DNS Security Strategies: Protecting Against Ransomware, Botnets, And Data Theft

Protecting against the growing spectrum of cyber threats, including ransomware, botnets, and data theft, is fundamental for ensuring strong cybersecurity measures. DNS can be used within such a defense strategy efficiently to filter malicious traffic and block access to harmful websites that attackers use.

Recent Cyber Events

In recent times, organizations have faced relentless attacks from sophisticated cyber threats exploiting DNS vulnerabilities. Concurrently, the projected cost of cybercrime in 2024 is estimated at $9.5 trillion USD, reflecting a slight decrease from the anticipated growth rate. This underscores the substantial financial impact and emphasizes the urgent necessity for robust cybersecurity measures and the need for DNS security solutions’ high effectiveness.

Cybersecurity Threats in Focus: Ransomware, Botnets, and Data Theft

Ransomware Attacks: Ransomware is a cybersecurity threat that involves several vectors for use as an entry way into a network, such as email phishing, infected sites, and software or operating vulnerabilities. Soon after, a ransomware infection enters a network and encrypts documents on infected devices, thereby precluding access. Attackers go on to require ransom payment, mostly done through cryptocurrencies, to be able to give out keys for decryption that then allows access to data.

The effects of ransomware are devastating. They can paralyze operations to a much extent by making access to critical files almost impossible—with huge downtimes and operational paralysis. For example, in 2023, ransomware groups were very successful, making this the worst year on record. The number of victims had risen 55.5 percent to 5,070 from the 2022 figure. There were 2,903 victims in the second and third quarters combined, more than the total victims in 2022.

One very striking example is the Royal Mail, targeted by the LockBit ransomware group. It took out Royal Mail’s ability to send international parcels, effectively halting a key portion of its operations. LockBit threatened to leak the stolen data unless a ransom was paid. What is more, ransomware attacks pose a very serious risk of sensitive information exposure in cases of attackers making a threat to leak data in order to coerce payment. The plain truth of the matter is that both operational disruption, and the potential exposure of data due to a cybersecurity incident, presents an organization with a dual jeopardy of risk.

Botnet Exploitation: Botnets pose a continuing threat and are used by cybercriminals to further disseminate malware, conduct DDoS attacks, and steal sensitive data from victim networks.

Historically, botnets were majorly referred to as viruses that infected computers and then propagated through networks, spreading havoc. However, botnets are now being manipulated by some sort of sophisticated bot masters or hacker groups who are propagating malware through various channels to exploit the vulnerabilities in the potentially compromised system. Once a system is infected, botnets continue to work subtly to remain undetected and communicate with their botmaster to follow the respective commands. Then, the attackers will monetize the successful breaches through video attacks, deployment of ransomware that encrypts data, or using a compromised system for cryptocurrency mining.

Usually, botnets take an average of approximately eight months before they are found. This is where one of the long-lived botnets goes, right at the top—to show the need for intrusion detection systems and proactive security measures. Without these defenses in place, the subtle indicators of botnet activities, such as sudden spikes in network traffic or performance degradation, can easily be overlooked and pose serious organizational security risks.

At our organization, we had a large-scale incident with our client, where botnet activity was detected against institutions. Such attacks were targeting institutions by the exploitation of network protocol vulnerabilities while scanning large ranges of IP addresses. The intrusion prevention systems in place were instrumental to the detection and mitigation of this malicious activity.

Data Theft: Cybercriminals leverage DNS exploits to exfiltrate data from the system, which essentially means the transmission of sensitive information out of the organizational perimeter. Such incidents can prove very detrimental to any organization and may result in serious financial losses apart from the taint on the reputation factor associated with it.

Protective Measures and DNS Filtering

Protection from the above-mentioned dangers can be enhanced through DNS filtering in the following ways:

DNS Filtering Capabilities: DNS filtering blocking access to known malicious domains ensures that unknowing users of a network are protected from visiting dangerous websites.It is possible to blacklist, at the DNS layer, access to known sites that host malware, phishing, or other such malicious content by maintaining an extensive database of categorized and flagged domains.

IPS—Intrusion Prevention Systems: Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) detect and block suspicious activities at the DNS level, effectively stopping potential threats from infiltrating the network. As part of IPS functionality, features like SafeDNS are employed to both detect and block these threats, providing an additional layer of security. Using predefined rules and behavioral analytics, IPS can thus very rapidly block DNS queries that point to known attack vectors or suspicious domains. This proactive defense mechanism helps to prevent potential threats from getting inside network infrastructure and hence fortify the security posture of any organization at large.

Real-time Threat Intelligence: Subscribing to real-time threat intelligence feeds allows for the very timely identification and blocking of emerging threats, therefore optimizing the security posture overall.

Behavioral Analysis and Machine Learning: Using machine learning algorithms, DNS security systems, such as those implemented by SafeDNS, analyzes patterns of DNS traffic to detect abnormal behavior indicative of potential threats, hence improving the detection and response capabilities.

Machine learning algorithms learn continuously from new data and adapt to evolving attack techniques, making threat detection and response more accurate and effective. This method, therefore, not only detects known threats but also detects otherwise unseen or zero-day attacks, thereby overall strengthening the resilience of organizations against sophisticated cyber threats.

Besides these strategies, it’s important to recognize that depending on just one vendor’s solution may not be enough. Relying on a single database doesn’t ensure you’re protected from all the latest threats. Each vendor has different ways of collecting threat information and how often they update it. So, having multiple sources provides a better and more complete defense against cyber threats.

The changing nature of these threats requires strong cybersecurity. An organization has no choice but to emphasize proactive defense, including all-around DNS security, to be always ready for the attack of a botnet. Companies are continuously innovating and adopting technologies to combat emerging threats and, in the process, assures organizations the capability to keep their businesses afloat and to ensure data protection in this ever-changing threat landscape. As you see, being prepared for the attack and staying vigilant are the utmost here to counteract effectively against the growing threats.

About the Author

Alexander Biushkin is an accomplished Business Development Executive at SafeDNS, specializing in IT and Cybersecurity sales. Over 9 years, he has gained a deep understanding of the challenges in cybersecurity. At SafeDNS, he leverages his extensive experience to grow business and build strategic partnerships that ensure resilient and secure solutions for clients.

Alexander Biushkin can be reached online at [email protected] and at our company website https://safedns.com/.