Category: Cyber Security

Home Network DNS Resolver

Raspberry Pi Kit
Scott Helme has a detailed procedure of how to configure Raspberry PI to act as a DNS resolver with DNS-level “content-blocking” for a network. It is a great weekend project, fun and useful. The hardware cost is around 100 CAD on Amazon.

Benefits

  • Content filter on DNS level, including ads and known nasty sites.
  • Reduced web traffic. Depends on sites you visit, but 40% is a reasonable expectation.
  • Upstream DNS queries are directed over https, so you get some extra privacy.
  • Pages load faster, take a look at the example.
  • Pi-Hole has a nice admin interface, so you get insight into DNS chatter on the network.

Here are network requests for a home page of a popular news site using default (no filtering) DNS resolver. In total it took 395 requests, 5.3 MB and six minutes to load.
Default DNS

Now if I switch to the DNS resolver on Raspberry PI:
DNS via pi-hole
Total of 143 request, 2.7MB to load, and 20.75 seconds. Take a look at all the lines in red with failed status, this is where the domain got blocked by the pi-hole on the Raspberry.

That’s ~ 50% less data and 17 times faster.

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Cyber Security Incident Scenario

This scenario has been designed to engage the entire cyber security incident response (IR) team and evolve the IR plan and capabilities as quickly as possible. It includes technical, managerial, financial, regulatory, legal, and public relation challenges.

Dante's Inferno

Take a look at your current IR plan and see if it stands up to this test. An organisation that does not have a cyber security IR plan, or a program, must act as if it has already been breached. If you do not have an IR plan get one; NIST SP 800-61 r2 is a good start. Continue reading “Cyber Security Incident Scenario”