Federal agencies and states tend to have website addresses that end in “.gov,” a signal to users that they’re clicking on official sources of government information.
But across local governments, domain names are more of a mixed bag and might end in “.com,” “.org,” or “.us.” While this may seem trivial, experts say it opens the door for “spoofing,” where criminals post imposter websites that can trick the public in a variety of ways.
Look-alike department of motor vehicle sites, where people can get scammed out of cash, or have personal information stolen, and artificial elections websites that might direct people to the wrong polling place, are just two potential examples.
“Anyone can get on a .com, .us, and we’ve seen a lot of instances of spoofing,” said Matt Pincus, director of government affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. “From a citizen perspective, not being on .gov is really creating confusion.”
With this as the backdrop, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate is supporting a bill aimed at increasing the number of local governments with .gov web addresses.
The “DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act,” introduced last week, directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, within the Department of Homeland Security, to take new steps to help counties, cities and other jurisdictions transition to the .gov domain.
Projects to shift ..
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