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Analyzing Dns Logs For Exfiltration

  • 434 installs
  • 27.3k repo stars
  • Updated August 2, 2026
  • mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills

Run structured DNS log reviews to spot tunneling, C2 beaconing, and exfiltration when you operate your own apps or small-team production DNS telemetry.

About

Analyzing DNS Logs for Exfiltration is an agent skill that walks solo builders and small teams through hunting command-and-control and data theft hidden in DNS queries. It is aimed at anyone who can access Zeek, Splunk ES, or resolver logs—not only enterprise SOCs—and need repeatable heuristics instead of ad-hoc grep. The workflow ties DNS tunneling indicators (entropy, label length, record types), C2 behaviors (DGA, beaconing, fast-flux), DoH anomalies, and zone-transfer probes to concrete checks and example scripts. You get guidance on baselines, alert thresholds, and enrichment with threat intelligence and domain permutation tools. Use it when incidents, suspicious egress, or routine operate-phase reviews suggest DNS might be the covert channel. It matters because DNS is often logged everywhere while exfiltration patterns are easy to miss without a structured rubric.

  • Maps DNS tunneling signals: high-entropy subdomains, long labels (>50 chars), TXT/NULL abuse, and resolver volume spikes
  • Covers C2 patterns: DGA-like names, regular beacon intervals, fast-flux style IP churn, and rare query types with ready
  • Includes DoH provider baselines, unauthorized zone-transfer attempts, and exfiltration heuristics tied to oversized or h
  • References Sigma-style DNS exfiltration rules and dnstwist for permutation and typosquat context
  • Operational playbook: log aggregation, entropy scoring, volume baselines, alert thresholds, and threat-intel enrichment

Analyzing Dns Logs For Exfiltration by the numbers

  • 434 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +23 installs in the week ending Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #532 of 2,203 Security skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills --skill analyzing-dns-logs-for-exfiltration

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs434
repo stars27.3k
Security audit3 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedAugust 2, 2026
Repositorymukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills

What it does

Run structured DNS log reviews to spot tunneling, C2 beaconing, and exfiltration when you operate your own apps or small-team production DNS telemetry.

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Analyzing DNS Logs for Exfiltration

When to Use

Use this skill when:

  • SOC teams suspect data exfiltration through DNS tunneling to bypass firewall/proxy controls
  • Threat intelligence indicates adversaries using DNS-based C2 channels (e.g., Cobalt Strike DNS beacon)
  • UEBA detects anomalous DNS query volumes from specific hosts
  • Malware analysis reveals DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS tunneling capabilities

Do not use for standard DNS troubleshooting or availability monitoring — this skill focuses on security-relevant DNS abuse detection.

Prerequisites

  • DNS query logging enabled (Windows DNS Server, Bind, Infoblox, or Cisco Umbrella)
  • DNS logs ingested into SIEM (Splunk with Stream:DNS, dns sourcetype, or Zeek DNS logs)
  • Passive DNS data for historical domain resolution analysis
  • Baseline of normal DNS behavior (query volume, domain distribution, TXT record frequency)
  • Python with math and collections libraries for entropy calculation

Workflow

Step 1: Detect DNS Tunneling via Subdomain Length Analysis

DNS tunneling encodes data in subdomain labels, creating unusually long queries:

index=dns sourcetype="stream:dns" query_type IN ("A", "AAAA", "TXT", "CNAME", "MX")
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval subdomain = mvindex(domain_parts, 0, mvcount(domain_parts)-3)
| eval subdomain_str = mvjoin(subdomain, ".")
| eval subdomain_len = len(subdomain_str)
| eval tld = mvindex(domain_parts, -1)
| eval registered_domain = mvindex(domain_parts, -2).".".tld
| where subdomain_len > 50
| stats count AS queries, dc(query) AS unique_queries,
        avg(subdomain_len) AS avg_subdomain_len,
        max(subdomain_len) AS max_subdomain_len,
        values(src_ip) AS sources
  by registered_domain
| where queries > 20
| sort - avg_subdomain_len
| table registered_domain, queries, unique_queries, avg_subdomain_len, max_subdomain_len, sources

Step 2: Detect High-Entropy Domain Queries (DGA Detection)

