or simply make a donation to the Global Cyber Alliance.
Facing New Challenges Together
No Community meeting would be complete without addressing the broader landscape. This time, conversations ranged from DNS abuse metrics to phishing spikes at certain registrars, to the growing uncertainty brought by new AI tools. These debates matter, because they shape how Domain Trust—and the industries it connects—respond to fast-evolving threats.
In a July blog post from ICANN on “How Choice of Reputation Blocklists Affects DNS Abuse Metrics,” a participant explained that DNS abuse research teams use threat feeds and reputation blocklists but noted that metrics based on incomplete data can be biased. He emphasized that reputation blocklists were created for blocking malicious domains rather than for statistical analysis and highlighted the importance of interpreting security metrics with caution due to data limitations. Another participant shared insight into the sources of intelligence for their platform, noting that 30% comes from reputation blocklists, while 50% is derived from investigations and abuse reports. A third participant discussed their multilayered detection approach, which includes collecting passive DNS and SMTP connection data, and expressed interest in receiving additional data sources to improve detection capabilities.
The group also discussed a NetBeacon Institute report, “Recent spike in malicious phishing concentrated in two registrars.” A Community member discussed a project to map malicious domain names across the ecosystem, highlighting a significant spike in phishing attacks in March, primarily concentrated in a few registrars. He noted that while some registrars are improving, others remain a major source of abuse. He emphasized the need for more transparency in reporting, including mitigation rates and time to mitigation, and mentioned plans to publish more data before the year’s end. Other participants provided insights into the seasonal nature of these attacks and the use of automated software to handle and block malicious domains.
Finally, the group discussed the critical role of domain names and DNS infrastructure in securing AI technologies. They explored how existing cybersecurity threats are being reinvented for AI, emphasizing the need for better domain security measures.
Looking Ahead
The next meeting, on December 2, will focus on setting the 2026 calendar and objectives, including a campaign to grow participation even further. Meanwhile, the Domain Trust Action Working Group will keep meeting monthly, aiming to deliver a proposal by mid-2026.
This is a pivotal moment. The data platform is ready for the future. The path toward sustainable funding is open. And the Community is stronger than ever. If you’ve been waiting to get involved, now is the time. Domain Trust is shaping what the fight against abuse looks like—and the future depends on all of us.
