Harnessing AI to Combat DNS Abuse: Towards a Safer Digital World

Artificial intelligence (AI), once confined to the realm of science fiction, is increasingly becoming an integral component of our interconnected lives. 

As highlighted during iQ’s presentation at the DNS Abuse Workshop at Nordic Domain Days in April 2025, AI has the potential to revolutionize online safety, particularly in combating DNS Abuse. This article explores how AI can improve the handling of abuse reports, streamline processing, and transition from reactive to proactive measures. It also emphasizes the importance of human oversight.

Enhancing abuse handling efficiency

AI has the ability to process large volumes of abuse reports with remarkable speed. In the digital landscape where threats evolve rapidly, AI-powered systems can drastically accelerate the review and resolution process, enabling security teams to address online threats quickly. This enhancement in overall efficiency minimizes the window of vulnerability, allowing for faster identification and mitigation of threats.

Integrated AI tools for scalable management

Integrating AI tools are vital for managing online harms effectively and at scale. Leveraging automation, dynamic workflows, and intelligent agents, AI facilitates the scalable management of abuse reports. This combination allows organizations to process high volumes of reports systematically, categorizing and prioritizing them based on urgency and severity.

Examples of AI applications in abuse management:

• Automated Triage Systems: AI can categorize reports based on urgency, identifying serious cases such as phishing threats or malware distribution patterns.
• Dynamic Workflow Automation: AI adjusts workflows as reports are processed, escalating issues requiring immediate attention while streamlining less critical reports.

Re-imagining abuse report processing

There are inherent challenges in receiving abuse reports through standard forms and emails.

Forms: While designed to standardize input, traditional forms can intimidate average users who may be unfamiliar with the technical jargon prevalent in the industry. AI-driven natural language processing can transform these experiences, dynamically adjusting queries based on user responses, making the reporting process more intuitive. AI can categorize, format, translate the information supplied by the user into the right language, and then route it to the relevant parties for action.

Emails: The lack of structure inherent in email abuse reports presents unique challenges. With various formats and writing styles, parsing critical information becomes cumbersome. AI tools can extract the essential elements, such as domain names and proof of abuse, then categorize and convert the data into standardized formats for the receiving party. For email reports that do not have enough actionable evidence, AI tools can respond back to the reporter asking for more specific information to be able to act on the report.

By refining both reporting channels, AI can streamline data collection, yielding higher-quality reports with necessary evidence that will facilitate a quicker response.

Streamlining report processing

Once abuse reports are received, further analysis is essential before action can be taken. Abuse management systems typically add supplementary evidence to reports for human assessment. AI can significantly enhance this process, making it more efficient and accurate.

• Categorization & Prioritization: AI can automatically categorize issues and prioritize reports based on the strength of available evidence. Moreover, if initial data is insufficient, AI can investigate further to seek additional evidence.
• Executing Actions: AI can also determine appropriate actions post-analysis. Reports lacking adequate evidence can be automatically closed, while critical issues requiring nuanced evaluation can be flagged for human review. 
• Documentation and Compliance: AI can include its reasoning in all decisions, ensuring comprehensive records for historical and compliance purposes.

Evolving from reactive to proactive threat identification

AI’s transformative potential lies not just in enhancing reactive measures but in enabling proactive threat identification. Traditional methods predominantly focus on responding to incidents after they occur. With AI, registrars can shift to a proactive framework by evaluating domain registration data for potential risks ahead of time.

By utilizing AI to evaluate the risk of domain registrations for abuse prior to, during, or shortly after registration, Registrars can implement preventative measures accordingly. Examples include:

• Monitoring High-Risk Domains: AI can flag suspicious registration behaviors or characteristics indicative of DNS Abuse such as phishing or other malicious activities.
• Verification or temporary blocking: Domains identified with a high-risk score may be sent for further verification or temporarily suspended pending further investigation.

The indispensable human element in an AI-driven world

Amidst all discussions on AI’s capability, an important question arises: Do we still need humans in this process? The answer is an unequivocal yes. While AI tools may handle the majority of routine abuse cases autonomously, human oversight, expertise, and judgment remain indispensable.

The future landscape is one of AI-augmented human intelligence, where the scalable and rapid processing capabilities of AI complement human critical thinking, ethical oversight, and strategic direction. This synergy promises not only improved efficiency in handling abuse but also a more intelligent and adaptable defense against evolving threats in DNS Abuse.

Towards a more resilient digital ecosystem

By integrating AI into DNS Abuse management, we are poised to transform online safety, promoting a resilient and secure digital environment. While humans will continue to play an essential role in this process, AI provides a path to a more efficient, robust approach to protecting our online world.

As we move forward, a balanced approach that respects both the capabilities of AI and the critical human element will be crucial. By understanding the strengths and limitations of both, we can build a more secure online world where technology and human insight work harmoniously toward a common goal – a safer digital ecosystem for all.

Su Wu is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at iQ. She has been involved in the application process of multiple new gTLDs right through from the launch to operations of .global.