DNSFilter’s Annual Security Report Reveals Worrisome Spike in Malicious DNS Requests

Data shows one in every 174 requests is malicious, up from one in every 1,000 in 
the previous report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jan. 30, 2025 – DNSFilter announced today the release of its 2025 Annual Security Report, showcasing an uptick in malicious requests from 2023 to 2024. At internet scale, threats are relentless, but so is the right combination of intel and security strategy. Each malicious request blocked represents a real attack prevented, real harm avoided, and real people and organizations protected.

The DNSFilter network processes about 170 billion DNS queries daily, 200 million of which are categorized as threats and blocked. These numbers represent phishing campaigns that never reached their targets, ransomware that never infiltrated networks, and malware that never had the chance to spread.

Key findings from the report include:

• One in every 174 requests is malicious: Most people make 5,000 DNS requests daily, which means a single person could encounter as many as 29 threat inquiries in a single day. This represents a significant increase from last year’s findings, where one in every 1,000 queries was a threat.
  
  
• AI domains increased by 15%, but drove a significant amount of traffic: DNSFilter’s researchers found that between October 2023 and September 2024, overall traffic to AI-related sites increased 786% and the number of individual AI domains rose 15%. This shows that a small number of domains is accounting for a significant amount of traffic.
  
  
• Phishing queries increased by 203%: While the relative distribution of threats remained consistent over time, phishing and malware inquiries increased (up 14%). This is in-line with a marked increase in ransomware seen across the industry. 

Ken Carnesi, CEO and co-founder, DNSFilter, said: “Even as the threat landscape changes, our mission remains the same: to defend organizations and people from the worst of the internet. The data from our report makes it clear that DNS continues to be a critical threat gateway. It’s also a reminder of the crucial role DNSFilter fills as a frontline defender on the DNS layer. We’ll continue to improve, innovate and stand in the gap between our customers and the real-world harm bad actors are trying to cause.”

About the company:

DNSFilter is redefining how organizations secure their largest threat vector: the Internet itself. DNSFilter is making the Internet safer and workplaces more productive by blocking threats at the DNS layer. DNSFilter resolves upwards of 170 billion daily queries. With 79% of attacks using Domain Name System (DNS), DNSFilter provides the world's fastest protective DNS powered by AI, blocking threats an average of 10 days faster than traditional threat feeds. Over 35 million users trust DNSFilter to protect them from phishing, malware, and advanced cyber threats.