In its recent Advisory AA25\u2011203A, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reaffirms a powerful truth: Protective DNS (Domain Name System) remains one of the most effective defenses against ransomware.<\/p>\n
This is not speculation\u2014it is guidance grounded in proven reality. What makes Protective DNS especially compelling is that it builds on your existing infrastructure and is already recognized in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP)\u202f800\u201181 as a security best practice.<\/p>\n
Ransomware impacts start with malicious traffic\u2014whether it is phishing emails, command-and-control (C2) connections or data exfiltration channels. DNS sits at the heart of this traffic flow: it translates domain names into IPs, but also reveals where traffic is headed. <\/p>\n
CISA\u2019s AA25\u2011203A highlights that DNS offers the earliest interception point for ransomware\u2014blocking before a connection is even established. By filtering DNS queries before they resolve to malicious infrastructure\u2014be it known C2 domains, phishing sites or exfil servers\u2014organizations can stop threats before they initiate payload delivery.<\/p>\n