Cybersecurity Threat: Sub-Domain Hijacking

Understand the risk of sub-domain hijacking to corporate cybersecurity.

What is the threat of Sub-domain Hijacking?

Threat assessment

As the name implies, sub-domain hijacking is similar to domain hijacking with the primary difference being that it is a sub-domain or an asset such as a server that is connected to a sub-domain, which is taken over by a threat actor. Sub-domain hijacking has a higher frequency of incidence than for root domains since the threat surface is much larger.

Potential impacts

Most fraud relies on deception, usually by impersonating a trusted entity. Sub-domain hijacking makes it much harder for customers of a business to detect fraud since it uses an asset that appears to be legitimate. This can cause risks such as loss of personal data, financial information, proprietary information as well as lost business.

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Proactive RISK MITIGATION

Prevent sub-domain hijacking risk

Devise a robust process for creating, managing, and decommissioning sub-domains within your organization. Secure all sub-domains with digital certificates and implement monitoring on them. Use services such as traffic analytics to alert you to drastic drops in traffic from sub-domains.

reactive risk mitigation

Recover from a sub-domain hijacking attack

Recovering access to your sub-domain by editing the DNS is the first step to recovering from a case of hijacking. Once access is restored, evaluate and audit any assets that may have also been available to the attacker for data compromise and alert all relevant stakeholders with mitigation guidance.