What is DNS security?

DNS security keeps “bad actors” and their malicious domains at bay by enforcing encryption, authentication and threat intelligence methods.

Why is DNS security needed? Largely because of the central and key role that DNS services play in modern communication. DNS serves as the “phone book” (or directory listing) of the Internet, helping to match domain requests with IP addresses.

To really get a feel for how essential that activity is, just consider for a moment how many times you’re likely to need these lookup services during an average day. Now multiply that figure out to represent weeks, months and years, and you can clearly see what a constant and ongoing part of modern computing this activity is.

The DNS is also an activity rich in IP addresses, which constitute potentially valuable and sensitive data. Furthermore, DNS-layer technology has several vulnerabilities that leave it exposed to various forms of cyberattacks.

Bad actors (also called threat actors) are entities that have the means to execute cyberattacks or other harmful actions. But who are these individuals or groups? These days, there’s no shortage of possibilities:

• Hackers hoping to score hefty ransoms from victims.

• Political factions that have a grievance “ax” to grind.

• Disruptors without any apparent philosophical motive.

• State-sponsored terrorist activities from rogue nations.

What’s truly frightening about all these potential offenders is how well they’re able to hide their own identities, while ruthlessly violating the identities of others.

Attacks could originate from anywhere that service providers offer wifi—from individuals working in a residential basement down your street, to groups of dedicated cybercriminals operating in hidden locales around the world. This superior masking ability cloaks them with ample cover to avoid detection, so they can continue implementing their nefarious schemes.

DNS security revolves around four independent cybersecurity processes.

Heightened security and enhanced privacy are the primary benefits of following the general tenets of DNS security, as manifested in these ways.

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are designed to sabotage the normal flow of DNS traffic. By flooding the intended target with so much web traffic, the targeted system clogs completely.

Imagine being massively overwhelmed, like if you’re operating a small roadside diner and suddenly thousands of hungry customers crowd in—all of them demanding to be served at that moment. DDoS attacks work the same, by the sheer power of their numbers.

There are also DNS amplification attacks, which violate network security by using open and available DNS servers to amplify traffic, all in hopes of overwhelming a targeted Internet service or domain. (It’s referred to as a botnet when many compromised computers are used in this way.) Amplification attacks use a spoofed source IP address (which belongs to an intended victim) to aim massive amounts of unwanted net traffic at that victim.

DNS security counteracts DDoS attacks in numerous ways. First, DNS security imposes the use of digital signatures as a precursor to accepting DNS data transfers. It also uses anomaly detection to spot unique DNS threats by harnessing AI-powered algorithms.

Another method, rate limiting, restricts how many DNS requests a single client can make, based on how much time elapses. DNS zone validation mandates that only confirmed and valid DNS records can be cleared to join the regular DNS traffic flow.

To establish a truly secure DNS, it’s essential that it aligns with and supports the zero trust cybersecurity ideal by which we “never trust, always verify.” That means that access is granted to no resource (no matter how insignificant it might seem) without the requester’s identity first being verified and then authorized for access.

Companies that fully embrace the zero trust ideal share noticeable commonalities, as outlined in a report about zero-trust security issued by the IBM Institute for Business Value. This report discusses “zero trust pacesetters” and the specific actions that an estimated 23% of companies take to gain full advantage of zero trust’s practical principles.

DNS resolvers play a key role in enforcing zero trust’s practical principles. Resolvers act as intermediaries. Once a user requests a certain website, the DNS resolver handles that request. It then scans that entire DNS infrastructure and examines DNS servers, searching for the correct IP address.

If the DNS system fails to find that IP address, DNS resolvers reach outside the system to authoritative name servers. These name servers provide the “final word” on the sought IP address by issuing a confirmed IP address. The recursive DNS resolver then tucks that IP address away in the cache for safekeeping and quick internal access the next time it’s needed.

DNS security takes advantage of numerous security services and security tools. AI-powered threat detection systems provide automation. The same goes for DNS resolvers and other security solutions that benefit from machine learning and threat-intelligence feeds.

Not only do these systems and solutions automate necessary processes, but they also proactively police DNS traffic in real-time. DNSSEC also helps automate security processes by protecting internet protocols from attacks through DNS hijacking, phishing and tunneling—cyberattacks that can seriously derail DNS traffic and harm the user experience.

In addition, DNS security helps provide protection for objects with Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities. DNS security guards IoT frameworks in several ways, like blocking IoT devices from interacting with command-and-control servers and being recruited as new parts of botnets.

Maintaining cybersecurity is a full-time job, considering that sophisticated and evolving DNS attacks seem to retain their ability to successfully adapt constantly. The following types of DNS security solutions are primarily used to counter such attacks and otherwise enhance cybersecurity:

• DNS firewalls: Whenever a DNS request is generated, it gets stopped at security firewalls, which evaluate the request against lists of IP addresses associated with malicious websites and domains. Firewalls also afford protection against phishing and malware attempts.

• DNS tunneling detection: DNS tunneling efforts include covert data exfiltration, in which bad actors trace confidential and sensitive data and extract it from a network or system by disguising it as data being innocently transferred. Another type of effort is command-and-control communication, which assists with enacting a DNS hijacking.

• Protective DNS services: Protective DNS services enable proactive threat protection management that keeps harmful websites at bay. It achieves this by evaluating DNS requests against threat feeds and established policies.