Domain Generation Algorithms produce random-looking domains:

index=dns sourcetype="stream:dns"
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval sld = mvindex(domain_parts, -2)
| eval sld_len = len(sld)
| eval char_count = sld_len
| eval vowels = len(replace(sld, "[^aeiou]", ""))
| eval consonants = len(replace(sld, "[^bcdfghjklmnpqrstvwxyz]", ""))
| eval digits = len(replace(sld, "[^0-9]", ""))
| eval vowel_ratio = if(char_count > 0, vowels / char_count, 0)
| eval digit_ratio = if(char_count > 0, digits / char_count, 0)
| where sld_len > 12 AND (vowel_ratio < 0.2 OR digit_ratio > 0.3)
| stats count AS queries, dc(query) AS unique_domains, values(src_ip) AS sources
  by query
| where unique_domains > 10
| sort - queries

Python-based Shannon Entropy Calculation for DNS queries:

import math
from collections import Counter

def shannon_entropy(text):
    """Calculate Shannon entropy of a string"""
    if not text:
        return 0
    counter = Counter(text.lower())
    length = len(text)
    entropy = -sum(
        (count / length) * math.log2(count / length)
        for count in counter.values()
    )
    return round(entropy, 4)

# Test with examples
normal_domain = "google"           # Low entropy
dga_domain = "x8kj2m9p4qw7n"      # High entropy
tunnel_subdomain = "aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ.evil.com"  # Base64 encoded data

print(f"Normal: {shannon_entropy(normal_domain)}")     # ~2.25
print(f"DGA:    {shannon_entropy(dga_domain)}")         # ~3.70
print(f"Tunnel: {shannon_entropy(tunnel_subdomain)}")   # ~3.50

# Threshold: entropy > 3.5 for subdomain = likely tunneling/DGA

Splunk implementation of entropy scoring:

index=dns sourcetype="stream:dns"
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval check_string = mvindex(domain_parts, 0)
| eval check_len = len(check_string)
| where check_len > 8
| eval chars = split(check_string, "")
| stats count AS total_chars, dc(chars) AS unique_chars by query, src_ip, check_string, check_len
| eval entropy_estimate = log(unique_chars, 2) * (unique_chars / check_len)
| where entropy_estimate > 3.5
| stats count AS high_entropy_queries, dc(query) AS unique_queries by src_ip
| where high_entropy_queries > 50
| sort - high_entropy_queries

Step 3: Detect Anomalous DNS Query Volume

Identify hosts generating abnormal DNS traffic:

index=dns sourcetype="stream:dns" earliest=-24h
| bin _time span=1h
| stats count AS queries, dc(query) AS unique_domains by src_ip, _time
| eventstats avg(queries) AS avg_queries, stdev(queries) AS stdev_queries by src_ip
| eval z_score = (queries - avg_queries) / stdev_queries
| where z_score > 3 OR queries > 5000
| sort - z_score
| table _time, src_ip, queries, unique_domains, avg_queries, z_score

Detect TXT record abuse (common tunneling method):

index=dns sourcetype="stream:dns" query_type="TXT"
| stats count AS txt_queries, dc(query) AS unique_txt_domains,
        values(query) AS domains by src_ip
| where txt_queries > 100
| eval suspicion = case(
    txt_queries > 1000, "CRITICAL — Likely DNS tunneling",
    txt_queries > 500, "HIGH — Possible DNS tunneling",
    txt_queries > 100, "MEDIUM — Unusual TXT volume"
  )
| sort - txt_queries
| table src_ip, txt_queries, unique_txt_domains, suspicion

Step 4: Detect Known DNS Tunneling Tools

Search for signatures of common DNS tunneling tools:

index=dns sourcetype="stream:dns"
| eval query_lower = lower(query)
| where (
    match(query_lower, "\.dnscat\.") OR
    match(query_lower, "\.dns2tcp\.") OR
    match(query_lower, "\.iodine\.") OR
    match(query_lower, "\.dnscapy\.") OR
    match(query_lower, "\.cobalt.*\.beacon") OR
    query_type="NULL" OR
    (query_type="TXT" AND len(query) > 100)
  )
| stats count by src_ip, query, query_type
| sort - count

Detect DNS over HTTPS (DoH) bypassing local DNS:

index=proxy OR index=firewall
dest IN ("1.1.1.1", "1.0.0.1", "8.8.8.8", "8.8.4.4",
         "9.9.9.9", "149.112.112.112", "208.67.222.222")
dest_port=443
| stats sum(bytes_out) AS total_bytes, count AS connections by src_ip, dest
| where connections > 100 OR total_bytes > 10485760
| eval alert = "Possible DoH bypass — DNS queries sent over HTTPS to public resolver"
| sort - total_bytes

