Key Strategies to Mitigate Phishing and Spear-Phishing Attacks

Phishing and spear-phishing attacks have been occurring more frequently against a company's staff.

Which of the following would MOST likely help mitigate this issue?

A.

DNSSEC and DMARC

B.

DNS query logging

C.

Exact mail exchanger records in the DNS

D.

The addition of DNS conditional forwarders.

A.

The best solution to mitigate phishing and spear-phishing attacks is to implement DNSSEC and DMARC (Answer A).

DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) is a protocol that adds security to the Domain Name System (DNS) by digitally signing DNS records to prevent them from being tampered with. By implementing DNSSEC, a company can ensure that the DNS information provided to users is authentic, and they are communicating with the intended server.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that uses SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) to detect and prevent email spoofing. DMARC provides a way for email receivers to check if incoming messages from a domain are authorized by the domain owner and to reject or quarantine unauthorized messages.

Phishing and spear-phishing attacks often use fraudulent domains and email addresses to lure victims into clicking on links or downloading malware. By implementing DNSSEC and DMARC, a company can verify the authenticity of its domains and prevent attackers from spoofing its email addresses. This can significantly reduce the success rate of phishing and spear-phishing attacks.

DNS query logging (Answer B) can help identify unusual or suspicious DNS activity, but it does not directly mitigate phishing and spear-phishing attacks.

Exact mail exchanger records in the DNS (Answer C) and DNS conditional forwarders (Answer D) can improve email delivery and performance, but they do not address the issue of phishing and spear-phishing attacks.

In conclusion, implementing DNSSEC and DMARC is the best solution to mitigate the risk of phishing and spear-phishing attacks.