Security Review

Is isc.org legit or a scam?

Our verdict:Safe· 97/100

Official site of the Internet Systems Consortium, a foundational non-profit organization operating core internet infrastructure and open-source software since 1994.

isc.orgScanned 1h ago
0
Trust score
SAFE
Heuristics 100·MT 95
View density

Analysis Summary

Threat Intelligence
0/92
All engines report clean
Domain Age
32 years old
Registered Apr 4, 1994
MT Intelligence
Safe
Low likelihood · 100% confidence
SAFE

No threats detected

All checks passed. This site appears legitimate — but always stay alert for phishing even on trusted domains.

Website Preview

Screenshot of isc.org
LIVE RENDER
isc.org

Automated page render — captured in a safe sandbox. What an ordinary visitor would see when loading the site.

MT Intelligence

Advanced threat intelligence
MT Security Analyst
Low scam likelihoodengineMT · Guardiantrust95/100
MT AgentLive web researchVisual inspection
0%
Confidence
The domain has been registered for over 11,700 days, making it one of the oldest and most established sites on the internet. Our antivirus network shows a perfect clean record across 92 different engines. The site is operated by a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit responsible for BIND and Kea DHCP, which are critical components of global internet routing. While a historical security incident occurred in 2014, the organization handled it transparently and there have been no recent signs of compromise. The presence of valid SSL, high traffic ranking, and clear business registration confirms its legitimacy.
Full dossier
Analysis complete

Page Content

The site serves as a technical hub for open-source networking software, including BIND 9 and Kea DHCP. It provides extensive documentation, mailing lists, and support contracts for enterprise users. The content is professional, transparent, and lacks any high-pressure sales tactics or deceptive marketing.

Infrastructure

The domain is hosted on high-reputation infrastructure with a valid GlobalSign SSL certificate. It integrates with reputable third-party services like GitHub (via ReadTheDocs) and Fosstodon for community engagement. The IP address has a near-zero abuse score, indicating a clean hosting environment.

Domain History

Registered in 1994, this domain is a cornerstone of the technical internet community. It is managed by the Internet Systems Consortium, Inc., which has a verifiable physical presence and legal standing in the United States. The long-term ownership stability is a primary indicator of trust.

Web Reputation

The site maintains an excellent reputation within the cybersecurity and networking communities. While we noted a historical compromise from a decade ago, the organization's proactive response and current security posture are exemplary. There are no active scam reports or phishing alerts associated with this domain.
Risk Factors
2
  • Historical website compromise reported in 2014 (resolved).
  • Occasional impersonation by third-party spammers (noted in official ISC alerts).
Positive Signals
5
  • Domain age exceeds 30 years with stable ownership.
  • Zero detections across 92 antivirus engines.
  • Official site of a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
  • Maintains critical internet infrastructure (F-Root name server).
  • Transparent vulnerability disclosure and support policies.
AI Recommendation
This site is safe to use. It is the authoritative source for BIND and Kea DHCP software.
Next-gen fraud intelligence
Evidence-backedCross-checked

Web Research Findings

Our live research agent queries scam-report databases, consumer-review sites, news coverage, and general web search for isc.org, then cross-checks business-registration records and look-alike domain patterns. Everything below is pulled from what it actually found.

Domain age
32 yrs
Registered Apr 1994
Business registration
Active · United States
Site traces back to an actively registered business.
Clone check
Not a clone
No well-known site's layout or branding detected here.
Typosquat check
No look-alike match
The domain doesn't resemble any well-known brand's spelling.
Web mentions
2 scam reports · 15 positive
Key findings
7 headline facts from open-web research
  • isc.org is the official website of Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. (ISC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1994 that develops and maintains core open-source Internet software including BIND 9, Kea DHCP, and previously ISC DHCP.
  • ISC operates critical Internet infrastructure such as the F-root name server and is funded primarily through technical support contracts.
  • The organization is incorporated in Delaware, maintains its primary address as PO Box 360, Newmarket, NH 03857 USA, and has been active for over 30 years (domain registered ~1994).
  • In December 2014, the isc.org website was compromised via a WordPress vulnerability and served malware; cryptographically signed software downloads were confirmed safe.
  • In 2024, ISC published a blog warning about third-party spam emails impersonating staff (e.g., offering BIND vulnerability info) as part of an unauthorized lead-generation campaign; the campaign was halted.
  • No recent security breaches, widespread user complaints, or scam reports targeting the legitimate isc.org domain were found; Reddit discussions relate to technical use of ISC software, not fraud.
  • ISC maintains transparency through public blogs, vulnerability disclosure policies, privacy statements, and GitLab repositories for its projects.
Scam reports (2)
Direct quotes from public scam databases, forums, and news.
  • The Registeropen

    "ISC.org website hacked: Scan your PC for malware if you stopped by"

  • isc.orgopen

    "Someone on the Internet is committing fraud - An alert and responsible IT Professional has notified us that someone is sending spam emails, masquerading as an ISC staff person"

Business registration
Status: active · United States

Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in Delaware, headquartered in Newmarket, NH

Research summary
Narrative write-up from our AI analyst, grounded on the facts above
Our research confirms that isc.org is the official website of the Internet Systems Consortium, Inc., a non-profit founded in 1994. The organization is active and headquartered in New Hampshire, USA. We found historical news reports from The Register regarding a 2014 security incident, but the site was quickly secured. More recently, ISC published a blog warning users about third-party scammers sending emails that impersonate their staff, which demonstrates a high level of transparency and commitment to user safety.

