In 1992, librarian Jean Armor Polly coined the phrase "browsing the Internet," and for anyone who has navigated its waves of data and information since then, you've probably come across the term DNS. Today, the Domain Name System (DNS) is one of the foundations of the Internet and works silently in the background to ensure smooth navigation in this space.
But before DNS, surfing the Internet was an exhausting task. In the beginning, messages were manually sent from one network to another, using a series of IP addresses. The rapid growth of the Internet has caused enormous problems in keeping records of these addresses, and since there are now over 360 million domain name registrations, this method was not feasible.
To solve this problem, DNS was created to provide an easy way to browse the Internet and connect users to websites, using domain names. Now, instead of humans acting as an Internet switchboard, DNS is there to direct them where they need to go.
But what is DNS (opens in a new tab) and what role does it play in protecting organizations?
Domain Name System Overview
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the hierarchical decentralized naming system, created more than thirty-five years ago to provide interconnectivity between online systems and Internet traffic routing protocols. In other words, each device connected to the Internet has its own unique IP address.
DNS allows you to type normal words into your browser, without having to remember long and often complex IP addresses. Essentially, a DNS server (opens in a new tab) is a database full of public IP addresses and acts like an Internet phone book, with entries that are transparently added, deleted, and changed in real time every second.
Every time you type a domain name in your URL bar, DNS will find the corresponding IP address and direct you where you need to go. So why is it important? DNS can be considered one of the cornerstones of the Internet. After all, if a DNS can't find the correct IP address, you simply won't be able to access the website you're looking for.
However, the fundamental importance of DNS makes it a major target for criminals, and there is an ever-present and growing threat to businesses of all sizes. Losing control of a critical domain name or unavailable website, even for a short period of time, will damage an organization's revenue and reputation.
Increased volume and variety of DNS attacks
In the last two years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for bandwidth as the world adapts to new ways of working; with the DNS system now processing over 2 billion queries every day. But along with an increase in legitimate DNS queries has come an unwelcome increase in malicious activity, as criminals seek to compromise DNS infrastructure for their own personal and financial gain.
There has been a significant increase in DDoS attacks (opens in a new tab). These attacks target the DNS infrastructure of organizations or DNS providers with high volumes of DNS queries to prevent legitimate requests from reaching web servers and gaining access to websites and online services.
Although the nature of attacks has changed, the traditional threat of DNS hijacking or cache poisoning is still a real and legitimate threat. These attacks rely on criminals accessing DNS databases and changing the IP address so that legitimate website traffic using a particular domain name is redirected to another website, often without the user's knowledge. that there is a problem. Recently, cryptocurrency exchange Curve Finance fell victim to hackers who hijacked its DNS. The company lost more than €570,000 at the hands of criminals who redirected its traffic to their own website.
Organizations must ensure that key infrastructure is protected in a world of growing digital threats. Strong security policies that cover the use and protection of domain names as key digital assets are essential.
Protect your websites against attacks
Understanding how your domain names are used is crucial for all businesses. Many will be used to generate revenue, increase awareness and reputation, or support critical infrastructure. But it's not always obvious to internal stakeholders that a domain no longer resolves to the correct website, if at all.
DNS traffic analysis, for example, is a great way to ensure each domain is redirecting where it should, highlighting anomalies that can be quickly corrected and brought in line with domain name policy.
The data analysis will also highlight high-traffic domain names that may require better functionality, prioritization and security management. It is helpful to identify these key areas and evaluate the use of record-level lockdown, email security logs, and DNSSEC.
While DNS's priority is to ensure that domain names point to the correct web content, enterprise providers will also offer proactive threat intelligence and monitoring that keep the most critical domain names present and protected. Strong security policies that encompass the use and protection of domain names as key digital assets are essential, as major DNS outages or security incidents are now front page news for all the wrong reasons.
These types of events not only harm the income, but also the reputation of the organizations. That's why it's essential to choose an enterprise DNS partner that has a globally distributed network of DNS nodes. Using enterprise-grade DNS ensures that critical domain names supporting websites, online applications, and email addresses continue to function, even in the event of a DDoS attack on the network.
DNS services come in all forms. Basically, they make sure the domain names are right where they should be. The key test comes when the network is under pressure, either from an increase in legitimate traffic or from malicious sources. For many organizations, the question is whether they can afford the risk of their domain names going down due to limitations in their DNS network.
Regular DNS auditing is now considered a best practice. Working with a domain security expert will provide you with trusted recommendations and forensics to ensure your domain names increase revenue and reputation instead of headaches and security issues.