Handling Abuse Notifications

As an unmanaged hosting provider, Leaseweb is not responsible for the data stored on your servers. You are fully responsible for all activities and content associated with your ordered services. When we receive an abuse notification linked to your assigned IP address(es), immediate action is required.

Reasons for Receiving Abuse Notifications

An abuse notification indicates that malicious or unauthorized activity has been detected from your server(s). Common reasons include:

• Spamming, phishing, or hosting malware
• DDoS attacks or unauthorized port scanning
• Copyright infringements (such as DMCA complaints)

For detailed information regarding your responsibilities, please refer to your Sales Contract, under Section 7 (Use of Services and Equipment) of Leaseweb’s General Conditions.

Steps to take after receiving an abuse notification

It is critical that you act upon any notification as quickly as possible, and strictly within the provided deadline. To prevent service interruption, follow these standard steps:

1. Provide clarification
   • Use the ‘Communication’ tab within the ticket to clarify the exact steps you took to resolve the issue and prevent future occurrence
   • This step is mandatory to properly close the notification
2. Access the Abuse Reports Page:
   • Log in to the Leaseweb Customer Portal and navigate to the Abuse Reports Page
   • Alternatively, you can use the direct tracking link provided in your notification email
3. Identify and resolve the issue
   • Investigate your server, remove the reported malicious content, or stop the unauthorized network activity
4. Mark as resolved
   • Click the ‘Resolve this report’ button and select the solution from the suggestions that closest matches your corrective action

Email

The notification is directed at the Abuse Contact, you can see an example below. In this email, you can find the link to the Abuse Handler in order to follow up on your abuse notification. Please resolve the issue that is reported and navigate to the Abuse Handler area of the Customer Portal:

 Click here to expand: Example Abuse notification email

******************************************
This is an automated email about your abuse notification.
Please do not reply to this email.
This email was sent from a no-reply address and your reply will not be delivered.
******************************************
Dear Leaseweb customer,

We would like to inform you that Leaseweb Netherlands B.V. has received an abuse notification regarding IP address(es) assigned to you. To view the complete details of the abuse notification, please visit: XXXXXXXX.

We kindly urge you to take appropriate remedial action to ensure that the reported content is removed and/or the reported activity is ceased before the following deadline: [Date and time].

Please note that failure to take timely action may, without any further warning, result in an IP block of the reported IP address or a complete suspension and/or termination of your account with Leaseweb.

If you feel that the notification is not valid, or if you need assistance from someone in the Abuse Prevention department, please use the above link to submit an update or provide further information.

You can also use this link to submit your feedback so that we can improve the way in which Leaseweb Netherlands B.V. processes abuse notifications. For further information, please visit www.leaseweb.com/abuse.

Sincerely,

Leaseweb Netherlands B.V.

******************************************
Original notification is shown below
******************************************
Here you can find the original notification

1. Resolve the reported issue
2. Navigate to the Customer Portal area to manage abuse notifications for your account (https://secure.leaseweb.com/abuse-reports/)
3. Click the Resolve this Report button
4. Clarify which steps you took to resolve the issue

Customer Portal

An email is sent to the Security/Abuse Contact, or when Abuse Contact is not filled into the main contact, informing that there is a new abuse ticket.

Please make sure both are filled out and updated on a regular basis. If needed, there is the possibility to fill out two email addresses under Security/Abuse Contact to receive notifications on. If you require more than two people to receive notifications, please consider an email group and add that group as a contact.

In the Customer Portal, you can locate the abuse notifications, but a direct link is also provided in the abuse notification email. 

 Click here to expand: Example from the Customer Portal

You will then see an overview of your abuse notifications. The ones that are on ‘Open’ have not been resolved yet, ensure to address these within the set deadline in order to avoid any possible service interruption.

Please resolve the issue that is reported and click ‘Resolve this Report’:

1. Resolve the reported issue
2. Click Resolve this Report and choose the appropriate/closest solution from the suggestions 
3. Clarify which steps you took to resolve the issue by using the communication tab

In case you can not resolve the issue, or do not agree with the notification, and require further communication with the Compliance team, please communicate through the designated field.

Consequences of not responding

If you fail to provide a resolution or feedback before the deadline expires,  this could result in having your service interrupted without further warning.

Services interruption could include one of the following:

• Account Suspension/Termination
  • Repeated non-compliance or severe, unaddressed violations may result in the complete suspension or termination of your Leaseweb account
• IP Blocking (Null Route):
  • The reported IP address(es) will be routed to a null interface, rendering them completely unreachable
• Switch Port Blocking:
  • The physical switch port of the respective server(s) will be disabled

What to Do When Your IP Address or Switch Port is Blocked

If your services have already been interrupted due to an expired deadline or unresolved issue, you must follow this exact recovery procedure:

1. Completely resolve the root cause of the abuse on your server.
2. Access the specific abuse ticket via the Customer Portal and click ‘Resolve this report’.
3. Submit a formal unblocking (un-nulling) request via the ticket’s ‘Communication’ tab explaining the remediation steps you completed.

Disagreeing with a Notification or Content Not Found

If you disagree with a notification, you can submit a formal reply or counter-notice directly through the ‘Communication’ tab of the original ticket, clearly outlining the reasons why the notification is invalid.

• DMCA Complaints (Leaseweb USA, Inc. customers): You must submit a properly completed, formal counter-notification form to counternotice@us.leaseweb.com in compliance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3).

• Zero-Tolerance Policy: For severe and illegal types of abuse (such as CSEM), Leaseweb does not accept counter-notices. The content must be permanently deleted before any discussion can be initiated.

If you cannot locate the reported files or activity, please provide this as feedback using the ‘Communication’ tab of the ticket. Describe the exact diagnostic steps and checks you ran. The Compliance department can forward your feedback and request additional data or logs from the notifier if necessary.

Contacting the Compliance department

• Regarding an open ticket: Always correspond through the dedicated ‘Communication’ tab of the active abuse ticket inside the Customer Portal. A Compliance Officer will review your submission as soon as possible, typically within 48 hours.

• General inquiries: For general questions regarding Leaseweb’s abuse prevention policies, please email abusedesk@global.leaseweb.com