In September 2015, Sanmay Ved, a former Google employee, managed to purchase the domain “google.com” for $12 through Google’s own domain registration service. The domain had briefly become available due to an oversight in the renewal process. Although Google quickly reclaimed the domain, the incident highlighted vulnerabilities in domain management.

While the domain was only under Ved’s control for about a minute, he gained access to certain internal Google services, including receiving emails intended for Google administrators. This posed potential security risks and could have led to significant disruptions had it been exploited maliciously.

• Domain Expiry Monitoring: Regular checks to ensure domain registrations are up-to-date.
• Renewal Reminders: Automated alerts for upcoming domain renewals to prevent lapses.

• The Verge 
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