What percentage of new domain registrations are for malicious purposes?
A new study puts a hard number on an uncomfortable fact: one in five new domains may be born to do harm.
The study estimates that 10% to 20% of new registrations are malicious, and the authors believe the true share could sit even higher.
That range is a guess dressed in methodology. Malicious intent is hard to measure at registration; abuse becomes visible only later, when a domain is used for phishing, scams, or malware distribution.
For buyers, the takeaway is practical: the inventory you evaluate can carry hidden history. Checking a domain's registration pattern and blocklist status matters before a purchase, not after.
For registrars and registries, the number is a reminder that registration volume is not neutral. The same infrastructure that processes eight to ten million new domains a month also processes the bad ones.
Definitions of malicious intent will decide whether the real share is 10%, 20%, or something worse. The study is less a final answer than an opening measurement.
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