27 DNS Security Statistics Highlighting The Rise of Cyber Attacks

A domain name system (DNS) helps your computer find websites you want to visit. It does this by translating the website’s name into internet protocol (IP) addresses online. 

IP addresses are like busy streets where malicious hackers can find ways to trick us and stop us from reaching our destination. DNS security acts like police, keeping us on a legitimate path to our destination website.

DNS security ensures we don’t get redirected to malicious websites where hackers can steal our information. Many organizations use DNS security software to redirect end-user web traffic through filters. They identify malware signatures and other characteristics of potentially dangerous websites and media. 

Explore these statistics below to learn more about DNS attack trends and how organizations protect themselves. 

DNS security attack statistics

DNS security attacks exploit vulnerabilities within the infrastructure that translate human-readable domain names to machine-readable IP addresses. Often, they aim to disrupt website functionality by redirecting traffic to dangerous sites. 

Check out these statistics to understand how much damage they can cause. 

• Organizations face about 7.5 DNS attacks yearly.
• DNS attacks lead to application outages in 82% of businesses and data theft in 29% of those cases.
• 60% of compromised IP addresses are in the U.S.
• A successful DNS attack costs around $1.1 million on average for businesses to recover.

• 12% of new domains might be maliciously impersonating Fortune 500 companies.

• 79% of malicious domains that target Fortune 500 companies use urgent language like "login" or "pay."
• North America saw the most damage from attacks in 2021, while Asia's damage rose by 15% from the previous year.
• 13% of new tax-related domains are harmful.
• DNS tunneling increased by 41% as vulnerabilities to new threats climbed to 44% in 2020. 
• New malicious domains related to Russia or Ukraine surged 150% after the 2022 war began.
• 92% of organizations say their website is essential for operations.
• Akamai, a technology security company, processes 7 trillion DNS requests daily, blocking 2.8 billion harmful ones.
• App downtime remained high, at 62% in 2020, barely changing from 63% in 2019.

DNS security measures

Many organizations add an extra security layer called DNS security extension to ensure computers get the correct website address when they look them up. If you use a DNS provider, they help you block suspicious traffic and notify you they detect inappropriate activity.

You need to monitor network traffic constantly to catch strange behavior early. Keep an eye out for unusual requests coming to the website and follow best security practices. 

Explore these statistics about security professional’s perspectives on DNS security. 

• Only 31% of security professionals feel very confident in handling a DNS attack.
• DNS hijacking is a significant concern for 47%, leading to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

• 47% to 55% of security professionals believe DNS attacks are a rising threat.
• 56% believe DNS is crucial for cloud security, and 49% think private DNS reduces privacy risks.
• Integrating DNS, dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) and IP address management) (IPAM) can cut network admin costs by 80%.
• 56% of respondents consider DNS essential for anti-ransomware measures.
• The average cost of DNS attacks is around $950,000 and organizations experience seven attacks per year.

General DNS security trends

Modern technology introduces new ways to connect domain names to faster and more private websites. DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT) are some examples of technologies that keep what you do on the Internet safe against attacks. Both DoT and DoH are encryption protocols for DNS that provide privacy, integrity, and authenticity to and from the recursive DNS resolver. 

• DNS attacks remained stable for potential targets throughout 2022, except for a 52% increase in December.
• Recovery from DNS attacks varies, with 58% experiencing over an hour of business disruption.
• 57% of companies use automated solutions for network security. 
• 25% of companies don't analyze their DNS traffic, and 35% don't use it for internal filtering.
• About one-third of companies were victims of DNS tunneling (35%) and cache poisoning (33%).

Protect your name

Just like you protect your given name from malicious use, you keep your domain name safe from threat actors. Your domain name is the identity of your business. If the identity is compromised, you could lose several opportunities that come as incoming traffic. The worst part is when your users land on dangerous websites where they fall victim to ransomware attacks, all of this while trying to find you. 

Moreover, you might incur fines or other financial losses. The stats above show that the costs of dealing with a DNS attack pack a punch. 

Prioritize DNS security in your overall cybersecurity strategy to avoid these kinds of scenariosand provide a safe passage for your audience to reach you. 

Learn more about managed DNS provider software that delivers computing power to customers and facilitates their web-based traffic.