OpenDNS Partners with Irish Reporting and Information Security Service to Fight Internet Threats

PRESS RELEASE

DUBLIN and SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 20, 2014 — OpenDNS, a leading provider of cloud-delivered security, today announced a partnership with Ireland's first Computer Emergency Response Team, the Irish Reporting and Information Security Service (IRISSCERT), to provide threat intelligence about new and emerging threats. IRISSCERT will use OpenDNS Investigate to alert and protect Irish businesses and other organizations from malicious domains that are hosting malware, phishing sites and botnet command-and-control (C&C) infrastructure. OpenDNS will use threat intelligence data shared by IRISSCERT to support its ongoing research into malicious online activity around the world.

In addition, Andrew Hay, senior security research lead and evangelist at OpenDNS, will present new findings from OpenDNS Security Labs about threats to Irish businesses and consumers during a session at today’s 6th Annual IRISSCERT Cyber Crime Conference. This new research will provide a survey of new and unique ongoing malware campaigns, phishing sites and malicious infrastructure that are targeting or operating within computer networks in Ireland. The IRISSCERT Cyber Crime Conference is the largest non-commercial cybercrime conference in Ireland. It focuses on providing attendees with an overview of the current cyber threats facing businesses in Ireland and throughout the world.

“Visibility into emerging threats, as they are being staged, is a critical first step in staying ahead of Internet attacks and limiting their damage,” said Andrew Hay, senior security research lead and evangelist at OpenDNS. “We are pleased to be announcing this intelligence sharing relationship with IRISSCERT so they can use OpenDNS solutions for early detection, response and remediation of threats in Ireland. Meanwhile, we will also benefit from increased visibility into ongoing attack campaigns that are affecting Irish organizations.”

The OpenDNS Global Network handles more than two percent of the world’s Internet requests, from over 50 million active daily users across 160 countries. Every second, it monitors over one million Internet events. Using big-data analytics, including graph theory and machine learning, Investigate is able to automatically link malicious events to known threats. Since OpenDNS sees new relationships forming between domains, IPs and attackers’ infrastructures, Investigate can predict emergent threats before they happen.

“IRISSCERT is committed to helping businesses and consumers better protect their information systems, and making Irish Internet space a safer environment for all,” said Brian Honan, founder of IRISSCERT. “This partnership with OpenDNS will dramatically improve our ability to predict and head off emerging threats before they can cause widespread damage. Rather than having to rely on vendor reports that expose threats after the fact, OpenDNS lets us see the attacks as they happen.”

About IRISSCERT

The Irish Reporting & Information Security Service (IRISSCERT) is an independent not for profit company founded in 2008 to provide a range of free services to help counter information security threats posed to Irish businesses and the Irish Internet space. For more information, please visit: https://www.iriss.ie/iriss/index.html. 

About OpenDNS

OpenDNS is a leading provider of network security and DNS services, enabling the world to connect to the Internet with confidence on any device, anywhere, anytime. The Umbrella cloud-delivered network security service blocks advanced attacks, as well as malware, botnets and phishing threats regardless of port, protocol or application. Its predictive intelligence uses machine learning to automate protection against emergent threats before they can reach customers. OpenDNS protects all devices globally without hardware to install or software to maintain. For more information, please visit: www.opendns.com.