Do you know how dangerous the DNS attack types are and how DNS monitoring can help combat them? If not, no worries. You are in the right place at the right time. Why? Because that is precisely the subject of this article. So, let’s begin by explaining what a DNS attack is.

What does a DNS attack imply?

DNS was created to accurately and quickly respond to queries, not to assume their purpose. However, due to these severe weaknesses and the possibility of cyberattacks, DNS is vulnerable. So we can claim that a DNS attack occurs when hackers exploit Domain Name System flaws (DNS).

How can DNS monitoring help against it?

DNS monitoring may help prevent DNS attacks. How? by keeping track of the traffic. Monitoring incoming and outgoing requests is the first step in discovering anomalies. Your answer data’s context information makes it possible to conduct a more thorough forensic investigation.

In addition, it strives to ensure that users can access the website or service they are using securely and dependably. DNS monitoring ensures peak performance by keeping an eye on all Domain Name System (DNS) activity.

DNS monitoring makes it possible to spot problems quickly and potential security gaps and stop malicious assaults. It is necessary to locate DNS outages and often check DNS records for unplanned changes. Any issues that may harm your website or business can be resolved immediately if they are discovered.

Popular DNS attack types

• DNS Cache Poisoning

The first one from our list is DNS Cache Poisoning or DNS spoofing. It is a typical attack with the primary goal of directing online visitors to fraudulent websites. For instance, a user might use their web browser to access gmail.com and check their mailbox.

• DDoS Amplification 

This kind of DNS assault seeks to boost traffic to uncontrollable heights. Different implementations are possible. However, commonly, the UDP protocol is abused to affect your DNS. Due to UDP’s lack of verification, thieves send a DNS request to obtain the IP address and additional DNS records to make the response unusually large.

Suggested page: Popular DDoS attack in the history

• DNS flood attack

Compared to the DDoS Amplification attack, this one is different. The intricate amplification mechanism is not there in this situation. In this scenario, the bad guy typically builds a botnet—a network of controlled devices—that they can access whenever they want. After selecting a target, the malicious party uses the botnet to generate robust traffic from many devices directed towards the victim’s gadgets. Overwhelming the target is the same’s objective.

• DNS Hijacking

Using DNS hijacking, one can direct their browser to a dubious DNS server (Domain Name System). However, it might be accomplished through malicious software or unauthorized server modification.

• DNS Tunneling

The DNS Tunneling attack is the final DNS attack on our list. It uses DNS to encrypt (tunnel) malware and other data in DNS requests and responses (client-server way)

Conclusion

In a DNS attack, cybercriminals take advantage of holes in a server’s Domain Name System (DNS). So, if you do not want this to happen, you could protect yourself or your organization by implementing DNS monitoring. It will monitor your traffic and alert you if something goes wrong. So it’s worthwhile to give it a shot.