10 Billion Connections to Malicious Domains Blocked by NSA in 2023 via “PDNS”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Security Agency (NSA) noted that 10 billion user connections to known malicious or suspicious domains were blocked over the course of the past year as part of the agency’s efforts, according to its 2023 Cybersecurity Year in Review report released on Tuesday.

The NSA‘s annual report is a public account of the agency’s work with government partners, defense industrial base (DIB) entities, and foreign partners to help keep the nation secure, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity.

Those efforts are focused on protecting classified information and critical United States military and intelligence that are hosted on national security systems (NSS), in addition to Department of Defense (DoD) services and agency networks, and Defense Industrial Base (DIB) organizations (such as DoD contractors), according to Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of the NSA and US Cyber Command.

NSA’s principles and values, along with our culture of compliance and protection of privacy and civil liberties, have served as the foundation for the cybersecurity successes detailed in this report and will continue to serve as the bedrock of NSA in the future,” he said. “NSA’s efforts to help secure the nation’s most sensitive systems also help your cybersecurity because NSA cascades these solutions through public guidance and engages with key technology providers to help them bolster the security of their products and services.”

The NSA offers free cybersecurity services to DoD contractors, and the number of organizations that have accepted these services now number over 600, which represents a 400 percent increase year-over-year.

Among the services on offer from the NSA include six new security products they released in the past year – covering vulnerable areas such as the supply chain, 5G network security, and identity and access management – in order to combat threats to the communications, DIB, and information technology fields.

The NSA also flagged 1.3 million security defects and and issued over 500 vulnerability notifications to partner organizations.

The agency is also beginning to develop and integrate artificial intelligence – via its new AI Security Center – and will research and develop defenses against threats utilizing AI to undermine national security.

John Colascione

About The Author: John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, authored a ‘how to’ book called ”Mastering Your Website‘, and is a key player in several Internet related businesses through his search engine strategy brand Searchen Networks®