Intelligent CISO Issue 37 | Page 28

The knowledge gap in cybersecurity has meant that businesses are extremely underprepared and often underestimate one of the biggest threats to their operations .
DNS attacks are increasingly common and come in several forms which organisations must be aware of to ensure the safety of their data and work practices .
editor ’ s question

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rom PlayStation to

F iCloud and even the NHS , it would be difficult to ignore the impact that cyberattacks can have on an organisation . Many will have seen the damage to reputation caused by famous hacks , or even felt the impact directly through application downtime and sensitive data theft .

But while cyberthreats can be portrayed by the media as a distant concern only of big corporations and governments , cybercriminals are becoming smarter and more effective at damaging even the smallest organisation .
The knowledge gap in cybersecurity has meant that businesses are extremely underprepared and often underestimate one of the biggest threats to their operations .
This threat has only increased within the last year . The rise of working from home has meant organisations have had to quickly adapt to supplying workers with the tech needed to efficiently work off-site .
Remote working and the switch to cloud applications has added complexity to network management and security , thus heightening the risk from cyberthreats aimed at the company ’ s network infrastructure and especially the Domain Name System ( DNS ). DNS translates website names into numeric addresses ( IP addresses ) that are easier for computers to manage . Without adequate security measures , the openness of this system can easily be exploited by hackers , with potentially devastating consequences for productivity and data security .
DNS is mission-critical for businesses – if DNS servers go down , you can no longer reach any of your vital apps or services , including cloud storage . 91 % of malware abuses DNS services to build attacks ,

The knowledge gap in cybersecurity has meant that businesses are extremely underprepared and often underestimate one of the biggest threats to their operations .

and while DNS is often targeted directly , it ’ s often also used as an attack vector such as via connected objects ( IoT ).
Last year , our annual DNS Threat Report found that 79 % of companies faced DNS attacks and suffered irreparable damage : loss of business ( 29 %), application downtime ( 82 %), data theft ( 16 %) and more . DNS attacks
RONAN DAVID , VP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING , EFFICIENTIP are increasingly common and come in several forms which organisations must be aware of to ensure the safety of their data and work practices . For example , ransomware attacks make use of misleading links to attack your computer and hold essential data at ransom in exchange for money . DDOS ( Distributed Denial-of-Service ) attacks are a specific way to tear down a remote service by sending attacks to it from multiple points of the network , making it more difficult to stop the source .
Businesses must move beyond basic security solutions to protect themselves from these risks . By making use of an automated DNS security solution and Zero Trust strategies , organisations can simplify and accelerate threat detection and protect application services for both customers and workers .
The danger of underestimating the damage from cyberattacks is far too high for businesses to ignore . Now more than ever , technology plays a vital role within the workplace and organisations must find time to educate themselves about the risks and good practice for cybersecurity – or risk permanently damaging their business .

DNS attacks are increasingly common and come in several forms which organisations must be aware of to ensure the safety of their data and work practices .

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