From “Nice-to-Have” to “Must-Have”: NIST and CISA Cement Protective DNS as a Security Standard

For years, Protective DNS was treated as an optional safeguard—something forward-leaning organizations deployed but not a baseline requirement. That era has officially ended. Recent guidance from NIST and CISA makes Protective DNS a recognized, standards-aligned control that organizations of every size and sector must adopt.

This shift has sweeping implications. It transforms Protective DNS from a tactical tool into a strategic requirement that regulators, auditors, and security leaders will expect to see in every serious cybersecurity program.

What the New Standards Say

NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0
Released in February 2024, CSF 2.0 broadened its scope and mapped organizations to practical outcomes. Within the “Protect” function, NIST highlights DNS protections as a key practice to reduce risk.

CISA’s Encrypted DNS Implementation Guidance
In May 2024, CISA directed U.S. federal agencies to use Protective DNS, adopt encrypted DNS protocols, and block direct third-party DNS resolution.

NIST SP 800-81r3 (Draft, April 2025)
For the first time, NIST frames DNS as an active security control. The draft lays out deployment best practices and calls Protective DNS a requirement for blocking malicious lookups, disrupting command-and-control (C2), and preventing data exfiltration.

CISA Protective DNS Fact Sheets (2024 update)
CISA summarized the benefits in plain language: Protective DNS blocks malicious destinations, thwarts phishing, detects malware C2, and extends protection to roaming and cloud endpoints.  However, with the upcoming substantial cuts to the CISA 2026 budget, Protective DNS provided by CISA is in the crosshairs.

Why This Matters for Your Security Program

This is not simply a technical recommendation. It’s a compliance and risk alignment milestone. Organizations now face clear expectations:

• Regulators and frameworks mandate Protective DNS.

• Auditors and assessors will expect evidence of DNS protections during reviews.

• Boards and executives can point to authoritative guidance when demanding these controls.

Protective DNS is no longer a differentiator; it’s a minimum requirement.

ThreatSTOP: Standards-Aligned Protective DNS

At ThreatSTOP, we’ve been delivering Protective DNS long before it became a regulatory mandate. Our products directly align with the new guidance:

• DNS Defense Cloud – Cloud-based DNS protection using ThreatSTOP resolvers, ideal for distributed workforces and roaming devices.

• DNS Defense – On-premises DNS protection, applying ThreatSTOP’s curated intelligence on your own DNS infrastructure.

• IP Defense – Extends the same protection to firewalls, routers, IPS devices, and cloud services, controlling outbound access at the IP layer.

All three are powered by the ThreatSTOP Security, Intelligence, and Research team. We proactively block command-and-control traffic, phishing domains, malware distribution, exfiltration attempts, and more.

This means ThreatSTOP customers are already operating in alignment with CSF 2.0 Protect outcomes and CISA PDNS guidance, without any additional hardware.

Compliance Mapping in Practice

The standards story is now straightforward:

CSF 2.0 Protect outcomes
⬇
CISA PDNS implementation guidance
⬇
ThreatSTOP Protective DNS (Cloud & On-Premises) + IP Defense

That’s a compliance narrative you can take to your board, auditors, and regulators, while reducing incidents and securing your environment.

Compliance Mapping and Audit Playbook

CSF → CISA PDNS → ThreatSTOP Mapping

1:1 Audit Playbook

When auditors ask, ThreatSTOP customers can show:

1. Protective DNS Deployment Evidence – network diagrams, resolver configs, IP Defense enforcement.

2. Encryption Enforcement – configs for DoH/DoT, proof of blocking unauthorized resolvers.

3. Block List Reporting – export logs of blocked domains/IPs by category (phishing, C2, malware).

4. Query Logging Evidence – anonymized logs (if opted in) showing activity and enforcement.

5. Compliance Reports – automated reports mapping ThreatSTOP blocks directly to CSF 2.0 outcomes.

This creates a turnkey audit response package: “Yes, we have Protective DNS. Here’s the system, the logs, the reporting, and the mapping to standards.”

Take the Next Step

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!

Connect with Customers, Disconnect from Risks

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping