DNS security: The overlooked vulnerability in modern infrastructure

Bhardwaj, Yogesh Kumar (2025) DNS security: The overlooked vulnerability in modern infrastructure. World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences, 15 (2). pp. 1783-1790. ISSN 2582-8266

This article examines the critical yet often overlooked role of Domain Name System (DNS) security in modern cybersecurity infrastructure. Despite its fundamental importance to internet functionality, DNS remains a significant vulnerability for many organizations, with implementation of comprehensive security measures lagging behind other cybersecurity priorities. It explores why DNS continues to be an attractive target for threat actors, analyzing its inherent design limitations and contemporary security challenges. Various attack vectors are examined in detail, including DNS spoofing, cache poisoning, tunneling, amplification attacks, domain hijacking, command and control communications, and data exfiltration. The article provides an in-depth analysis of AWS cloud-specific DNS security solutions, including Route 53 Resolver DNS Firewall Advanced, DDoS protection capabilities, Amazon GuardDuty's threat detection, and DNSSEC implementation with Route 53. It concludes with a comprehensive set of best practices for organizations seeking to enhance their DNS security posture in AWS environments, emphasizing the importance of a multi-layered approach that integrates DNS security into broader cybersecurity strategies.