What is Domain Hijacking? | UpGuard

**Executive summary:** Domain hijacking is the unauthorized takeover of a domain's registration or control—via registrar vulnerabilities, social engineering, stolen credentials, or improper third‑party practices—and can cause severe financial, reputational, and regulatory harm; the report explains DNS roles, common hijacking methods, recovery options (including ICANN policies and legal routes), notable historical cases, and a comprehensive set of preventative controls such as using reputable registrars, enabling 2FA and registry/account locks, WHOIS protection, auto‑renewal, strong password hygiene, and vendor/third‑party risk management.