BlueCat and Axonius Provide a New Level of Visibility into Network Devices and Activity
BlueCat and Axonius have teamed up to provide visibility into network devices which can only be detected through DNS traffic.
Key takeawaysThis key takeaway was generated through LLMs crawling the page and coming up with an overview of the content.The article explains a new integration between Axonius cybersecurity asset management and BlueCat DNS management that improves visibility into network devices by combining Axonius’ inventory and policy automation with DNS-based identification of unmanaged devices. In environments with transient or agentless devices such as IoT sensors and mobile phones, BlueCat’s centralized DNS records feed Axonius to reveal asset blindspots so IT and security teams can assess risk, enforce policies, and mitigate security gaps. The real-world impact is illustrated by a case where DNS-driven discovery exposed an unauthorized smart plug, enabling immediate removal and demonstrating how the combined solution supports continuous and on-demand device audits for stronger endpoint security and compliance.
How does the Axonius and BlueCat integration identify unmanaged devices that lack on-device agents?
The integration leverages BlueCat’s centralized DNS management to detect any device that communicates with the network using DNS, even when those devices do not run on-device agents or have transient IP presence. BlueCat provides DNS records for every device interaction with network infrastructure; Axonius ingests that DNS data into its asset inventory and correlation engine. By correlating DNS-based sightings with the existing managed-device information Axonius already collects from over 100 integrations, the combined solution surfaces unmanaged devices such as IoT sensors or mobile phones that would otherwise be invisible to agent-based discovery.
What automated security capabilities does Axonius bring to devices discovered via DNS?
Axonius provides automated security policy validation and enforcement for devices discovered through DNS data from BlueCat. Once DNS-derived assets are pushed into the Axonius console, administrators can run automated controls and scheduled searches against that data to identify out-of-policy devices. This enables security operations and IT teams to apply consistent mitigation workflows—such as quarantining, alerting, or initiating further investigation—on both managed and unmanaged endpoints and to ensure continuous cadence-aligned audits and enforcement across the environment.
Can the integration be used for both continuous monitoring and one-time audits, and how was that useful in the case study?
Yes, the integration supports both scheduled, recurring searches and on-demand manual deployments. Administrators can schedule regular Axonius queries against DNS data to maintain continuous visibility and consistent security posture, or trigger immediate, manual audits to create an instant device inventory. In the case study, a manual discovery revealed an unauthorized smart plug that wasn’t registered as a corporate asset and lacked agents or a stable IP. DNS evidence allowed the team to locate and disconnect the device quickly, demonstrating the value of both continuous monitoring and rapid one-off audits for operational security.
Visibility is the first step in any cybersecurity strategy. Before you can lock down your network, you have to know what’s on it.
This is the basic concept behind the new integration of Axonius asset management software with DNS management tools from BlueCat. Working together, these two platforms provide a new level of visibility into network devices, allowing IT managers and cybersecurity professionals to assess cyber risk, mitigate security gaps, and ensure compliance with security best practices.
Cybersecurity Asset Management From Axonius
Axonius is a cybersecurity asset management platform that gives customers three things:
- A credible, comprehensive asset inventory
- An understanding of security coverage gaps
- Automated security policy validation and enforcement
The Axonius product simply connects to the security and management systems that its customers already use and requires no additional agents. Customers simply choose the solutions they use, provide credentials, and the system starts collecting and correlating information about assets and users.
Integrating cybersecurity asset management and DNS
Here’s how the integration works: Axonius already integrates with over 100 network tools to provide unprecedented visibility into the activity of “managed” devices – devices where a software agent is installed to run security checks, install patches, and manage performance. BlueCat uses Domain Name System (DNS) data to feed Axonius information on “unmanaged” devices such as IoT sensors, mobile phones, and other connected hardware which may not otherwise appear on an asset inventory. This integration creates a comprehensive security and management solution, ensuring there are no asset blindspots in your organization.
There are several reasons why these unmanaged devices might not be recognized by other software. Sometimes they have a transitory place on the network which makes consistent identification difficult. Often, they lack the capacity to install and run on-device agents. What they all have in common, however, is the need to communicate with the network. That’s where DNS comes in.
With centralized management of DNS infrastructure through BlueCat, every device which interacts with the network – managed or unmanaged – can be identified. Pushing this DNS information into the Axonius console is a security solution allowing IT administrators to harden the endpoint security of their organization by discovering and managing every device which connects to the network.
This helps cybersecurity administrators and Security Operations teams apply security policies to every device on the network – not just the devices they happen to manage directly. Using DNS records from BlueCat to identify out-of-policy devices, Axonius allows administrators to run automated security controls on those devices.
The integration allows administrators to run an Axonius-based search against DNS data on a regular schedule, ensuring a consistent approach to device security which matches the cadence of the cybersecurity team. The integration can also be deployed manually at any time, creating an instant device audit for the entire network.
Case Study: Finding Unmanaged IoT Devices
Here’s one quick example of how this integration can enhance your security posture. A customer recently tried it out, and discovered a previously unknown device on the network. This was an unmanaged device that was transmitting data on the company’s servers, but was not registered as a corporate asset. It turned out to be an IoT device – a smart plug which a network administrator (!) had started using without authorization. The device was located and disconnected immediately.
DNS proved to be the critical component in the discovery process. Since the device wasn’t operating with an assigned IP address or using the standard security agents commonly used in large enterprises, it operated under the radar of IT administrators. The only “signature” it offered was its use of DNS to communicate with the network and utilize the company’s infrastructure to search for product updates. Since these same channels could be used for malicious purposes, the decision was quickly made to pull the plug – literally.
Watch this demo to learn more about the power of the BlueCat and Axonius Integration Visibility solution for asset management.
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BlueCat provides core services and solutions that help our customers and their teams deliver change-ready networks. With BlueCat, organizations can build reliable, secure, and agile mission-critical networks that can support transformation initiatives such as cloud adoption and automation. BlueCat’s growing portfolio includes services and solutions for automated and unified DDI management, network security, multicloud management, and network observability and health.
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