DNS cache poisoning on the rise

A new threat that poisons DNS caches has been identified.

David Holman, director of First Cyber Security claimed that the attack came to prominence in July when advice was issued on DNS cache poisoning where users can be tricked into inadvertently giving away personal details on the internet and receive malware infections and email problems.

Holman claimed that every internet user relies on domain name lookup tables, which translate a given domain name into the relevant numeric IP address and with the poisoning of DNS caches, lookup tables are corrupted and the numeric IP addresses of fake web pages are inserted in place of the real addresses for popular sites.

He said: “When a user types in a correct URL they are routed to the false page, instead of the real one. From then on, any details they enter such as usernames and passwords can be captured by third parties and used as part of internet fraud including identity theft.

Solving the problem is not going to be easy for the IT security industry, as conventional IT security systems and software can find it difficult to protect against the problem effectively.

The average computer user is not an IT specialist, and shouldn't need to be to use the internet safely. First Cyber Security provides consumer facing independent web site validation designed specifically to protect against this threat.”

See original article on scmagazineus.com

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