Hyas Blog | Protective DNS Is Evolving—Here’s What MSSPs Need in 2025
The cyber threat landscape is moving faster than ever—and so are the expectations around
Protective DNS (PDNS). For Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), basic filtering isn’t
enough anymore. Clients expect deeper insight, stronger protection, and more flexible control
over how DNS traffic is secured and monitored.
As we enter 2025, it’s clear that PDNS is no longer optional—it’s a strategic necessity. And to
stay competitive, MSSPs need more than just block lists and basic dashboards. They need a
modern platform that delivers real-time intelligence, scalable policy enforcement, and powerful visibility into client environments.
This is where HYAS Protect stands apart. Let’s explore the trends shaping the future of PDNS
and how HYAS is building the tools MSSPs actually need.
1. Real-Time DNS Visibility and Behavioral Insight
Basic PDNS tools might block domains, but they rarely tell you what’s happening inside a
network. For MSSPs, visibility into DNS patterns is essential—not just for blocking threats, but
for detecting suspicious behaviors that signal larger issues like misconfigured devices, data
exfiltration attempts, or compromised endpoints.
It’s not just about blocking—it’s about understanding.
Today’s MSSPs want to know:
● Are certain users or devices generating excessive or abnormal DNS traffic?
● Is there a spike in lookups to newly registered or obscure domains?
● Are clients unknowingly communicating with risky infrastructure?
HYAS Protect’s Advantage:
importantly, automatically detects and blocks the activity that indicates something’s
wrong. MSSPs don’t need to manually hunt for signals—HYAS surfaces and stops them in real
time.
● Spot anomalies in query volume or timing
● Identify devices querying domains that deviate from normal behavior
● Detect and block patterns consistent with DNS tunneling, beaconing, or command-and-
control activity before they escalate into full-blown incidents
2. Policy Inheritance: Scale Without Complexity
Managing DNS policies across multiple tenants can get messy fast. For MSSPs, it’s critical to
maintain consistency across clients—without duplicating rules or losing flexibility.
That’s where policy inheritance comes in.
With a structured policy hierarchy, MSSPs can:
● Define global policies once and apply them across all clients
● Tailor exceptions at the organization level without breaking the model
● Confidently track which policies apply to whom—and why
HYAS Protect’s Advantage:
● Apply default rules at the MSSP level
● Layer on client-specific logic
● Allow specific tenets to manage their own policies
● Visualize exactly how inherited and custom rules interact
entire client base.
3. From Static Feeds to Real-Time Intelligence
Legacy PDNS solutions rely heavily on threat feeds—lists of known-bad domains that are
updated periodically. But in 2025, that’s simply too slow. Attackers spin up new domains by the
thousands, often rotating them before they’re even added to a feed.
MSSPs need real-time, predictive protection.
That means blocking malicious infrastructure the moment it appears—not hours or days later
when it's already done damage.
HYAS Protect’s Advantage:
available today—purpose-built to detect and block malicious infrastructure faster than traditional feed-based systems. By continuously analyzing global DNS activity and infrastructure risk signals, HYAS Protect proactively blocks newly weaponized domains in real time—often before they’re even listed in threat intelligence feeds.
4. Custom Policy Logic and Layered Enforcement
Not every client has the same risk profile—and MSSPs need to reflect that in their security
offerings. Static, one-size-fits-all policies leave gaps, while overly complex systems are
impossible to scale.
The solution is layered, flexible enforcement.
Modern PDNS should allow MSSPs to:
● Combine multiple rule types (rules, categories, real-time verdicts)
● Create policy tiers based on vertical, compliance needs, or user behavior
● Offer differentiated service levels based on protection depth
HYAS Protect’s Advantage:
● Global block and allow lists
● Dynamic, fully customizable rules
● Threat and Content based category blocking
● Decision Engine verdicts
● Hierarchical policy inheritance (as mentioned above)
them with minimal operational overhead.
5. Built for MSSPs: Multi-Tenant Control and Brand Flexibility
A Protective DNS solution isn’t just about blocking threats—it also needs to fit seamlessly into
how MSSPs operate and deliver services at scale. Many PDNS tools were built for single
organizations and don’t support the operational complexity of a multi-client environment.
MSSPs need:
● True multi-tenant management with clear separation between clients
● Role-based access and delegated administration for internal teams and client users
● Branding flexibility to reflect their own service offering, not someone else’s product
HYAS Protect’s Advantage:
structure allows MSSPs to manage all their clients under one roof—while still preserving full
policy and data separation. Role-based access ensures the right people have the right level of
control.
powered protection under their own brand—backed by industry-leading DNS intelligence.
PDNS in 2025: Evolved, Intelligent, and MSSP-Centric
Protective DNS isn’t just a checkbox anymore. It’s a strategic layer in the cybersecurity stack—
one that must offer:
● Deep, real-time visibility
● Transparent policy control
● Automated threat intelligence
● Scalable management for large client bases
HYAS Protect is more than a PDNS solution—it’s the next evolution of DNS security, designed
from the ground up to support MSSPs as they grow, differentiate, and protect clients in a rapidly changing world.