Baidu and Register.com Settle Litigation Over Cyber-Attack

Register.com and Baidu announced that they have settled their litigation as a results of a cyber-attack in January 2010 on Baidu.com when Register.Com granted access to Baidu’s DNS controls to hackers without properly performing security checks.

Baidu is the No. 1 search engine in China and currently has $38 Billion market cap on the NASDAQ.

Register.com issued the following statement:

“On January 11, 2010, a breach of Register’s security by a cyber-attacker resulted in a severe disruption to Baidu’s website and operations. After an internal investigation, we found that the breach occurred because Register’s security protocols had been compromised. We have worked with United States law enforcement officials and Baidu to address the issue. We sincerely apologize to Baidu for the disruption that occurred to its services as a result of this incident.

“Security is essential to our business and to our client relationships. Over the years, as we have worked hard to be an industry leader in every aspect of our business, we have continuously reviewed and adjusted our security practices and technology in an attempt to stay ahead of the increasing sophistication of cyber-criminals. Security cannot be viewed as a static goal, but rather an ongoing process of improvement. That has, and continues to be, a top commitment to our clients.”

Baidu stated:

“We accept Register’s apology for the disruption to Baidu’s services last January. At Baidu, providing our users reliable search services is our highest priority.” The parties indicated that the terms of the settlement are confidential.