Scam Network Intelligence

Cross-site correlation

This site shares signals with a broader cluster

Low correlation

Many scams don't operate alone. We correlate third-party scripts, hosting infrastructure, brand-impersonation signals, and the AI evidence package to detect when a site is part of a broader scam network.

Suspicion score
0/100
ClearLowModerateHighCritical
Linked signals (2)
cdn.jsdelivr.netcdnjs.cloudflare.com

Antivirus Engines

Clean pass · verified
Clean across 92 engines

We cross-check every URL against our antivirus network of 92 malware and blacklist engines. None of them flagged this URL in the last scan.

0Malicious0Suspicious61Harmless92Engines
Clean
Kaspersky
Clean
Bitdefender
Clean
Microsoft
Not in pass
ESET-NOD32
Not in pass
Avira
Not in pass
Sophos
Clean
Fortinet
Clean
Google Safebrowsing
Clean
Emsisoft
Clean

No engine detections. The URL passed every antivirus and blacklist engine we queried in this scan. Stay vigilant — AV coverage is only one signal among many.

Security Scans

Blacklist Check
Not flagged on major threat lists

Checked against the major public blocklists used by browsers and security tools — no hits.

Contact Verification

We fetched the page and looked for real-world contact details. Legitimate businesses almost always publish an email on their own domain, a phone number, and a postal address. Scam shops usually don't.

What We Found
Has a contact email on its own domain
Emails on site's domaininfo@isc.org
Phone numbers1 650 423 1300
Postal addressNot listed
Linked social profiles3
Signal Summary
Contact details look reasonable
  • No postal address visible on the page.
  • Contact email on the site's own domain (info@isc.org).
  • Phone number listed (1 650 423 1300).
  • Links to 3 social profiles.

Domain & Encryption

Domain History
Age32 years old
RegistrarTucows Domains Inc.
RegisteredApr 4, 1994
ExpiresApr 5, 2028
Owner privacyVisible
Encryption Certificate
StatusValid
ProtocolTLSv1.2
IssuerGlobalSign nv-sa · GlobalSign Atlas R3 DV TLS CA 2025 Q4
ExpiresDec 8, 2026 (167d)
Self-signedNo
Hosting & Technology
HostingFastly, Inc.
Server locationUS
Web serverApache
Platform / CMSHugo 0.121.1
PopularityTop 100k worldwide

Redirect Chain

Hops
2
Cross-domain
Yes
Lookalike
No
Punycode
No
  • 1301http://isc.org/
  • 2301http://www.isc.org/cross-domain
  • 3200https://www.isc.org/cross-domain

Server Reputation

Abuse Intelligence
Confidence score0%
Reports on file2
ISPFastly, Inc.
Usage typeContent Delivery Network

Still, stay alert

No major threat indicators — but a clean scan does not guarantee every page is safe, and phishing emails routinely spoof real domains.

  • Double-check the exact URL in your address bar

    Confirm you are actually on isc.org and not a lookalike like i-sc.org.com or an IDN homoglyph.

  • Use a password manager

    Password managers only auto-fill on the exact domain they were saved for — they refuse to fill lookalike domains, which is the single best phishing defence.

  • Discuss this site on the forum

    If you have first-hand experience with this site — good or bad — share it with the MalwareTips community.

    Open

Reputation Sources

How this domain rates across independent threat-intelligence and blocklist providers.

Google Safe Browsing
Not listedCheck ↗
VirusTotal
Not listedCheck ↗
AbuseIPDB
Not listedCheck ↗

Referenced Domains

Outbound domains this page links to or loads resources from. Each links to its own security scan.

Safety FAQ

Common questions about this site, answered directly from the scan data above — so the answers always reflect the latest verdict on this page.

  • Our automated security review found no threat indicators on isc.org. The site appears legitimate based on the signals we checked, but always stay alert for phishing emails that spoof real domains.
  • isc.org passed our automated security checks with a trust score of 97/100. No antivirus engines or major blacklists flagged the site at the time of the last scan.
  • Yes. isc.org presents a valid TLSv1.2 certificate issued by GlobalSign nv-sa · GlobalSign Atlas R3 DV TLS CA 2025 Q4, expiring in 167 days. Note that SSL only encrypts the connection — it does not guarantee that the site itself is trustworthy.
  • isc.org is 32.2 years old, registered on 4/4/1994 through Tucows Domains Inc.. Scam domains are often freshly registered — a site under 6 months old warrants extra caution.
  • No. All 92 antivirus engines in our malware network report isc.org as clean.
  • No. isc.org is not currently listed on the major browser blocklist feeds that modern browsers use.
  • isc.org resolves to an IP operated by Fastly, Inc. in US (usage type: Content Delivery Network). Hosting location alone doesn't make a site good or bad, but unusual geography for a brand's claimed country is one of many signals we weigh.
  • Yes. isc.org sits in the global top-100k on Cloudflare Radar, which means it has substantial real-world traffic. That does not automatically make it safe, but established brands almost always rank here and throwaway scam domains almost never do.

Final Verdict

0
Trust / 100
Final Verdict·isc.org
SAFE

This is the official website for the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC), a highly reputable non-profit that maintains core internet infrastructure software. The domain has been active for over 30 years and shows no signs of malicious activity. You can safely download software and access documentation here.

This site is safe to use. It is the authoritative source for BIND and Kea DHCP software.

AV engines
92
MT passes
2
Net signals
2
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This report is generated automatically by combining threat intelligence, domain signals, and an AI security analyst. It is informational, not legal advice. Always use your own judgement before sharing personal information or money online.