Resolving an E-commerce DNS Hijack via a Compromised Cloudflare Account

What Happened

I was hired by a company facing a digital crisis. Their e-commerce website, the heart of their business, had stopped making money for two straight days. When customers tried to visit, they were redirected to suspicious online gambling sites. This breach was destroying customer trust, costing the company money, and damaging their brand’s reputation. My investigation found that the website itself was secure. The real problem was a compromised Cloudflare account, where a hacker had changed key settings to hijack their traffic.

The Problem: A Store with No Customers

The company called me in a panic. Their busy online store’s revenue stream had suddenly dried up. For two whole days, they hadn’t received a single order. Their support lines were flooded with complaints from angry customers demanding to know why their trusted store was now linked to a gambling website. The company was losing money by the hour, and their hard-won reputation was crumbling. They needed the attack stopped immediately.

The Investigation: Finding the Real Cause

My first step was a full forensic analysis of the server. Hackers often leave backdoors or malware, so I started there:

File Integrity Check: I scanned all the core website files. We noticed no recent or unauthorized file changes, which suggested the site’s code hadn’t been directly tampered with.
Database Scan: I checked the database for common attacks like SQL injections. It was completely clean.
Server Log Analysis: I reviewed the server access and error logs to look for signs of attack, like brute-force attempts or unusual traffic patterns. The logs showed nothing out of the ordinary.

The website and server were clean. This meant the problem wasn’t on their server, but was happening before customers could even reach it. My focus shifted to their Domain Name System (DNS) records.

Using a DNSChecker tool, I confirmed their domain was pointing to Cloudflare’s IPs and nameservers, which was expected. This led me to suspect the issue was inside Cloudflare itself. Once I got access to their account, I found the proof. The hacker somehow changed one critical setting: the A record. This record acts like a signpost, telling the internet where the website is located. The hacker had changed it to point to their own malicious server, which then served the gambling site redirects.

The Solution: Fixing the Problem and Making it Safe

Once I knew the cause, I took immediate action to neutralize the threat:

Stop the Redirect: The very first thing I did was change the A record back to the correct IP address for their server. In just a few minutes, the website started working correctly again. Customers were no longer sent to the wrong site.
Secure the Account: Next, I fortified the Cloudflare account to ensure the hacker could not get back in.
- New Password: I changed the password to a new, very strong one.
- Log Everyone Out: I ended all active login sessions to kick the hacker out.
- Turn on 2FA: I set up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). This adds an extra layer of security that would have stopped the hack in the first place.
- New API Keys: I deleted the old API keys (special codes used by other apps) and made new, safe ones.
- Check the History: I looked at the account’s audit logs to see exactly what the hacker did. I confirmed they only changed the A record.
Final Check: After securing the account, I worked with the client to test the entire website to make sure everything was back to normal for their customers.

How to Prevent This from Happening Again

This was an expensive lesson for the company. To avoid a similar disaster in the future, I gave them this advice:

Protect All Your Digital Assets: Your security is only as strong as your weakest link. Keep third-party accounts like Cloudflare just as secure as your own website.
Use 2FA Everywhere: Make sure Two-Factor Authentication is turned on for all important accounts. It’s the best way to stop stolen passwords from being used.
Check Your DNS Records: Look at your DNS settings regularly to make sure they are pointing to the right place.
Watch for Big Changes: Pay attention to your sales. If orders suddenly stop, it could be a sign that there’s a serious technical problem.
Be Careful with API Keys: Treat API keys like passwords. Change them regularly and only give them the access they need.

Conclusion

I was able to quickly find the cause of a clever hack and restore the company’s online store. The two days the site was offline served as a serious warning. A website’s security is part of a larger digital ecosystem. If you secure your main server but leave other assets, like a Cloudflare account, less protected, hackers will attack that weak point to bring everything else down. For any online business today, having a strong security posture across all assets is not just a good idea—it’s necessary to survive.