San Francisco startup alleges terminated employee won’t give it access to its domain name.
System Two Security, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity company that raised a $7 million seed round in 2024, has filed a lawsuit claiming a former employee is withholding control of the company’s domain name. The company operated its site and corporate email under the domain detections.ai.
According to the complaint, the former Field Chief Information Security Officer, Andy Mog, registered the domain while employed by System Two Security. After the company terminated Mog’s employment last month, management requested credentials to transfer control of the domain. The lawsuit alleges Mog refused and sent a message to the company’s CEO saying, “You should have known better, Robert. You know I like to buy domains.”
System Two Security says Mog then proposed selling the domain back to the company at escalating prices and contacted the company’s advisors, investors, and potential customers with an email titled “End of detections.ai.” Seeking relief, the company originally asked the court for an injunction to compel transfer of the domain.
In response, Mog told the court an injunction was unnecessary because System Two Security had already set up a temporary workaround: detections.ai now forwards to SystemTwoSecurity.com. The company’s live site includes a notice informing visitors of the temporary domain update and assuring customers that accounts, data, community access, and product access remain unchanged while the domain issue is resolved.
Mog further asserted that the domain is not registered to him personally but to an entity called MillionMonkeys LLC, listing him only as the contact in the registrar record. He argued that because the registrant is a separate entity, MillionMonkeys LLC should be joined as a party in the dispute rather than holding him personally liable. Mog told the court he had no intention of destroying or maliciously transferring the domain while the dispute is pending, and he asked the court to deny a temporary restraining order and instead allow time for the LLC to obtain counsel.
Following those filings, the parties agreed to a standstill while they pursue arbitration or otherwise try to resolve the matter. That agreement halts immediate court action as both sides work toward a resolution outside of litigation.
The episode underscores a common legal and operational risk for startups: ensure your organization—not an individual employee or an external contractor—appears as the registered owner of your domain names and that transfer credentials are maintained in corporate control. Failing to do so can leave companies vulnerable to disputes that disrupt branding, email, and customer communications.
System Two Security’s case highlights the importance of clear policies and practices around domain registration, access credentials, and asset ownership to prevent similar conflicts in the future.