The Domain Name System (DNS) is a naming and directory service that assigns names to computers and services on the internet. This naming convention facilitates the communication and exchange of information between web pages, devices, and applications. Due to a large number of services and websites available on the Internet, it is vital to identify and recognize them in the case of internet-based communication.
Because of this, the Domain Name System (DNS) is crucial for businesses. It matches web pages with IP addresses that are traceable by other devices. DNS records all IP addresses automatically in enterprises with many accessible websites and devices, so an enterprise does not have to manually enter them.
A Domain Name System provides businesses with a great deal of functionality but can be affected by some external factors at times. To prevent this, companies should use DNS monitoring solutions to ensure the smooth operation of enterprise communications.
Table of Content
What Is DNS Monitoring?
DNS monitoring refers to the process of managing and ensuring the security of the back-and-forth communications between the browser and the website or service to which the user is connecting.
There are several benefits to using DNS monitoring, regardless of whether your company manages one or more web domains. DNS monitoring can allow you to quickly identify any problems, prevent targeted attacks, and readily identify any security breaches that may occur.
Effective DNS monitoring involves regularly monitoring your DNS records for any changes that may occur or for localized outages that could arise from a manual error or a hacker. In this way, your team can identify and solve any issues that may adversely affect the security of your website or the users who can access it as soon as possible.
Why Is DNS Monitoring Important?
You must have a reliable DNS monitoring system in place so that your users’ security and your website’s reliability can be assured.
As the DNS is a popular target for hackers, it is imperative to keep a close eye on any attacks that may affect your domains and services. The most common attacks are as follows:
DNS Poisoning
If a hacker inserts their information into the DNS cache of your website, the information can be used for rerouting users to a spoofed version of your site or collecting your users’ private information, such as their credit card information.
Click here to read more about DNS Cache Poisoning.
DDoS and DoS
There are several ways in which DoS attacks (Denial of Service) or DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service) can attempt to crash a website or service due to excessive requests coming from the web server.
If you don’t have DNS monitoring, your website and its users are more likely to be compromised by these attacks. These attacks can result in significant problems like outages, unhappy customers, and compromised private data, leading to lost revenue and a negative image for your brand.
Since DNS servers operate in the background of your organization, it is easy to take their basic functionality for granted. However, if you do not have a monitoring mechanism, data attackers can uncover vulnerabilities in DNS communication mechanisms before you know them.
Because DNS errors and breaches can have far-reaching consequences, it is paramount that DNS monitoring is performed to catch issues before they become grave.
Benefits of DNS Monitoring
Several types of DNS errors and breaches can be identified and corrected by your DNS monitoring system. Most DNS errors result from malicious activity and significantly threaten your organization’s security. Communication flow interruptions are another common cause of slow traffic on your sites and prevent domain requests from properly being resolved.
So, there are many benefits associated with DNS monitoring, which include the following:
- Detecting attacks such as pharming, spoofing, DDoS attacks, DNS poisoning, domain fronting, and other types of attacks.
- Protecting from the theft and loss of personal data
- Performance and reliability improvement of web-based applications
- Identifying technical issues and responding to them much faster
- Improving customer satisfaction by reducing downtime
- Enhancing security measures to ensure that the online presence of the organization is safe and secure
Usages of DNS Monitoring
DNS monitoring is an essential part of any security system, and it does have a trickle-down effect in other areas. Let’s take a look at some of the main use cases of a DNS monitoring system:
DDoS Mitigation
A DNS monitoring tool is extremely valuable for DDoS prevention and mitigation strategies through the ability to observe traffic patterns and anomalies in pings from the client’s perspective. Based on that monitoring data, they can then take prompt action to sinkhole them or elude them. Organizations can also leverage machine learning-based techniques and filters based on such monitoring data.
Prevent DNS Cache Poisoning
The process of cache poisoning exploits the DNS framework by inserting invalid IP addresses into the DNS cache. This causes the DNS cache to be polluted, resulting in the DNS becoming poisoned. Through this attack vector, cybercriminals can redirect internet traffic away from the original server and towards a fake server, resulting in the traffic diverting away from the original server.
DNS poisoning can destroy your reputation and damage your customer base if not detected. Without using DNS monitoring you will have difficulty detecting IP addresses redirecting to unknown or illegitimate servers
Prevent DNS Tunneling
DNS tunneling is a type of cyberattack through which malicious scripts, programs, and other unnecessary data are tunneled through the DNS protocol. It routes the DNS requests to the attacker’s server to provide them with a hidden C&C (command & control) pipeline or exfiltration route for this attack.
The DNS monitoring program helps the organization’s security experts to detect and eliminate the additional traffic generated by DNS or to implement a blocklisting option as a result of the DNS monitoring.
How to Monitor Your DNS Server
There are several critical things to keep an eye on when monitoring your DNS server to ensure it is functioning correctly.
IP Address(es): It is the IP address your browser converts a website’s domain name to display it to a user correctly. It is possible to quickly alert yourself to possible spoofs or errors by performing a DNS query to make sure the IP address in the system matches your IP address.
SOA Record: Every time a change occurs in your DNS, a serial number in your SOA (Start of Authority) Record is updated. Knowing exactly when this change happens is the first step in preventing an attack.
MX and SRV Records: Emails and communications are handled by your company’s MX and SRV records. Monitoring these is essential to preventing email/communication losses and to prevent attacks such as rerouting.
NS Records: Directly testing your NS (nameservers) will ensure that the servers respond correctly to your users. Monitoring your NS will help you catch any tampering with your primary and backup records.
After you understand what a DNS server is all about and have some regular checks in place to ensure these aspects are working correctly, it is essential to test your DNS server from every angle possible.
Several third-party services can be used to have your application tested from a large network of locations, allowing you to identify any non-localized issues that may be affecting a significant portion of your customer base.
Conclusion
DNS monitoring should play a crucial role in a company’s security strategy because it helps detect and prevent attacks and assists the company’s online presence and infrastructure.
DNS monitoring is also important because it contributes to the performance, reliability, and security of web-based applications, so it is a tool that companies should consider using when they are evaluating web-based applications.
Click here for free Cloud DNS setup, or contact ArvanCloud team of experts who can help you with assessments and more details about DNS servers.
