I have heard example of peoples domain names being hacked and the reg info being changed to someone elses details.

Can this actually happen?

i heard this happened at godaddy recently.
I think its to do with the security at the registrar. You would think GD is secure, but after hearing that incident, i am hestitant to keep using them.

Yes its to do with their security, not with ICANN or anything.
Its to do with how they control their user accounts which in that case with godaddy, was done quite poorly.

Wow so we should really start to register private domains i think.
If you register private, can it stil be hacked?

Oh yes it can easily happen. I've had issues with accounts before, but never anything bad. Just keep all your information backed up on a flash drive and you'll be ok.

You cant keep your domain information backed up.. its on the domain registrars servers.
If someone hacks into those servers, there is nothing you can do.

There have been very high profile hackings in other areas. I heard that someone was able to hack into the US Army's computer system.

If that's true, then I think it could happen to any domain.

I'm sure that the situation is resolvable; they can't just take over your domain and use it without any legal problems. You should contact the domain registrar.

I hope that's the case. I'd expect things could get complicated if all parties weren't in the same country, though.