OnlineDomain.com Domain Name News & Opinions
Moniker’s Operations & Security team has discovered and blocked suspicious activity on the Moniker network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access a number of Moniker user accounts. So Moniker is doing a Service-wide Password Reset and you will not be able to access your account until you reset your password. It is not clear if this has affected Snapnames that is also part of the Keydrive group.
Here is what Moniker said about the issue:
As a precaution to protect your domains, we have decided to implement a system-wide password reset. Please read the below instructions to create a new password. You will not be able to access your Moniker account until these steps are taken.
In our security investigation, we have found no evidence that domains have been lost or transferred out. We also have no evidence that any confidential or credit card information has been compromised.
While our password encryption measures are robust, we are taking additional steps to ensure that your personal data and domains remain secure. This means that, to be absolutely sure of the security of your account, we are requiring all users to reset their Moniker account passwords.
Please reset your password by following the directions below.
1) Go to Moniker.com and click the “Sign In” button in the upper right hand corner of the home page. Select the “Forgot Your Password” link.
2) You will be directed to a page to “Retrieve” your Moniker Account Password. When prompted, enter your account number and click “Submit”.
3) You will be directed to a page that displays the message below. You will receive an email from Moniker. Please follow the instructions in this email to complete the password reset.
As recent events with other large services have demonstrated, this type of activity is becoming more common. We take our responsibility to keep your domains and personal data safe very seriously, and we’re constantly enhancing the security of our service infrastructure to protect our customers. We feel it is also important to be clear that we view this as attempted illegal activity and have taken steps to report this to the appropriate authorities.
There are also several important steps that you can take to ensure that your data on any website, including Moniker, is secure:
• Avoid using simple passwords based on dictionary words
• Never use the same password on multiple sites or services
• Never click on ‘reset password’ requests in emails that you did not request
Thank you for taking the time to read this email. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience of having to change your password, but, ultimately, we believe this simple step will result in a more secure experience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Moniker Support. Our support team is standing by to assist at 800-688-6311 or outside the U.S. and Canada: 954-607-1294.
“Moniker’s Operations & Security team has discovered and blocked suspicious activity on the Moniker network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access a number of Moniker user accounts.”
OK, so that sounds like someone’s just be running a dictionary attack on specific accounts. So what does a system-wide password reset accomplish, other than forcing account holders with nice secure passwords to needlessly change them?
Well, a system-wide password reset is usually done when a vulnerability is discovered.
So this was due to a security problem on Moniker’s system and not any suspicious activity alone.
The suspicious activity probably started because of the vulnerability.
Judging for Moniker’s past I don’t expect full disclosure.
Moniker’s system is one of the oldest systems in the registrar business. It might have been good
in 2005 but it’s not any more.