Defaults.Exposed › Reports
Europe vs the World: Domain Security in the GDPR Era (2026)
Published 2026-06-28
Figures as of 2026-06-28 · methodology v7. Aggregate census data, based on national domain endings (ccTLDs), not company registration. “Europe” here means European national endings plus
.eu. See how we grade.
Europe is the safest region on the internet for domain security — and it’s still failing. Businesses on European national endings (40 of them, plus .eu) score an F 76.4% of the time. The rest of the world’s national endings score an F 84.7% of the time. Europe leads — but when the regional champion still leaves more than three in four domains effectively unprotected, “leading” is a low bar.
Europe vs the rest of the world
National (ccTLD) domains only. Lower grade-F share is better. As of 2026-06-28.
| Region | National endings | Domains graded | Grade-F share | B-or-better share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe (incl. .eu) | 40 | 36M | 76.4% | 0.72% |
| Rest of the world | 60 | 30M | 84.7% | 0.48% |
European businesses are also more likely to reach a good grade: 0.72% earn a B or better, against 0.48% in the rest of the world. The lead is real and consistent — it is just small against the size of the problem everyone shares.
Why does Europe lead on domain security?
Several factors push European national domains ahead:
- A stronger compliance culture. The GDPR era normalised treating data protection and security as a baseline obligation rather than an optional extra. Domain security — stopping your email being forged, encrypting your site — sits naturally inside that mindset.
- Proactive national registries. A number of European registries actively promote DNSSEC and good DNS hygiene to their registrars, lifting the whole population.
- More deliberate registration. Many European national endings involve more friction or local-presence expectations, filtering out the throwaway and bulk registrations that drag down cheaper, more open endings.
The result: leaders like Switzerland (57.1% F), the Netherlands (69.1%) and Norway (65.5%) cluster near the top of the global table, with Germany (81.0%) and other Western European registries close behind.
The uncomfortable truth for Europe
A regional win shouldn’t be mistaken for a clean bill of health. At 76.4% grade-F, the European average means the majority of European business domains can still be spoofed — their email forged, their customers targeted with convincing fakes. GDPR raised the floor on data-handling expectations, but it did not switch on SPF, DMARC or DNSSEC for anyone. Those remain manual steps that most European owners, like owners everywhere, simply haven’t taken.
How does this compare to national vs generic domains?
The regional gap echoes a broader pattern: structured, higher-friction, well-governed endings outperform cheap, open, bulk ones. It’s the same force that makes national domains safer than generic ones, the same force behind where domains decay fastest, and the same force that explains the security gap in emerging-market domains. Governance and intent beat price and volume — everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is Europe more secure than the rest of the world for domains? Yes, on average. As of 2026-06-28, 76.4% of European national-domain businesses score an F, versus 84.7% elsewhere — but the majority are exposed in both.
Did GDPR improve domain security? Indirectly. GDPR strengthened Europe’s security and compliance culture, which correlates with better domain hygiene — but it does not require or configure email authentication, so most European domains still aren’t protected.
Which European countries have the most secure domains? Switzerland, the Netherlands and Norway are consistently among the leaders. See the live country ranking for the current order.
What does “grade F” mean here? A domain that fails the basic externally observable protections — most importantly, it can be impersonated in email because it has no enforced SPF and DMARC.
See where your domain stands — wherever you are
Regional averages don’t tell you about your domain. Check it privately and free, with a per-check breakdown and exactly how to fix what fails.
Check your domain → · Domain security by country → · How we grade → · Aggregate data only. Data stored and processed in the EU.