The DNS sinkhole action in Anti-Spyware profiles enables the firewall to forge a response to a DNS query for a known malicious domain or to a custom domain, so that you can identify hosts on your network that have been infected with malware. A compromised host might initiate communication with a command-and-control (C2) server—once the connection is made, an attacker can remotely control the infected host, in order to further infiltrate the network or exfiltrate data.
These hosts aDNS queries to any domain included in the Palo Alto Networks DNS signatures list is sinkholed to a Palo Alto Networks server IP address.
(Requires Threat Prevention) Local DNS signatures—This is a limited, on-box set of DNS signatures that the firewall can use to identify malicious domains. The firewall gets new DNS signatures as part of daily antivirus updates.
(Requires DNS Security) DNS Security signatures—The firewall accesses the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security cloud service to check for malicious domains against the complete database of DNS signatures. Certain signatures—that only DNS Security provides—can uniquely detect C2 attacks that use machine learning techniques, like domain generation algorithms (DGAs) and DNS tunneling.
DNS queries to domains in the local DNS signature set or the DNS Security signature set are redirected to a Palo Alto Networks server, and the host is unable to access the malicious domain. The following topics provide details on how to enable DNS sinkholing so that you can identify infected hosts.
Learn How DNS Sinkholing Works.
Enable DNS Security to sinkhole C2 domains.
Configurethe Sinkhole IPAddress to a Local Server on Your Network.