NCC Group has announced its plans for .trust, a unique generic top-level domain (gTLD) that aims to provide a safer and more trustworthy internet for both businesses and consumers.
According to the company, a .trust domain will help protect an organisation’s brand, reputation and sensitive customer information by enforcing the highest level of security and reliability. For consumers, it will provide a clear signal that a site is what it claims to be and is a safe place to do business, interact and share information.
Responding to the demands of the world’s online community, ICANN is currently operating a programme to add thousands more gTLDs over the next few years. The majority of these new domains will be used to categorise companies and individuals into physical locations, industry segments or brands. In contrast, .trust has been created as a gated community to make the internet more secure.
Rob Cotton, CEO at NCC Group said: “The internet is a lawless world – ungovernable, unmanageable and insecure. Consumer confidence has gone, and businesses are at a loss at how to combat the risks.
“The new rollout of gTLDs is further changing the shape of the internet. Cybersquatting and phishing were big issues with just 22 gTLDs, but with over 1,400 set to be introduced these problems are set to get exponentially worse. The cost for a business to protect its online presence and purchase all possible domain combinations will also be extortionate.
“The benefits to businesses of having a .trust gTLD are immediately obvious. It will act as a key differentiator, bringing back consumer confidence by protecting customers as they transact and interact online. The internet is set to change forever, and at NCC Group we are committed to changing it for the good, making it a safer place and introducing trust.”
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Applicants for a .trust domain will have to verify their identity, ensure their organisation is secure by complying to a strict and specific code of security policies, and assure their infrastructure remains safe by undergoing regular compliance scanning.
The policies have been developed by a coalition of industry and NCC Group experts, and adhering to them will help provide comprehensive protection from vulnerabilities that threaten to compromise integrity, availability and privacy.
“End users will come to recognise .trust as an island of trusted brands in a new confusing namespace,” Cotton added.
Businesses in San Francisco have been involved in the process of developing the security protocols for .trust for several months, some of which will be among the first to take up the domain when it is available for registration towards the end of Q3. Brands with high customer data security needs – including banks and retailers – are expected to find .trust most appealing.
