name: Suspicious DNS Traffic
id: 3c3835c0-255d-4f9e-ab84-e29ec9ec9b56
version: 1
date: '2017-09-18'
author: Rico Valdez, Splunk
type: batch
description: Attackers often attempt to hide within or otherwise abuse the domain
  name system (DNS). You can thwart attempts to manipulate this omnipresent protocol
  by monitoring for these types of abuses.
narrative: Although DNS is one of the fundamental underlying protocols that make the
  Internet work, it is often ignored (perhaps because of its complexity and effectiveness).  However,
  attackers have discovered ways to abuse the protocol to meet their objectives. One
  potential abuse involves manipulating DNS to hijack traffic and redirect it to an
  IP address under the attacker's control. This could inadvertently send users intending
  to visit google.com, for example, to an unrelated malicious website. Another technique
  involves using the DNS protocol for command-and-control activities with the attacker's
  malicious code or to covertly exfiltrate data. The searches within this Analytic
  Story look for these types of abuses.
references:
- http://blogs.splunk.com/2015/10/01/random-words-on-entropy-and-dns/
- http://www.darkreading.com/analytics/security-monitoring/got-malware-three-signs-revealed-in-dns-traffic/d/d-id/1139680
- https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/Threat-Vulnerability-Articles/What-are-suspicious-DNS-queries/ta-p/71454
tags:
  analytic_story: Suspicious DNS Traffic
  category:
  - Adversary Tactics
  product:
  - Splunk Enterprise
  - Splunk Enterprise Security
  - Splunk Cloud
  usecase: Advanced Threat Detection
