How DNS Filtering Protects Your Business from Today’s AI-Driven Cyber Threats

Every business relies on the Domain Name System (DNS) — it’s what translates web addresses (like skywaywest.com) into the numeric IP addresses computers use to connect. Unfortunately, that also makes DNS a favourite target for cybercriminals. A DNS firewall (or DNS filtering) helps stop these threats by blocking users from connecting to known or suspected malicious domains — before a website ever loads, and before malware or ransomware can take hold.

How DNS Filtering Works

When someone in your organization clicks a link, your devices send a request to a DNS resolver to find the correct IP address for that domain. A DNS firewall sits between your network and that resolver, checking each request against constantly updated threat intelligence.

If the requested domain appears on a blocklist — for example, a phishing site or command-and-control server — the DNS firewall simply refuses to resolve it. The user sees an error page instead of a compromised website.

This happens in milliseconds and protects your systems from:

• Phishing and spear-phishing sites that impersonate trusted brands
• Malware downloads and ransomware payloads
• Botnets and data exfiltration via DNS tunneling
• Zero-day or newly registered domains associated with suspicious activity

Because the DNS layer is so fundamental to how the internet works, blocking malicious activity there helps stop many attacks before they even start.

A Simple Example

Let’s say an employee receives a realistic-looking phishing email that appears to come from their bank. The message asks them to “verify” account credentials by clicking a link.

Without DNS filtering, that click might take the user to a cloned banking website designed to steal credentials.

With DNS Firewall in place, the fake site’s domain is recognized as malicious — and the connection never happens. The threat is neutralized before damage occurs.

Benefits and Practical Considerations

A DNS Firewall offers businesses a lightweight but highly effective layer of protection. It provides:

• Proactive security: Blocks known threats before they reach the network
• Continuous updates: Threat feeds refresh automatically with new intelligence
• Visibility and control: Admins can enforce browsing policies and limit risky traffic
• Reduced exposure: Stops malware and phishing at the DNS level, not after the fact

As with any security tool, configuration matters. Overly strict filtering can sometimes block legitimate sites employees need, so DNS rules should be tuned to fit your organization’s workflow.

How AI Is Changing the Threat Landscape

Until recently, most DNS threats relied on human effort — attackers manually creating phishing sites or registering fake domains. AI has changed that dramatically.

Today’s cybercriminals use AI to automate and evolve DNS-based attacks that can easily outpace static defences. AI can:

• Generate thousands of realistic-looking domains in seconds to bypass blocklists
• Craft personalized phishing messages that appear to come from trusted contacts
• Build self-adapting malware and botnets that hide inside legitimate traffic
• Detect and exploit “zero-day” vulnerabilities faster than defenders can react
• Even use deepfake voices or chatbots to add social-engineering pressure

In short, AI has made cyberattacks faster, smarter, and more scalable — and DNS is one of the first layers they target.

A Smarter, Canadian Approach: Skyway’s DNS Firewall

Skyway West’s DNS Firewall, powered by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), helps Canadian businesses protect their networks from these rapidly evolving threats.

CIRA’s threat intelligence draws on global DNS data and updates every few minutes, adding more than 200,000 new threats daily. The result:

• Up to 90% reduction in successful phishing and spear-phishing attempts
• 15-minute detection and blocking of emerging threats
• Protection for over 3.5 million Canadian users

Because DNS Firewall works at the network level, it requires no software installation and virtually no maintenance — just a quick change to your DNS settings.

For Skyway West clients, DNS Firewall is included with all Internet access services. If you’re with another ISP, you can still take advantage of this powerful layer of protection.

Cyber threats evolve fast — but your defences can, too.

To learn more or see how DNS Firewall works in practice, check out our short video below:

Or get in touch with us anytime to discuss implementing DNS filtering for your clients or organization.