Don't underestimate the importance of DNS
The Domain Name System (DNS) serves as the backbone of modern enterprise networks, operating as the crucial directory that aligns domain names—human-readable identifiers for Internet destinations—with their corresponding IP addresses. By translating the names we use to identify websites and services into the numerical addresses that computers need to locate each other on the network, DNS effectively controls the flow of internet traffic. In an enterprise setting, DNS goes beyond mere address resolution; it underpins the functionality of email routing, cloud services, and various security functions. Given its central role, even the simplest of attacks, such as DNS spoofing or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on a company's DNS infrastructure, can have catastrophic consequences. It can lead to extended outages, loss of customer trust, compromised data integrity, and significant financial damage. This vulnerability makes DNS security a critical component of an enterprise's overall cybersecurity strategy.
DNS spoofing, also known as DNS cache poisoning, involves corrupting the DNS resolver's cache, leading it to return an incorrect IP address, diverting traffic to the attacker's site. This can result in the theft of confidential information, such as login credentials or financial data, as users are often unaware that they are interacting with a fraudulent website. According to a Security Intelligence Report by Microsoft, DNS attacks, in general, saw a 34% year-over-year increase as of the last report. This exemplifies the growing trend of such exploits.
On the other hand, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack targets the DNS infrastructure with overwhelming traffic from multiple sources, often distributed globally. This type of attack aims to make online services unavailable, causing significant disruption to business operations. For instance, in 2020, Amazon Web Services fended off one of the largest DDoS attacks ever reported, with incoming traffic peaking at 2.3 Tbps. While they managed to mitigate this without customer impact, it underscores the sheer scale of potential attacks.
The cost of DNS attacks is also substantial. The "2020 Global DNS Threat Report" by EfficientIP and IDC highlighted that the average cost of a DNS attack for organizations stood at $924,000, with businesses facing an average of 9.5 attacks in the previous year. The report further emphasized that around 79% of surveyed companies had been affected by DNS attacks.
These statistics illustrate the prevalence and potential severity of DNS attacks. They serve as a stark reminder that robust DNS security measures are not optional but necessary for safeguarding enterprise networks. Maintaining a secure and resilient DNS infrastructure involves implementing practices such as DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) to protect against spoofing, employing DDoS mitigation services, and continuous monitoring for anomalous traffic patterns.
Strategically Aged Domains
Attackers register domains months
or even years before it is used for an
attack. By lengthening the life of the
domain, it is easier for the attacker to
bypass reputation-based checks done
by security vendors.
Wildcard DNS
Wildcard DNS records allow attackers
to redirect users to malicious hosts via
a nearly infinite number of domains
they registered in bulk.
DNS Infiltration
Attackers use another DNS-layer
attack technique, DNS Tunneling, to
download malicious payloads in small
chunks within DNS packets to bypass
security.
PALO ALTO DNS SECURITY
DNS Security is a cloud-native subscription service seamlessly integrated with your Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) to safeguard your DNS traffic. It leverages shared threat intelligence and harnesses machine learning (ML) to swiftly pinpoint and neutralize threats lurking within DNS traffic. Cloud-based defenses are applied instantaneously, offering limitless scalability across all users and ensuring that protections are consistently current. The service includes a dedicated analytics dashboard that grants comprehensive insight into your DNS traffic, complete with simple, one-click options to investigate any detected attacks. The key benefits of DNS Security include:
- Cutting-edge protection against DNS-related threats, utilizing advanced inline ML algorithms that can preemptively detect and counteract emerging and sophisticated threats, effectively neutralizing them before they unfold.
- A robust security framework that remains effective even if DNS settings are altered, thus preventing any attempts to circumvent protections.
- Effortless setup process – activating and managing your subscription is straightforward via your NGFW. This eliminates the need for redirecting DNS traffic or navigating complex change management procedures.
- Enhanced operational efficiency is achieved by securing DNS traffic directly through the Palo Alto Networks ecosystem, streamlining security operations and reducing the need for additional infrastructure.
Elevate your cybersecurity with a touch of simplicity—Mode44 is here to seamlessly integrate advanced DNS Security with your existing Next-Generation Firewall. Our expertise lies in quickly and efficiently configuring your system to defend against DNS threats, ensuring continuous protection without complication. There's no need to delay; reach out to Mode44 to bolster your network with ease and confidence. Your peace of mind is just a conversation away.
Industry Leading Protection Expertly Implemented
Halt Established Threats
The DNS Security subscription brings comprehensive protection against an extensive range of known malicious domains, pinpointing them using real-time analytics and a continuously updated threat intelligence network. Our cloud-based threat intelligence expands in tandem with the vast and growing community of intelligence sharing, bolstering the resources of Palo Alto Networks, which include:
- The sophisticated WildFire malware analysis service, which identifies emerging C2 domains, sources of file downloads, and domains found in malicious email links.
- The URL Filtering system, actively scanning and categorizing newly discovered or previously unclassified websites for potential threats.
- Analysis of Passive DNS and telemetry data from innumerable NGFWs in operation, amassing petabytes of informative data daily.
- The expertise of Unit 42's threat researchers, providing detailed analyses of adversary behavior and reverse engineering of malware, augmented by intelligence from strategically deployed honeypots worldwide.
- Collaboration with over 30 external threat intelligence feeds, enhancing our data pool and ensuring expansive threat coverage.
Enhance DNS Traffic Oversight
Achieve comprehensive insight and bolster security across all varieties of DNS traffic, including standard DNS queries, encrypted forms like DNS over TLS (DoT), and DNS over HTTPS (DoH). This includes traffic directed toward unrecognized resolvers.
- Implement firewall decryption to meticulously inspect encrypted DNS communications such as DoH and DoT.
- Employ sinkholing tactics to isolate and manage network-connected devices that have been compromised.
- Utilize AIOps capabilities for exhaustive surveillance of your DNS traffic, allowing for a clear view of patterns and anomalies through an integrated dashboard.
- Ensure the security of all DNS queries, not excluding those sent to non-standard DNS resolvers, maintaining the integrity of your network.
Automated Isolation of Compromised Hosts
Empower your security infrastructure with the ability to autonomously identify and isolate compromised systems to halt the proliferation of threats. Through automated processes, swiftly pinpoint and quarantine affected hosts:
- Leverage automated reactions within your policy framework to rapidly locate systems that have been compromised and take immediate action.
- Upon detection of DNS-related attacks, enable security protocols that automate the sinkholing of dubious domains directly through the Next-Generation Firewall, disrupting command and control (C2) communications.
- Swiftly identify and segregate infected network users, employing measures to prevent the lateral spread of malware.
- Integrate sinkholing, Dynamic Address Groups (DAGs), and detailed logging to expedite the detection and response cycle, eliminating the delays associated with manual intervention demanded by other systems.
ARE YOU READY?
We are ready for your queries, please get in touch with any enquiries or issues you may have with your existing or not-present cyber security services.
Mode44 is able to discuss any projects, issues or concerns you may have with either Palo Alto Networks or with your current vendor if they are not Palo Alto Network specialists.