Step 5: Correlate DNS Findings with Endpoint Data

Cross-reference suspicious DNS with process data:

index=dns src_ip="192.168.1.105" query="*.evil-tunnel.com" earliest=-24h
| stats count AS dns_queries, earliest(_time) AS first_query, latest(_time) AS last_query
  by src_ip, query
| join src_ip [
    search index=sysmon EventCode=3 DestinationPort=53 Computer="WORKSTATION-042"
    | stats count AS connections, values(Image) AS processes by SourceIp
    | rename SourceIp AS src_ip
  ]
| table src_ip, query, dns_queries, first_query, last_query, processes

Step 6: Calculate Data Exfiltration Volume Estimate

Estimate data volume encoded in DNS queries:

index=dns src_ip="192.168.1.105" query="*.evil-tunnel.com" earliest=-24h
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval encoded_data = mvindex(domain_parts, 0)
| eval encoded_bytes = len(encoded_data)
| eval decoded_bytes = encoded_bytes * 0.75  -- Base64 decoding factor
| stats sum(decoded_bytes) AS total_bytes_estimated, count AS total_queries,
        earliest(_time) AS first_seen, latest(_time) AS last_seen
| eval estimated_kb = round(total_bytes_estimated / 1024, 1)
| eval estimated_mb = round(total_bytes_estimated / 1048576, 2)
| eval duration_hours = round((last_seen - first_seen) / 3600, 1)
| eval rate_kbps = round(estimated_kb / (duration_hours * 3600) * 8, 2)
| table total_queries, estimated_mb, duration_hours, rate_kbps, first_seen, last_seen

Key Concepts

TermDefinition
DNS TunnelingTechnique encoding data within DNS queries/responses to exfiltrate data or establish C2 channels through DNS
DGADomain Generation Algorithm — malware technique generating pseudo-random domain names for C2 resilience
Shannon EntropyMathematical measure of randomness in a string — high entropy (>3.5) in domain names indicates DGA or tunneling
TXT Record AbuseUsing DNS TXT records (designed for text data) as a high-bandwidth channel for data tunneling
DNS over HTTPS (DoH)DNS queries encrypted over HTTPS (port 443), bypassing traditional DNS monitoring
Passive DNSHistorical record of DNS resolutions showing which IPs a domain resolved to over time

Tools & Systems

  • Splunk Stream: Network traffic capture add-on providing parsed DNS query data for SIEM analysis
  • Zeek (Bro): Network security monitor generating detailed DNS transaction logs for analysis
  • Cisco Umbrella (OpenDNS): Cloud DNS security platform blocking malicious domains and logging query data
  • Infoblox DNS Firewall: DNS-layer security providing RPZ-based blocking and detailed query logging
  • Farsight DNSDB: Passive DNS database for historical domain resolution lookups and infrastructure mapping

Common Scenarios

  • Cobalt Strike DNS Beacon: Detect periodic TXT queries with encoded payloads to C2 domain
  • Data Exfiltration: Large volumes of unique subdomain queries encoding stolen data in Base64/hex
  • DGA Malware: Detect DNS queries to algorithmically generated domains (high entropy, no web content)
  • DNS-over-HTTPS Bypass: Employee using DoH to bypass corporate DNS filtering and monitoring
  • Slow Drip Exfiltration: Low-volume DNS tunneling staying below threshold alerts (requires baseline comparison)

Output Format

DNS EXFILTRATION ANALYSIS — WORKSTATION-042
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Period:       2024-03-14 to 2024-03-15
Source:       192.168.1.105 (WORKSTATION-042, Finance Dept)

Findings:
  [CRITICAL] DNS tunneling detected to evil-tunnel[.]com
    Query Volume:       12,847 queries in 18 hours
    Avg Subdomain Len:  63 characters (normal: <20)
    Avg Entropy:        3.82 (threshold: 3.5)
    Query Types:        TXT (89%), A (11%)
    Estimated Data:     ~4.7 MB exfiltrated via DNS
    Rate:               0.58 kbps (slow drip pattern)

  [HIGH] DGA-like domains resolved
    Unique DGA Domains: 247 domains resolved
    Pattern:            15-char random alphanumeric.xyz TLD
    Entropy Range:      3.6 - 4.1

Process Attribution:
  Process:   svchost_update.exe (masquerading — not legitimate svchost)
  PID:       4892
  Parent:    explorer.exe
  Hash:      SHA256: a1b2c3d4... (VT: 34/72 malicious — Cobalt Strike beacon)

Containment:
  [DONE] Host isolated via EDR
  [DONE] Domain evil-tunnel[.]com added to DNS sinkhole
  [DONE] Incident IR-2024-0448 created

Related skills

FAQ

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