Increasing Security with URL and DNS Filtering

URL and DNS Filtering

URL filtering and DNS filtering are great measures against the dangers of the Internet. They create the barriers necessary to significantly reduce the attack surface and provide essential protection from ever-increasing cyber threats. 

Both solutions operate with the help of Web Reputation Services. These services assess online sites and assign a risk score based on the site’s:

  • User traffic
  • The threat history of pages on the domain
  • Age of observance
  • Geo-location
  • Associated networks
  • Internal and external links 

However, not everyone is clear on when either DNS or URL filtering is a better security measure – and that’s what you’ll discover today.

DNS Filtering: A Neglected Security Pillar

While web and email traffic often take center stage in cybersecurity, DNS, the foundation of internet communication, is frequently overlooked. Its distributed nature and reliance on UDP make it susceptible to attacks. Recent campaigns, like the one leveraging DuckDNS, highlight the dangers. 

Malicious subdomains were used to distribute 

Solutions like Check Point’s SASE zero-management DNS filtering offer easy setup and enhanced network protection.

SWG URL Filtering 

There are several areas in which URL filtering is a significant addition to DNS filtering. It’s vital that your security solution addresses these points, which can be blind spots for DNS filtering alone.

#1: Granularity

One of the components of our Secure Web Gateway is Web (URL) Filtering. While DNS filtering focuses on blocking domains, URL filtering allows you to protect users by blocking access to specific URLs. In contrast to DNS filtering, URL filtering focuses on HTTP/HTTPS traffic and enables user-centric rules for:

  • Allowing
  • Warning
  • Blocking access to web categories or specific URLs. 

So, URL filtering allows a more granular implementation of web access rules, for a true “zero trust” approach.

#2: Enforcement Point

With the help of TLS inspection, which allows visibility into encrypted HTTPS traffic, URL filter rules will protect and monitor employees even when they are not connected to the corporate network. 

By blocking websites such as:

  • Malware
  • Fraudulent sites

IT managers can take a preventative step to block malware downloads and phishing attempts. 

#3: DNS over HTTPS

The DNS over HTTPS (DoH) protocol leverages HTTPS to encrypt DNS traffic and has been gaining more popularity. This protocol prevents DNS traffic from being forged by attackers, but its use of HTTPS makes it invisible for DNS filtering solutions. 

URL filtering inspects this traffic.

#4: Malware Protection

A full Secure Web Gateway pairs URL filtering with an anti-malware engine, which prevents malware at the point of entry. Malware detection capabilities are crucial, protecting users from malicious attacks on the Internet. 

These attacks may quickly spread in the organizational network, infecting one host after another. 

A Secure Web Gateway, including both URL filtering and Malware Protection, will prevent users and hosts from infection at the point of entry, securing both employee devices and the corporate network.

URL vs DNS filtering table

Maximize Security with Check Point’s SASE

In summary, the best security practice would be to enable both DNS filtering and URL filtering as part of a Secure Web Gateway. 

While DNS filtering provides protection for all types of traffic and can prevent access to malicious domains, URL web filtering provides a deeper and tighter level of control and security. URL filtering adds the ability to granularly define access control to specific sites, and as part of a Secure Web Gateway is paired with a full anti-malware inspection of the traffic. 

The best way to secure your company from cyber attacks is by combining both DNS filtering and URL web filtering for total network security, significantly reducing the attack surface and decreasing the chance of malware, ransomware and other attacks. 

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FAQs

What is DNS Filtering and How Does It Work?
DNS filtering is a security measure that helps protect your network from malicious websites by blocking access to dangerous domain names. It works by using a list of known malicious websites to filter out requests to those sites. This layer of security is essential for protecting your network from threats like phishing attacks and malware.
What is URL Filtering and How Does It Provide Additional Security?
URL filtering is a more granular form of content filtering that goes beyond blocking entire domains. It allows for blocking access to specific URLs, even if they are hosted on a legitimate website. This helps prevent employees from accessing inappropriate content or websites that could compromise your security posture.
How Do DNS Filtering and URL Filtering Differ in Terms of Functionality?
While DNS filtering focuses on blocking access to entire domains, URL filtering offers a more granular level of control. URL filtering allows you to block access to specific URLs, even if the domain itself is not considered malicious. This provides a deeper level of security by preventing access to harmful content, even if it’s hosted on a seemingly legitimate website.
How Can DNS Filtering Services Help Prevent Phishing Attacks?
Phishing attacks often use fake websites that mimic legitimate ones to trick users into giving up personal information. DNS filtering services can help prevent phishing attacks by blocking access to these known phishing websites, preventing your employees from falling victim to these attacks.
How Does URL Filtering Help with Malware Protection?
URL filtering is a crucial part of a secure web gateway (SWG), which includes a malware engine that detects and blocks malicious files before they can infect your network. By blocking access to websites known to host malware, URL filtering helps prevent your employees from downloading malicious files and protects your network from malware infections.