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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

Cybersecurity more important than ever for the business community

Threat level apparently up since pandemic started

  • Wednesday 27 May 2020

At the end of March, shortly after the Dutch government introduced social distancing rules, market research agency GfK surveyed 577 businesses for us, each with ten or more employees. Thirty per cent said that they were concerned or very concerned about cybercrime, and 22 per cent said they'd been affected in the previous twelve months. Both figures are slightly up on the findings we reported in Trends in Online Security & e-Identity at the end of 2018. It seems that coping with the coronavirus doesn't mean businesses are paying less attention to cybersecurity. In fact, the perceived importance of the internet has increased since the restrictions came in.

Ransomware seen as the biggest cybercrime threat

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One of the main drivers of increased threat perception is ransomware. The incident at the University of Maastricht last December has apparently made a big impression. Nearly half of businesses now see ransomware as threatening, compared with just over a third at the end of 2018. And 22 per cent of respondents rated ransomware the biggest single cybercrime threat, pushing it to the top of the list. That's probably partly because ransomware generally targets operationally vital servers: the biggest fear amongst the surveyed businesspeople was losing control of their servers.

What form of cybercrime do you see as the biggest threat to your business?(n=577)

Ransomware

22%

Data breaches

15%

Malware/viruses

14%

Theft of IP/customer data

10%

DDoS attack

10%

Phishing

8%

Commercially sensitive data loss

6%

Identity fraud

3%

Spam

3%

CEO fraud

1%

Defacing

1%

CEO fraud isn't a major worry for most

A strikingly small percentage of respondents were worried about CEO fraud, where crooks con staff into making payments by sending mail in which they pose as executives. It's a trending form of cybercrime, but unlike ransomware it can only succeed with the victim's active involvement. And it doesn't directly affect systems. Major CEO fraud cases have frequently made the news in recent years.

Software is the business community's first line of defence

Businesspeople try to defend against cybercrime mainly with software: spam filters, virus scanners and regular updating are the most widely used tools and strategies. Human measures (training, password policies, etc) came next. Only 7 per cent of respondents had cybercrime insurance.

People want to know more

How satisfied are businesspeople with their own approach to cybersecurity? The survey revealed a mixed picture: 76 per cent were satisfied that their approach was effective, but some of that group weren't actually aware of all the threats or in control of them. More than half would like to have dashboards and tools to shed light on the cybersecurity situation in their organisations.

Most businesses aren't investing in cybersecurity

Investing in such cybersecurity tools isn't yet commonplace in the business community. Only 19 per cent of respondents expected to invest more in cybersecurity in the year ahead. Amongst those previously affected by cybercrime, the figure was significantly higher, at 30 per cent.

A lot more can be done

It seems that cybersecurity is increasingly seen as integral to normal business operations, even in smaller companies. However, many could do a lot more. In the small business sector especially, there are still people who think that nothing will happen to them. It often takes an incident to change people's minds. Over the last year, SIDN has therefore invested in the development of CyberSterk, a tool that enables SMEs to defend against cybercrime.