Akamai unveils Shield NS53 to protect DNS infrastructures

Akamai Technologies, the provider of cloud services, has released Akamai Shield NS53, their latest product designed to secure on-premises Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure from resource exhaustion attacks. Shield NS53 will operate alongside Akamai's Edge DNS, an all-encompassing cloud-based DNS solution, and Prolexic, a system providing protection against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Layer 3 and Layer 4.

The Shield NS53's key offering is its ability to act as a barrier between cybercriminals and crucial digital assets. It functionally halts unauthorized DNS queries at the edge of Akamai's network, simultaneously providing legitimate queries with responses. This is done either by drawing from the cache or by forwarding them to the customer's original DNS server, thereby enhancing its security, availability, and performance.

The solution enables customers to actively devise custom DNS security policies. These can be autonomously configured using the Akamai Control Center or APIs, granting customers total control over their policy configurations and data. Furthermore, their policies can be implemented in real-time, bolstering dynamic response capabilities.

Akamai's Shield NS53 further optimises existing DNS infrastructure by acting as a bidirectional proxy service, reducing latency and thereby improving user experience. By doing so, it enhances the Return on Investment (ROI) and cuts the total cost of ownership for customers who have invested in existing on-premise or hybrid DNS infrastructure.

Sean Lyons, SVP and GM of Infrastructure Security at Akamai addressed the increasing security challenges faced by businesses and emphasised the relevance of the new system. He stated, "Organisations are looking for a better way to manage the increasing volume of DNS/DDoS attacks they face every year. With the launch of Shield NS53, customers can rest assured their servers will have no downtime, and they can instead focus on business operations."

The importance of robust DNS infrastructure has drastically increased in recent years, given the steady rise in DDoS attacks on DNS infrastructure. More than 60% of the DDoS attacks mitigated by Akamai in the last quarter of 2023 had a DNS component, underscoring the significance of dependable DNS infrastructure. Such attacks, if successful, can cause online presence to crumble, leading to reputational damage and financial losses.

Akamai processes more than 11 trillion DNS requests daily, uncovering that approximately 40% of DNS queries for the top 50 financial services customers are unauthorized NXDOMAIN queries, also known as DNS resource exhaustion attacks. With the availability of Akamai Shield NS53, security leaders can rapidly deploy this solution to protect their on-premises and hybrid DNS infrastructure from attacks of this kind.

Customers keen on onboarding Akamai Shield NS53 can leverage the expertise of Akamai's global partner ecosystem and extensive on-premises enterprise infrastructure security. Strategic partners such as Carahsoft in North America and other authorised partners globally offer the new solution readily.