The current internet landscape struggles with malicious websites that distribute malware, host phishing schemes, and engage in other harmful activities, causing significant economic and privacy-related damage. While various security measures exist, there's no standardized system for domain providers to efficiently identify and remove such threats—leading to slow, inconsistent takedowns that allow dangers to persist.

A Standardized Threat Reporting & Verification System

One way to improve this could be by creating a system that domain providers voluntarily integrate, which handles threat reporting, verification, and takedown requests in a structured way. The system would:

• Collect reports from security researchers, automated scanners, and users.
• Verify threats technically (like malware or phishing detection).
• Send confirmed takedown requests to providers with clear evidence.
• Allow appeals for mistakenly flagged sites.
• Maintain transparency through public logs of actions taken.

This approach could help providers manage abuse complaints more efficiently, reduce legal risks, and improve trust—without requiring them to build detection systems independently.

How It Compares to Existing Solutions

Current systems like Google Safe Browsing flag threats but don’t enforce takedowns, while ICANN’s reporting system lacks verification. A standardized, actionable model like this could be more effective by ensuring validated reports reach providers directly, leading to faster responses. Providers could benefit from:

• Lower operational costs in abuse management.
• Access to verified threat intelligence.
• Reduced risk of legal or reputational damage.

Starting Simple: An MVP Approach

To test feasibility, an initial version could focus on malware and phishing detection with just a few participating providers, a basic reporting interface, and a dispute process. If successful, it could expand with APIs for broader provider integration, more threat detection methods, and governance structures.

While challenges like false positives and legal concerns exist, solutions such as tiered verification and clear liability terms could help. Over time, such a system might evolve into a trusted standard for combating online threats.