DNS is essential, invisible, and often overlooked. When it’s working, no one thinks about it. But when it breaks, networks go down, services stop responding, and business grinds to a halt. As one of the most successful and resilient systems on the internet, the Domain Name System (DNS) has been quietly powering modern digital infrastructure for decades. We should know. Our Chief Scientist invented it.
But threat actors haven’t. They’ve learned to weaponize DNS for their own gain.
Whether it’s launching DDoS attacks on DNS infrastructure, hijacking domains to impersonate legitimate brands, or using DNS queries to stealthily exfiltrate stolen data, adversaries now treat DNS not as plumbing, but as a platform. DNS has become a foundational tool in the modern cybercriminal’s arsenal.
For years, DNS security remained largely unaddressed by regulatory bodies. However, this is rapidly changing. Governments worldwide are recognizing the critical role DNS plays in cybersecurity and are actively incorporating Protective DNS into their cyber resilience policies.
In the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, national governments have embraced Protective DNS as a primary security measure. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) now provides Protective DNS services to federal agencies. Across the Atlantic, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) operates its own Protective DNS platform. In Australia, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is also adopting this approach.
This isn’t just best-practice guidance, it has become mandated policy.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently updated its Special Publication 800-81, “DNS Security Best Practices,” to emphasize three pillars:
Securing the DNS infrastructure
Protecting the integrity of the DNS service
Using Protective DNS as an active cybersecurity control
These recommendations are echoed in the European Union’s NIS2 Directive, which now includes DNS protections as part of the baseline for critical infrastructure operators. Similar requirements are surfacing globally, such as in Saudi Arabia’s Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC), which explicitly calls for the use of Protective DNS.
At ThreatSTOP, we’ve been ahead of this curve for over a decade.
Our Protective DNS solutions DNS Defense Cloud and DNS Defense are built to meet and exceed the standards now being recommended and regulated. Whether you rely on your own DNS infrastructure or want to leverage ours in the cloud, we empower you to proactively block threats at the DNS layer before they reach your network or devices.
Meanwhile, IP Defense gives you granular control over inbound and outbound traffic across routers, firewalls, cloud platforms, and more, ensuring that your organization can enforce protection policies everywhere it matters.
These protections aren’t static block lists. They’re dynamically generated and constantly refined by the ThreatSTOP Security, Intelligence, and Research team a group of analysts and engineers dedicated to identifying, verifying, and curating protections against:
Command and control communications
Invalid or malicious traffic
Peer-to-peer abuse
Phishing and domain impersonation
SPAM infrastructure
Data exfiltration channels
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) behaviors
And more…
As DNS moves into the regulatory and policy spotlight, there’s an opportunity to turn what was once a vulnerability into a strategic security control. Protective DNS isn’t a luxury, it has become a necessity.
With ThreatSTOP, organizations of all sizes can implement NIST SP 800-81-aligned protections, meet regulatory expectations like NIS2 and ECC, and most importantly, stop threats before they cause harm.
Connect with Customers, Disconnect from Risks
For those interested in joining the ThreatSTOP family, or to learn more about our proactive protections for all environments, we invite you to visit our product page. Discover how our solutions can make a significant difference in your digital security landscape. We have pricing for all sizes of customers! Get started with a Demo today!
|
ThreatSTOP Capability |
ATT&CK Technique |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Block C2 over DNS |
T1071.004 - Application Layer Protocol: DNS |
Blocks DNS-based command and control channels |
|
Prevent Data Exfiltration |
T1048.003 - Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol |
Stops data exfiltration using DNS queries |
|
Disrupt Phishing Infrastructure |
T1566 - Phishing |
Blocks domains and IPs used for phishing and brand impersonation |
|
Stop DDoS Command Channels |
T1498 - Network Denial of Service |
Blocks traffic to and from known DDoS controllers |
|
Prevent Malware Delivery |
T1105 - Ingress Tool Transfer |
Blocks known malicious infrastructure used for payload delivery |
|
Block Peer-to-Peer Abuse |
T1020 - Automated Exfiltration / P2P Channels |
Prevents peer-to-peer malware traffic over DNS/IP |
|
Identify and Block SPAM Infra |
T1585.001 - Active Scanning: Internet-Accessible Services |
Blocks IPs and domains used for spam campaigns |