Kilkenny records over 700 new domain registrations according to .ie Domain Profile Report 2023

Despite registering 730 new .ie domain names, Kilkenny recorded a decline of 14.62% in registrations compared to registration levels in 2022 .

The latest .ie Domain Profile Report 2023, launched today, reveals that 48,689 new domains were registered up to December 31, 2023, a modest increase of 0.34% on the previous year.

These new domains take the total .ie database to 328,245, representing a marginally small net reduction on 2022. Now in its ninth year, the Report is an annual exploration of the .ie database and is published by .ie, the national registry for .ie domain names. It analyses the entire database, sectors domains are operating in and counties and countries they are registered in.

It also highlights several regulatory changes that will come into effect in 2024 and which will impact the wider digital landscape.  

Strength of .ie cybersecurity services  

The .ie Domain Profile Report shows  a slight increase in the number of cyberattacks (552 in 2023) on the .ie namespace vs 2022.  These attacks ranged from phishing, web shell and website defamation to shopping site skimmers and survey scams. Phishing scams were by far the most prevalent of all cyber security attacks, representing 49% of the overall total.

However, .ie websites boast significantly lower levels of spam and cyber threats, such as phishing, malware and botnets, when compared to other top-level domains like .com on an international scale. The SpamHaus Project, an international non-profit organisation that tracks spam and related cyber threats such as phishing, malware and botnets, collates a Badness Index for top level domains, with .ie domains ranking at 0.1% / 0.00.  

Speaking on keeping the domain as safe as possible for users, David Curtin, Chief Executive .ie said: "We remain concerned that cyber-crime and online fraud continue to be a drag on digital adoption and risks undermining consumer confidence in e-commerce and digital business. As part of a range of responses, our data analytics team is developing scorecards, dashboards and tools to provide insights for policymakers and practitioners into the profile and progression of website/email/domain security. We take great pride in the level of rigour in our domain registration and management process. This, paired with our monitoring of active domains using the  Netcraft service, has contributed to our excellent scoring in the SpamHaus ratings. This service gives reassurance to our .ie domain holders who may otherwise not be aware that they are an innocent victim of malicious hackers."

Impending cyber regulations impacting Ireland’s digital services 

2024 will see a number of different EU cyber regulations come into effect with significant implications for Ireland’s digital services sector. The NIS2 Directive, which has a mandatory implementation date of October 2024, has the potential to overwhelm regulators in Ireland.  NIS2 aims to protect critical organisations and infrastructure within the EU from cyber threats with the goal of achieving a high level of common security across the EU. To fulfil its objective, the NIS2 Directive focusses on organisations that operate in critical sectors, as they are essential for the proper functioning of society and, for this very reason, are often the primary target of cyber-attacks. It has been estimated that the expanded scope of NIS2 could encompass up to 2,500- 3,000 entities in Ireland across fifteen sectors including manufacturing, public administration, food, water, and waste management and providers of public electronic communications networks or services.  

Additional Domain Database Findings 

Donegal recorded the largest percentage growth (+34.55%) in new .ie domain registrations compared to 2022. Amongst the border counties, Sligo has shown strong growth of 16.91% in 2023 vs 2022. In Leinster, Westmeath leads the way with 18.72 % YoY growth compared to 2022 while Waterford also features in the top performers with a 16.65% increase in new .ie domain registrations 2023 vs 2022. 

Keywords used in domain registrations continue to provide interesting insights as 24 counties had their county name and/or Ireland as one of their top keywords in 2023. Green, Solar, Fest, Kebab and Pizza are among the other top keywords used.