DNS Security Solution

The Domain Name System is used by the vast majority of web apps and network services, making the addition of DNS security solutions something that is very important for your company to implement. Any weakness in your DNS security measures could allow a hacker to access a susceptible server.

DNS Security Issues

Typically, DNS security issues can be categorized into two groups:

  1. Those that take browsers, apps, and services to an alternative different destination (DNS spoofing, DNS hijacking, etc.) or
  2. Those that take over management of websites using DNS response traffic (DNS amplification attacks, DNS DDoS attacks, etc.).

There is also the chance that hackers will try and target unsecured DNS servers to get around network security measures (DNS tunneling) or begin Phantom Domain Attacks that hamper network performance.

How to Secure Your DNS

Below are the DNS security best practices that you should use to address the problem of Domain Name Servers that do not have authentication or encryption. Adding these will give you a multilayered, zero-trust DNS security system. Simply using two of the three DNS security best practices will result in DNS security issue alerts should dropping drastically

The following are the DNS measures that security specialists recommend implementing:

  • DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC): DNS security extensions use digital signature key pairs to validate whether the answer to a DNS query is coming from the proper source.
  • DNS over TLS: DNS over TLS encrypts plain text queries to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks and attackers tracking what sites a particular user or application visits.
  • DNS over HTTPS: DNS over HTTPS is an alternative to DNS over TLS – the difference being that encrypted DNS queries and responses are camouflaged within other HTTPS traffic.

Furthermore, you can add a DNS filter to stop your databases from being compromised in the event of your staff accessing compromised web pages that have authentic IP addresses – leading to an installation of malware or theft of log-in details. A DNS filtering solution will monitor web traffic and prevent unsafe actions from being completed.

A DNS security filter will allow granular category and keyword filters and whitelisting solutions to create a network that is running at an optimal level. This will stop any staff member who is trying to bypass the security measures in order to view blocked websites.

Cloud-based DNS security measures are even more straightforward to implement as there is no requirement for hardware or software installations. Via the management dashboard, acceptable use policies can be configured and enforced quickly.

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Posted by

Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of NetSec.news