The .au namespace is one of the more highly regulated country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) and in effect, registrants need to be Australian businesses or organisations and they need to show a “close and substantial connection” to the domain they register. A recent audit by auDA, the .au policy and regulatory body, of domains registered through one reseller found 1,025 registrations that were ineligible and subsequently deleted.The largest number of ineligible registrations appear to have come from registrants that appear to be selling goods mainly sourced from China, however the auDA investigations identified sources from Eastern Europe, North America as well as the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Asian regions that were behind the Unauthorised Business Use domain name registrations.The audit involved extracting detailed information about the domain names from the registry and taking screenshots of all the websites. Each domain name and associated screenshot was then manually checked to see if it satisfied our assessment criteria. If the domain name matched all or most of the criteria, it was put on a list for deletion. If it matched some of the criteria, but there was still doubt about the registration, then it was put on a list for a standard investigation. If it matched none of the criteria, it was not considered.”The swift work of our team and the good relationships we have built with our Registrars, mean that these matters can be dealt with quickly and with the least possible negative impact on the .au domain space,” said auDA CEO Cameron Boardman in a statement. “We value the security and trust consumers put in .au and work hard to ensure we maintain that. Work continues in this current unauthorised business name audit and we will report back in full, once the process is complete.”The investigations came about due to auDA receiving an increasing number of complaints regarding the unauthorised use of Australian company and business details (classified as Unauthorised Business Use – UBU) in the registration of .au domain names via specific registrars. Subsequently auDA initiated an audit of the .au domain names registered by one reseller of an accredited registrar, with registrar cooperating in the identification of the reseller.According to reports, the problematic domain registrations and websites were set up by criminals who illegally acquired the Australian business and company details for the domain registrations. Consumers were then sold counterfeit goods, or goods that were never received, and credit card details were harvested.