WebProNews

The recent domain hijacking of Panix.com, the Internet presence of Public Access Networks, has been blamed on Australian domain registration company, MelbourneIT.

According to the Panix home page, "The hijack occurred because an Australian registrar, MelbourneIT, failed to do proper confirmation of a fraudulent domain transfer request they received. The normal process, which includes notifications to the original registrar and the current domain holder, did not occur.

As the hijacking occurred over a weekend, we had great trouble reaching responsible parties at the other companies involved. The domain was not returned to us until the beginning of the business day in Australia on Monday."

The hijacking affected about 5000 customers, with many of them losing their emails and other services provided by Panix. Also, the account that gained the rights to the Panix domain was fraudulent, having been set up with stolen credit card numbers.

Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news.