DNS Monitoring for ISO 27001 Compliance

DNS Records as Information Assets

ISO 27001 starts with identifying and managing your information assets. Your DNS records control where your traffic goes, who receives your email, and how your services are verified. A modified MX record can redirect email to an attacker. A changed A record can take your application offline. These records deserve the same level of monitoring and control as any other critical asset in your ISMS.

Relevant Annex A Controls

A.5.9 — Inventory of Information and Other Associated Assets

ZoneWatcher automatically discovers and inventories all DNS records across your connected providers. As records are added, modified, or removed, your inventory stays current without manual updates. This gives you a living asset register for your DNS infrastructure.

A.8.15 — Logging

Every DNS change detected by ZoneWatcher is logged with full detail: what changed, from what value to what value, and when. These logs are retained and available for review during internal audits and certification assessments.

A.8.16 — Monitoring Activities

Continuous automated monitoring of DNS records, WHOIS data, and TLS certificates satisfies the requirement for ongoing monitoring activities. ZoneWatcher checks your records on a regular schedule and alerts your team through email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord when deviations are detected.

A.5.24 — Information Security Incident Management Planning

Real-time alerting on unauthorized DNS changes provides early detection of potential security incidents like domain hijacking. Your incident response team is notified immediately, enabling faster triage and response. The change history also supports post-incident analysis.

Supporting Your Certification

During an ISO 27001 certification audit, assessors look for evidence that your controls are implemented and operating effectively. ZoneWatcher provides:

• An automated, up-to-date inventory of DNS assets across all your providers
• A historical record of all changes detected, with timestamps and details
• Evidence that monitoring is continuous, not periodic or manual
• Proof of alerting capability through configurable notification channels
• Backup and recovery capability through DNS record exports

This evidence is generated automatically as part of normal operations. There's no separate evidence collection process to manage before an audit.

Continuous Improvement

ISO 27001 emphasizes continual improvement of your ISMS. ZoneWatcher's ongoing monitoring helps you identify patterns in DNS changes over time, whether that's frequent modifications to specific records, unexpected changes during off-hours, or certificates being issued for subdomains you don't recognize. These insights feed directly into your risk assessment and improvement cycles.