Make Money Online
David Redekop is Founder & CEO of ADAMnetworks.
The domain name system (DNS) is the backbone of the internet, but it’s also one of its biggest security blind spots. As a translator between user-friendly domain names and machine-friendly IP addresses, DNS is essential to modern connectivity. But its ubiquity and openness also make it a prime avenue for cybercriminals.
Just last year, a China-linked APT group, Evasive Panda, exploited vulnerabilities in DNS infrastructure to compromise an internet service provider, intercept legitimate software update requests and deliver malware to targeted networks—demonstrating how attackers can manipulate DNS to infiltrate systems while evading traditional, commonly relied upon security controls.
With 88% of organizations experiencing at least one DNS-based attack annually, at an average cost of $942,000 per incident, the stakes are high. Techniques like DNS hijacking, tunneling, cache poisoning and amplification continue to evolve, making it critical for security teams to understand how these attacks work and implement proactive strategies to defend against them. Strengthening DNS security isn’t just about mitigating threats; it’s about ensuring the resilience of your entire digital infrastructure.
Make Money Online DNS At The Crossroads Of Utility And Vulnerability
When DNS was first developed, security wasn’t a primary concern. Its design prioritized efficiency, scalability and openness—qualities that made it invaluable for global connectivity but also introduced fundamental security flaws. Unlike modern protocols that incorporate built-in protections, DNS operates on an implicit trust model, processing queries without verifying authenticity or intent.
Because DNS does not inherently distinguish between legitimate and malicious traffic, adversaries can manipulate it to reroute users, mask data exfiltration and disrupt critical systems while remaining largely undetected.
The sheer scale of DNS infrastructure further complicates defense efforts, as organizations often struggle to monitor and secure the vast number of queries flowing through their networks. Without proper protection, these weaknesses create persistent risks.
Make Money Online Inside The Attack Playbook—Key DNS Threats
Attackers have already developed a range of techniques to exploit DNS’s inherent flaws, turning it into a covert gateway for infiltration and disruption. Below are four of the most prevalent and damaging DNS attack methods.
1. DNS Hijacking
Attackers intercept and manipulate domain resolution requests, redirecting users to malicious sites without their knowledge. This can occur through endpoint-based malware that alters a device’s DNS settings or by compromising upstream infrastructure, such as infiltrating service provider networks. Nation-state actors have leveraged this technique to reroute users at scale, enabling large-scale credential theft and phishing campaigns.
2. DNS Tunneling
DNS tunneling enables attackers to bypass security controls and covertly transmit data by embedding malicious payloads within DNS queries. By exploiting the DNS protocol as a communication channel, adversaries can establish a backdoor to exfiltrate sensitive information or remotely control infected systems. Because DNS traffic is often overlooked by traditional security tools, tunneling has been widely used in cyber espionage campaigns, allowing attackers to evade detection while maintaining persistent access to compromised networks.
3. DNS Cache Poisoning
Also known as DNS spoofing, cache poisoning allows attackers to inject fraudulent DNS records into a resolver’s cache, tricking users into connecting to attacker-controlled sites. Unlike hijacking, which alters resolution paths, cache poisoning exploits weaknesses in the DNS resolution process itself, enabling large-scale phishing, credential theft and malware distribution.
4. DNS Amplification
DNS amplification is a reflection-based distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in which attackers exploit open DNS resolvers to generate an overwhelming flood of traffic against a target. Attackers craft small queries with spoofed source addresses, triggering disproportionately large responses that amplify the attack’s impact.
These attack techniques exploit fundamental weaknesses in DNS, often bypassing traditional security controls. To mitigate these threats, organizations must adopt proactive defenses that address both the vulnerabilities within DNS and the tactics attackers use to exploit them.
Make Money Online Strategies For Mitigation: Building A Resilient Defense
Defending against DNS-based attacks requires a proactive approach that strengthens core DNS protections while integrating security measures across the broader infrastructure. Attackers take advantage of DNS’s inherent trust model, so mitigating these risks means closing the gaps that allow manipulation, redirection and abuse.
• DNS Encryption: Encrypting DNS traffic through DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS-over-TLS (DoT) helps prevent man-in-the-middle attacks and DNS hijacking by ensuring queries remain private and protected from tampering. Meanwhile, domain name system security extensions (DNSSEC) authenticate responses, preventing cache poisoning by verifying that DNS records have not been altered in transit.
• DNS Firewalls To Block Malicious Domains: DNS firewalls and filtering play a crucial role in stopping DNS tunneling, hijacking and access to known malicious domains. By restricting connections to only trusted DNS servers and blocking suspicious or newly registered domains, organizations can reduce exposure to phishing, malware distribution and command-and-control (C2) traffic.
• Strict Access Controls And Endpoint Security Protocols: Many DNS-based attacks, including hijacking and cache poisoning, stem from unauthorized modifications to DNS settings. Enforcing least privilege access, multifactor authentication (MFA) for DNS management and endpoint protections ensures that attackers cannot easily manipulate DNS configurations.
While these measures can significantly strengthen DNS security, the elephant in the room is what to do with the traffic that didn’t use DNS to begin with. Attackers are increasingly leveraging “DNSless” communication methods that bypass traditional DNS-based controls entirely, making this a growing concern for security teams. Addressing this blind spot will require continued innovation, and organizations should keep a close watch as the industry develops solutions to tackle this evolving risk.
Make Money Online Fortifying The Foundation Of Digital Operations
DNS is a critical yet under-secured pillar of modern infrastructure. Attackers understand its weaknesses and continue refining their techniques to infiltrate networks, disrupt operations and steal sensitive data. The Evasive Panda attack is a stark reminder that these threats are not theoretical—they’re active, evolving and capable of causing widespread damage.
Security teams cannot afford to treat DNS as an afterthought. Proactive defense strategies can significantly reduce risk and strengthen resilience against evolving threats, but DNS security cannot exist in isolation. It must be integrated into a broader cyber resilience strategy—one that ensures organizations remain agile and adaptive in an increasingly complex threat landscape.
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