What is DNS Security? Common Threats and How to Mitigate Them

Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical part of web navigation. DNS security is a component of cybersecurity that protects a user's network and system against DNS attacks. It regulates and monitors DNS requests that share information between two servers by blocking malicious domains.

The DNS converts IP addresses (computer language) to domain names or human-readable addresses. DNS security verifies IPs' legitimacy to determine whether they are safe to interact with.

Users can seek assistance from internet providers and leave their website security in the hands of Vodien, an internet service provider in Singapore that offers domain, hosting security, and backup solutions.

This blog also aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of DNS security, identify common threats, and offer strategies to mitigate these threats.

What is DNS?

DNS converts a website's domain names to IP addresses so that information can be exchanged between various browsers and servers. This is because computers exchange information in their language, which humans cannot understand.

Therefore, DNS acts as a medium for us to share information in domain names, which are then converted into IP addresses (computer language). Searching the website's domain name in a browser involves a DNS server looking at and verifying the IP address and sending it back to a user's computer to establish a connection between legitimate servers.

What is DNS Security?

DNS security analyzes the DNS for any threat of malware, regulating access to various website servers while blocking the ones that pose a threat. It analyzes every DNS request and only allows the safe ones to pass according to its assessment.

DNS security not only blocks threats to websites but also monitors network activity to identify vulnerabilities in them. Strong DNS security protects the information shared among servers from a user's browser.

Why is DNS Security Important?

DNS has design limitations that make it vulnerable to DNS cyber-security attacks. DNS is important for maintaining integrity and available services. This means that it is necessary to protect it for multiple reasons, such as:

Preventing cyberattacks

DNS security can protect a user from malicious domains and websites, including phishing attacks, malware, and ransomware attacks. Cybercriminals often overwhelm the DNS to succeed with malware and various launch attacks.

They bypass security measures and alter their content to visit harmful websites or download content. DNS security blocks access to such domains and renders the attack useless before it may cause any harm.

Data Security

Data security is crucial for all websites. DNS security prevents data loss by blocking access to malicious domains and websites. However, such attacks can threaten DNS cyber security, as they cause significant data breaches.

This may lead to financial loss and damage to an organization's reputation. DNS security prevents this data exfiltration by blocking access to such malware from entering a website's server.

Compliance

 Regulatory bodies play a major role in implementing strict regulations for protecting sensitive data from various threats and breaches. These regulations require mandatory compliance or otherwise charge huge fines, causing damage to the reputation.

Most regulations require organizations to implement security measures to protect such sensitive data. DNS security is an effective solution for this. It blocks access to malicious websites and domains and helps organizations meet their security requirements.

DNS also maintains detailed network activity logs, contributing to an organization's credibility. This is because this data can be shown to regulatory bodies for assurance.

Smooth Functionality

For big organizations, seemingly small disruptions caused by malicious domains and websites can amount to big losses in revenue and reputation. DNS security helps the business maintain smooth functionality by eliminating downtime caused by cyberattacks.

A successful DNS attack can render an organization's systems useless. This halts communications and the business processes vital for running the business. DNS protection keeps a business running by blocking access to such harmful websites.

How does the Domain name System work?

DNS translates domain names into IP addresses, which computers use to identify each other on the Internet. When a user searches for a URL in their browser, their device requests the DNS server to recognize the IP address associated with the domain name.

If the IP address seems correct, the DNS responds to the computer with the IP address, allowing the browser to establish a connection with the website.

DNS works with a hierarchy of servers. The top-level servers contain information about the root domain names (.com, or.org, etc.). The low-level servers handle information about various specific domain names. This enables an efficient and precise conversion of domain names into IP addresses.

Common DNS Security Threats

DNS security threats are often executed by overwhelming the DNS server. This helps the DNS attack succeed because the server malfunctions due to excess traffic.

The list of common DNS security threats is long, of which a few include attacks such as DNS spoofing, DDoS attacks on DNS, DNS tunneling, and DNS hijacking. Let us look at them in detail:

DNS Spoofing (Cache Poisoning)

DNS spoofing, or cache poisoning, is a DNS cyberattack that attempts to corrupt the cache data to redirect an attacker to a malicious website. It manipulates a DNS response for users' requests, leading them to a fake website instead of the desired one.

The user may be fooled into visiting a malicious website, not knowing that it's not safe. The attacker can steal any user-sensitive information entered on such a website.

DNS security can handle this spoofing by verifying the authenticity of the website. The tampered response can be identified, and access to the website can be blocked by DNS security. This can help a user avoid suffering the loss of data theft.

DDoS Attacks on DNS

A disrupted denial of service (DDoS) attack involves a network of servers that overwhelms a website's DNS server through excess traffic. DDoS attacks are challenging to tackle as they might involve many compromised systems with different sources.

In this case, negative consequences for a website owner can include website downtime, lost revenue, and reputational damage.

DNS tunneling

DNS tunneling is used to bypass security measures and steal data. The hackers encode data into DNS queries and responses that create a covert communication channel on the DNS server.

The firewall for DNS security is breached this way, which goes unnoticed by the security measures in the DNS. DNS tunneling poses a significant threat to data security, too.

DNS Hijacking

DNS hijacking redirects users to a malicious website instead of a genuine one. The attacker then gains access to the DNS server, which translates domain names into IP addresses.

After gaining control, the attacker changes the DNS records to a targeted domain that is under the hacker's control. The users being directed to the hacker's website can lead to the theft of user-sensitive data, injecting malware, or performing harmful activities.

How do we mitigate DNS security threats?

DNS allows a user to use their services for personal or professional purposes. The DNS can be hosted locally or in the cloud. If the DNS gets compromised, users cannot utilize the apps or services they were before.

This means business or day-to-day use cannot be done after the compromise. One can mitigate the DNS security threats as follows:

Implementing DNSSEC

Domain Name Security Extensions (DNSSEC) offer an extra layer of security and a set of protocols. They utilize digital signatures and encryption to promote the authenticity and integrity of DNS data.

DNSSEC promotes user security because users can verify that the data they receive is legitimate and secure to access. DNS security threats that rely on falsifying DNS data can be easily dealt with with DNSSEC.

Using Rate Limiting

Rate limiting can be a simple solution to deal with DNS security threats. It includes limiting the volume of DNS queries and responses. This works because cybersecurity attacks attempt to overwhelm the DNS by flooding it with traffic.

This leads to compromises in DNS security and the theft of sensitive data. Rate limiting includes measures to counter various attacks, such as DDoS, that try to exploit the DNS vulnerability.

Monitoring and Logging

Monitoring and logging DNS data can help to notice suspicious activity that may go on within a web server. This is because attackers try to overwhelm the DNS by flooding it with malicious traffic.

Anomaly detection systems are security technology that utilizes machine learning and statistical analysis to detect unusual patterns or queries in network traffic.

Once noticed, unusual queries or patterns can help to make a response by blocking this malicious traffic. This helps to detect and prevent various DNS-based threats.

Regular DNS Audits

DNS audits or checking the records can confirm that they are secure and not altered. These audits can also identify outdated records and clean up the system, making DNS security more efficient.

If any unusual data or query is detected, it can be dealt with manually by alerting the security team to mitigate the DNS security threats. 

Conclusion

DNS security is a component of cybersecurity that protects networks and data against DNS attacks. It blocks malicious domains and websites to protect users' data.

DNS security threats include DNS spoofing, a technique that corrupts cache data to redirect a user to a malicious website. DDoS attacks involve a network of servers that overwhelm the DNS server of a website with excess traffic. This can make a website go offline, lose revenue, and experience reputational damage.

DNS tunneling generally bypasses a server's security measures and steals data. It can pose a serious threat to data security. Lastly, DNS hijacking involves redirecting users to a malicious website to steal sensitive data, inject malware, or perform harmful activities.

DNS has design limitations that make it vulnerable to cyber-security attacks. Protecting DNS is necessary because it is responsible for preventing cyber-attacks, data breaches, and the smooth functioning of a website.

One can get assistance from Vodien to protect their websites. Its services include DNS security, such as DDoS protection and monitoring.

DNS Security FAQs

What is DNS security?

DNS layer security includes a user's measures to protect their DNS from various cyberattacks and threats.

What is the main purpose of DNS?

DNS is used to convert the domain names of different websites into IP addresses so that communication between computer networks can occur.

What are the risks of DNS security?

DNS security risks may include threats from malicious domains and websites, such as DNS spoofing, DDoS attacks on DNS, DNS timeline hijacking, and more.

What are the methods of DNS protection?

To mitigate DNS security threats, a user can implement various methods, such as implementing DNSSEC, using rate limiting, monitoring and logging the DNS logs, and conducting regular DNS audits.

How do I know if my DNS is safe?

Users can simply conduct regular DNS audits to ensure everything on their DNS servers works normally. Notifying the security team can ensure DNS security if they notice unusual queries or patterns.

How do hackers use DNS?

Hackers can hijack a website's DNS by tampering with the IP addresses stored in the DNS. This includes redirecting a user to a website that they own.