Here at .CO, we’re dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of the global Internet. As such, whenever possible, we actively participate in a variety of efforts to strengthen global counter-cybercrime efforts. As .CO’s Chief Security Officer, it’s fair to say that I’m pretty much obsessed with Internet security. The way I see it, I have to be – so that all of you can rest easy at night!

I recently had the privilege of joining in the Anti-Phishing Working Group’s (APWG) 7th annual eCrime Summit. The APWG is a worldwide coalition unifying the global response to cybercrime across industry, government and law-enforcement sectors. The eCrime Summit took place in Argentina in April and focused on current and emerging cybercrime trends – as well as the development of response systems, techniques and resources for cybercrime specialists.

During the APWG eCrime Summit, I had the opportunity to participate on a panel to speak about botnet mitigation, exploring the state of botnet activity and examining how industry related companies are remediating problems and cooperating with private sector corporations to address security issues. It was incredible to interact with key members of national governments, global governance bodies, global trade groups and councils, and security professionals from around the world – all united in our singular purpose to stop cybercrime dead in its tracks.

I’ve also had the opportunity to recently publish an article with LACTLD (The Latin American and Caribbean TLD Association) regarding the trends and evolution of security within the .CO namespace, called: “The Case of the .CO ccTLD Domain Name: Trends & Evolution.” You can read a copy of it here. Among other things, the article discusses some of the state-of-the-art strategies we have been able to implement here at .CO, with the support of our partners at Neustar, to enable the rapid takedown or suspension of .CO domains engaged in abuses creating or facilitating security threats or other cybercrimes.

Some people love golfing or scuba diving. For me, while I love those things too, Internet security is my passion. I am here to ensure that the .CO domain space is a safe and secure environment for all users with the highest standards of security, stability and performance. And you can rest assured that I won’t rest if it is anything less. It makes me happy knowing that you can navigate the .CO namespace with confidence and trust!

Do you have questions on the security policies and practices that .CO implements? I am here to help! Please email me at gonzalo(at)go.co.