IoT Device Hijacking and Domain Reputation Safeguards in the Age of Connected Infrastructure

As the number of connected devices in homes, cities, factories, and critical infrastructure continues to surge, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become one of the fastest-growing yet most vulnerable segments of the internet. These devices—from smart thermostats and doorbell cameras to industrial sensors and medical equipment—rely heavily on continuous DNS resolution to communicate with cloud platforms, issue updates, and send telemetry data. However, the same DNS infrastructure that enables seamless IoT connectivity has increasingly become a vector for exploitation. IoT device hijacking, often executed through the compromise of associated domains or DNS services, poses a significant threat not only to individual users and organizations but also to global network stability. In response, domain reputation systems are being re-engineered to provide real-time safeguards, offering a critical layer of protection in an era where a single vulnerable domain can enable the takeover of thousands of devices.

IoT device hijacking refers to the unauthorized control or reprogramming of connected devices, often for the purpose of building botnets, stealing data, or disrupting services. While some attacks exploit firmware vulnerabilities or weak authentication protocols, a growing number leverage DNS redirection, cache poisoning, or expired domain reuse to intercept and reroute device traffic. Many IoT devices are configured to call home to manufacturer-operated domains or third-party service endpoints hardcoded into the firmware. If these domains lapse or are compromised, attackers can register them and instantly gain control over any device attempting to connect. This technique was infamously used in the “Netlab 360” incident, where researchers demonstrated the dangers of expired domains linked to IoT command-and-control infrastructures.

Because IoT devices often lack user-facing interfaces or automated update mechanisms, once compromised, they are difficult to detect and harder to remediate. This makes proactive domain-level defenses all the more crucial. Traditional domain blacklisting or threat feeds, however, have proven too slow and reactive for the fast-paced nature of IoT exploits. Instead, the industry is turning toward real-time domain reputation systems powered by machine learning, behavioral analytics, and global telemetry to assess the trustworthiness of domains before a device ever connects.

These reputation systems work by continuously monitoring DNS resolution patterns, WHOIS registration data, SSL certificate configurations, hosting metadata, and historical abuse reports. When a device attempts to resolve a domain, the query is evaluated against these reputation indicators. If the domain is deemed suspicious—such as being newly registered, associated with sinkholes, or linked to known malicious IP addresses—then the request can be blocked, rerouted to a safe fallback, or flagged for review. This process happens in milliseconds, ideally without interrupting legitimate device functionality.

To scale this model across billions of devices, domain reputation scoring must be both lightweight and deeply integrated into recursive DNS resolvers, IoT gateway platforms, and device management consoles. Leading DNS providers such as Cloudflare, Cisco Umbrella, and Google Public DNS are already incorporating reputation intelligence into their services, providing IoT manufacturers and service providers with the ability to enforce policy-based resolution rules. Some vendors are also developing private DNS firewalls that include device fingerprinting, allowing resolution policies to be tailored by device type, geographic region, or behavior anomaly.

A particularly powerful application of domain reputation safeguards lies in expired domain monitoring. IoT manufacturers often register domains in bulk for telemetry and firmware update endpoints but may fail to renew them consistently over years of product lifecycles. Attackers actively monitor WHOIS data for expiring domains known to be embedded in firmware of widely sold devices. To counter this, AI-based scanning tools now track the domain dependencies of shipped IoT products and alert manufacturers or registrars when critical domains are about to expire. These systems can recommend automated renewals, defensive registrations, or deprecation pathways that gracefully migrate devices to updated endpoints without service disruption.

The integration of DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) also plays a pivotal role in protecting against hijacking through forged DNS responses. While DNSSEC adoption has been slow among IoT device manufacturers, its ability to cryptographically validate DNS responses ensures that devices cannot be misled by spoofed or poisoned DNS records. Forward-thinking manufacturers are now bundling DNSSEC validation into their firmware and requiring signed zones for their backend services, helping to close one of the most commonly exploited loopholes in IoT security.

Beyond technical solutions, policy frameworks and inter-industry cooperation are emerging to support domain reputation systems. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in collaboration with regional registries and law enforcement, is exploring rapid response protocols for malicious domain takedown, particularly when IoT infrastructure is at risk. Additionally, some registrars are implementing stricter validation and monitoring for domain registrations linked to IoT brands or critical infrastructure sectors, helping to prevent the accidental lapse or malicious acquisition of sensitive domains.

One of the challenges in deploying these safeguards is balancing false positives and operational efficiency. A domain flagged as suspicious in one context may be perfectly legitimate in another. This is particularly true for new cloud-based IoT startups launching globally distributed services that might trigger heuristic alarms due to rapid DNS propagation, rotating IP addresses, or ephemeral certificate issuance. To address this, domain reputation systems increasingly rely on context-aware scoring, factoring in not just static indicators but dynamic usage patterns, update frequency, and correlation with known safe domains.

Looking ahead, as the number of IoT devices surpasses tens of billions globally, the role of DNS and domain reputation will only grow in importance. The security posture of a connected device will be inseparable from the trustworthiness of the domains it relies on. For domain registries and registrars, this means that managing TLDs and customer portfolios is no longer a passive administrative function—it is a critical frontline in the battle against automated exploitation. Offering embedded reputation scoring, expiration monitoring, and DNSSEC enforcement will become value-added services that registries and registrars can monetize while contributing to global IoT security.

In the broader scheme of internet infrastructure, the convergence of domain management and cybersecurity marks a profound shift. Domains are no longer just digital addresses—they are security anchors that determine the behavior and resilience of physical devices connected to the global internet. By investing in AI-powered domain reputation systems and aligning DNS policies with IoT lifecycle realities, the domain name industry has the opportunity to prevent the next wave of large-scale hijackings before they ever begin. The future of IoT security may well depend on how the DNS community chooses to act today.

As the number of connected devices in homes, cities, factories, and critical infrastructure continues to surge, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become one of the fastest-growing yet most vulnerable segments of the internet. These devices—from smart thermostats and doorbell cameras to industrial sensors and medical equipment—rely heavily on continuous DNS resolution to communicate with…