For over five years, threat intelligence has been delivered to thousands—from air traffic controllers to banks, insurers, and retailers—warning of exposed Internet assets and DNS vulnerabilities. Yet, many organizations ignore these risks, leaving critical systems open despite high-profile breaches like SolarWinds, DYN, Stuxnet, and Microsoft.
The reality is clear: no matter how many security experts are hired or how much money is spent, if DNS, PKI, and Internet-facing assets remain exposed, defenses are merely an illusion.
You Should Know: Critical Commands and Steps to Secure DNS and Internet Assets
1. Identifying DNS Vulnerabilities
- Check DNS misconfigurations with:
dig example.com ANY nslookup -type=any example.com
- Detect dangling DNS records (subdomains pointing to decommissioned services):
dnsrecon -d example.com -t std
2. Scanning Exposed Internet Assets
- Nmap scan for open ports and services:
nmap -sV -T4 -p- example.com
- Check for outdated SSL/TLS certificates:
openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 | openssl x509 -noout -dates
3. Securing PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)
- Verify certificate chain validity:
openssl verify -CAfile root-ca.pem cert.pem
- Check for weak cryptographic algorithms:
testssl.sh example.com
4. Monitoring and Threat Intelligence
- Track DNS changes with passive DNS tools:
pdns_control list-zones
- Analyze historical DNS records:
curl "https://api.securitytrails.com/v1/history/example.com/dns/a"
5. Mitigating DNS-Based Attacks
- Enable DNSSEC to prevent cache poisoning:
named-checkconf /etc/named.conf dnssec-keygen -a RSASHA256 -b 2048 -n ZONE example.com
- Block malicious domains via firewall rules:
iptables -A OUTPUT -d malicious-domain.com -j DROP
What Undercode Say
The neglect of DNS and Internet-facing asset security is a ticking time bomb. Organizations must move beyond reactive measures and adopt continuous monitoring, automated vulnerability scanning, and strict PKI management. The following Linux and Windows commands can help:
- Linux:
Check for DNS leaks curl ifconfig.me Audit open ports ss -tuln Verify DNSSEC validation dig +dnssec example.com
Windows:
Test SSL/TLS protocols Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 443 List DNS cache Get-DnsClientCache Check firewall rules Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object { $_.Enabled -eq "True" }
Ignorance is no longer an excuse—proactive security is a necessity in an era of relentless cyber warfare.
Prediction
As cyber threats evolve, organizations that fail to secure DNS and Internet-facing assets will face exponentially higher risks of ransomware, data breaches, and nation-state attacks. Automated threat detection and zero-trust architectures will become mandatory rather than optional.
Expected Output:
A hardened DNS and PKI infrastructure with continuous monitoring, validated certificates, and strict access controls to mitigate exposure to cyber threats.
References:
Reported By: Andy Jenkinson – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
