PDNS - Protective Domain Name Service
Summary
Protective Domain Name Service (PDNS) is a security tool that filters Domain Name System (DNS) requests to protect users from malicious websites. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) commissioned this service to ensure greater protection for organisations.
Further information is available here.
How does PDNS work?
DNS is like the address book for the internet. Every time you visit a website a DNS server will translate the friendly website name into an IP address that computers can understand. PDNS checks to see if the domain is flagged as malicious. If it is, you will be redirected to a safe website letting you know you have been blocked for safety reasons. If not, it will give you the correct address letting you access the website without any interruption.
Benefits of PDNS
PDNS is a great way to protect against various cyber threats, including malware, ransomware, phishing attacks, and other malicious activities. It is a highly effective tool for organisations, especially those in the public sector, to enhance their cybersecurity defences.
PDNS can help you:
Avoid phishing attacks: Prevent access to fake websites designed to steal your information.
Block malware: Stop malicious software from downloading and infecting your devices.
Block Command & Control communications: This prevents malware from talking to an attackers’ systems and remotely controlling compromised computers.
Protect against domain generation algorithms: Thwart attacks that use domain names.
Who does this for the NCSC?
Cloudflare, a cloud-based solutions platform, provides PDNS for the NCSC. This is why you may see a CloudFlare webpage if you have been protected by PDNS.
False Positives
Cyber Attackers try to hide their activities by constantly changing the domains that they are using. This makes it harder to block access and provide protection. To prevent this PDNS will automatically block access to Newly Registered Domains (NRDs) and Newly Seen Domains (NSDs) for 30 days. This provides a huge security benefit to schools, but can mean that new websites get blocked. If this happens for a website you need to use please let us know and we can get it unblocked for you.
If you’re not sure why a website has been blocked you can check using on the CloudFlare website here: https://radar.cloudflare.com/