Protective DNS is one of the most effective strategies in modern cybersecurity. The National Security Agency (NSA) recently named it as one of the best defenses against evolving phishing attacks. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, organizations find an increasingly pressing need for advanced, proactive solutions.
While DNS filtering has existed for decades, legacy systems rely on static blocklists that bad actors can circumvent simply by switching domains. A protective DNS (PDNS) solution, however, uses advanced algorithms and data analytics to pinpoint a threat before it becomes damaging. Protective DNS from HYAS takes a proactive approach by identifying and blocking malicious activity dynamically.
Read on to see what makes HYAS Protect protective DNS a standout security solution and trusted tool of governments worldwide.
HYAS Protect is a machine-learning-powered threat intelligence tool that uses advanced telemetry and authoritative domain based intelligence to proactively block malicious infrastructure. Put another way, it detects network breaches before they cause damage.
Like all PDNS systems, HYAS Protect blocks requests to potentially harmful domains, but it doesn’t require a predetermined list of domain names. Built on the advanced threat intelligence platform HYAS Insight, HYAS Protect uses aggregated data from leading cybersecurity sources around the globe and real-time, dynamic analysis to identify a threat days, weeks or even months before it is activated.
If a particular DNS request is potentially harmful, the HYAS Protect system blocks the query. To identify these threats, HYAS Protect runs a pattern analysis across IP addresses, name servers, registrars, and other factors to determine how closely a potentially harmful domain aligns known adversarial infrastructure — even if that domain has never before appeared in a cyberattack.
The HYAS solution doesn't care if a suspicious domain is on a list or if it's been seen yet. We know that based on specific telemetry, even if it hasn't been used or weaponized, it most likely will in the future.
No matter how a network breach occurs—whether through ransomware, phishing, or another cyberattack—the malicious software needs to “beacon out” to the attack’s infrastructure, also known as command-and-control (C2). HYAS Protect detects this C2 beacon and terminates the connection before the attack can continue. For security-minded organizations, HYAS brings three core advantages.
Firstly, the domain filtering in HYAS Protect is based on predictive data, leveraging advanced analytics to identify and block potentially malicious DNS requests before they can cause harm. This predictive approach uses a variety of data points and threat intelligence to assess the risk associated with each DNS query. If a request appears unusual or aligns with patterns often seen in cyberattacks, it is proactively blocked. By predicting and preventing threats at this early stage, HYAS Protect helps to secure the network against a wide range of potential cyber threats, from ransomware to phishing and beyond. This approach is designed to provide robust security by stopping threats before they can gain a foothold in the network.
Additionally, HYAS Protect also allows for active list management and advanced rule sets that users can configure to allow acceptable traffic while still dynamically blocking suspicious domains. There’s even an inspection mode that provides platform analytics and telemetry without actually blocking any sites — this can be useful when organizations first start with HYAS to understand the system without interrupting any workflows.
HYAS Protect also offers insightful analysis that increases overall traffic visibility. Although people usually think of web browsing and clicking on email links as the biggest cybersecurity threats, Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) devices are also at risk of compromise. Because they often run in the background, suspicious beaconing from IoT or OT devices may otherwise go undetected.
That’s where HYAS steps in. This isn't just user-generated traffic – this is machine-driven traffic, too. HYAS analytics identifies an organization’s riskiest users, riskiest devices and which domains are triggering the most blocked queries. The data gives a more comprehensive, security-focused picture than a typical static blocklist, and the detailed logs can expedite an investigation if needed.
Lastly, HYAS Protect is designed to work right out of the box. Our DNS resolver is fully cloud-based; it takes only a few minutes to deploy across your organization’s infrastructure. HYAS Protect also has an agent version compatible with all major operating systems, which is useful if you have company devices frequently roaming off the global network. With device-level installation, HYAS can still work even on public Wi-Fi networks in coffee shops or airport lounges.
HYAS also offers third-party integrations with major endpoint protection solutions including SentinelOne and Microsoft Defender. These systems work together — HYAS Protect parses data from endpoint detection and response programs to identify any DNS requests to suspicious infrastructure.
Recent recognition for HYAS includes the prestigious 2024 Govies Awards for the public Sector, 2024 Globee Cybersecurity Awards, and the 2024 Global InfoSec Awards.
In 2023, AV-TEST, considered the industry’s most rigorous third-party evaluator, gave HYAS Protect the highest efficacy rating of all PDNS solutions tested. This is particularly relevant in the public sector as cyberattacks increasingly target government agencies. To combat these threats, the NSA recommends PDNS as a core component of a multilayered security strategy, and HYAS is one of the providers meeting the NSA’s specifications.
Being effective in blocking the unknown and known threats is what HYAS is all about. No matter how sophisticated cyberattacks become, HYAS Protect keeps organizations one step ahead.
How to Select a Protective DNS Solution
Watch a Demo of HYAS Protect Protective DNS
Guide to Protective DNS Security
Protective DNS eBook
AV-TEST evaluation of HYAS Protect
Want to talk to an expert to learn more about how Protective DNS can transform your organization? Contact us today to find out what HYAS security solutions can do for you.