PCHelper.com - Technology Resources

PCHelper.com · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 36

For Immediate Release
Press Contact:
Michael Azzano
Cosmo PR
415/596-1978
michael@cosmo-pr.com

DNS EXPERT CALLS FOR PREPAREDNESS IN FACE OF POTENTIALLY
MORE FREQUENT AND MORE DAMAGING ATTACKS ON DNS

DNSstuff.com unveils one of the first public root server time maps to track performance
and minimize business risk; Recent survey data reveals that 70% of all DNS servers have
one or more improperly configured settings
Newburyport, MA – February 8, 2007 – DNSstuff.com, a global leader in DNS issues
and tools with one of the largest communities of IT professionals on the Web, today
issued a warning and called for greater preparedness as a result of the recent attack
targeting root servers. This attack is the latest in a series of distributed denial-of-service
attacks targeting DNS servers that began late last year. DNSstuff.com today also
introduced a new root server time map tool designed to help IT professionals track the
performance of and possible attacks on these servers.
“It is likely that this latest apparent probing effort was testing the resiliency of DNS,”
explained Paul D. Parisi, CTO of DNSstuff.com. “This could be a harbinger of more
targeted attacks against .com parent servers or even individual enterprise servers, neither
of which may have the resiliency or redundancy of the systems attacked earlier this week.
Either of these scenarios could have catastrophic consequences for the Internet-at-large or
specific organizations.”
New Tool to Spot Attacks
The new DNSstuff.com root server time map allows IT professionals to monitor the state
of root and .com servers supporting DNS. Now anyone can check real-time performance
of these servers to spot long latency times or unusual behavior in response times. The
root server time map can be found at

http://www.dnsstuff.com/info/roottimes.htm.

Even without an increase in targeted or malicious attacks on DNS servers, many of those
same servers remain vulnerable or are performing poorly because of simple human error.
There are over 85 million domains on the Web, and a survey by DNSstuff.com of its
users revealed that there are significant, fixable configuration issues with DNS settings
for nearly 70% of those active domains. These incorrect settings can lead to site outages
or improperly routed email, and a targeted attack exploiting these settings could lead to
even more widespread network and Internet outages.
Simple Prevention Settings
“We are a robust web application and the Web’s acknowledged leader in helping IT
professionals better manage their networks and DNS through expert advice, best practices
and relevant resources,” continued Parisi. “Unfortunately, many people are relying on
improperly configured DNS and are unintentionally leaving themselves, and therefore the
web, vulnerable to attack. ”
There are some simple steps that can be taken to improve DNS security at an enterprise
level. These include maintaining a minimum of two physically and geographically
separate servers to help thwart a denial-of-service attack, and proper configuration of
your Primary and Secondary name servers to utilize the natural resiliency of DNS. More
tips and information for DNS configuration can be found at DNSstuff.com or by signing
up for the company’s monthly IQ Mail by emailing DNSIQ@dnsstuff.com.
About DNSstuff.com
DNSstuff.com is the Web’s premiere destination for DNS professionals, offering free
online tools to monitor and maintain one of the most vital, yet vulnerable, lynchpins in
the infrastructure supporting the Web – the Domain Name System. DNSstuff.com is a
web application providing expertise and all the tools necessary to ensure that your DNS
operates smoothly, efficiently and safely. It is one of the largest and most trusted
communities of IT professionals on the Web, and can be found at www.dnsstuff.com.
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