Across Europe, governments and other critical infrastructure providers – like manufacturing, transportation, and utility companies, hospitals, and universities – are taking decisive steps to strengthen their digital resilience. As cyber threats evolve daily, one foundational layer of protection is gaining attention for its simplicity and effectiveness: Protective DNS (PDNS) – a mechanism that blocks malicious domains at the DNS level.

Now, under the umbrella of the EU cybersecurity initiative DNS4EU – in a coordinated, government-aligned testbed designed to shape how DNS protection is deployed across the public sector – Whalebone (appointed DNS4EU Consortium Leader by the European Commission) is inviting public institutions to take part in an EU-wide national-scale evaluation of its DNS4GOV PDNS solution.

This initiative is a large-scale collaboration between national cybersecurity agencies (NCSCs/CERTs) and a trusted European cybersecurity leader, providing participants with a unique opportunity to experience a national-level DNS security solution at no cost – and without any adverse operational impact.

A Cooperative Model for Europe’s Cyber Future

European policymakers have emphasized that protective DNS should be implemented as a state-administered service in partnership with private experts. As noted in the Cyberpolitical Report 2025 by the Confederation of Danish Industry:

“The filter should be administered by the state in cooperation with private suppliers with expertise in DNS security[...] The solution could, for example, be developed with inspiration from the EU-funded initiative, DNS4GOV.”

This model – blending public guidance with private-sector innovation – is at the heart of Whalebone’s approach. Having led the DNS4EU project, the company is now extending that framework into practical deployments through DNS4GOV, helping governments implement trusted, scalable PDNS infrastructure in line with European cybersecurity mandates.

Turning Policy Into Practice

This national-scale evaluation brings together diverse public-sector institutions – from ministries and municipalities to hospitals and universities – to jointly assess Protective DNS under real-world conditions.

Participants simply mirror their DNS traffic within a secure, no-latency setup, gaining daily protection reports and full visibility for their cybersecurity teams. Meanwhile, NCSC/CERT experts can observe anonymized insights across participating networks, helping to inform national cyberdefense strategies.

Each organization receives:

• Free participation with secure onboarding
• Daily protection summaries and alerts
• Access to evaluation dashboards for national visibility
• A comprehensive POC report at the trial’s conclusion

At the end of the program, participants are invited to co-sign a non-binding Letter of Intent — helping to define the future framework for governmental DNS security.

Immediate Protection, Long-Term Value

For IT and cybersecurity leaders within government and public institutions, joining the evaluation requires minimal technical setup but offers tangible insight into the volume and nature of DNS-borne threats targeting their networks.

“We needed a solution that can catch, for example, phishing campaigns mimicking a local bank or authentication service[...] It just works.”

—Guillaume-Jean Herbiet, .LU Service Technical Manager at Restena

By participating, institutions are not only protecting their own users but also contributing to a collective European cybersecurity model that enhances national resilience and accelerates adoption of trusted, privacy-compliant DNS protection across borders.

A Step Toward Europe’s Shared Digital Sovereignty

PDNS has become a key component of national digital sovereignty strategies. By building the capability to detect and block malicious domains at the DNS level, governments can mitigate threats before they reach end users – reducing the spread of ransomware, phishing, and botnet activity.

Whalebone’s collaborative model provides an EU-compliant, neutral, and scalable path for this transition. It enables public institutions to test and shape future national PDNS deployments while strengthening cooperation between state authorities and cybersecurity innovators.

As George Buhai, Whalebone Government Liaison, summarized:

“Even institutions that don’t join the first wave will benefit from the momentum. The more organisations that participate, the more data, insights, and trust we can leverage together.”

Join the Evaluation

Participation in the national Protective DNS evaluation is free and open to qualified public-sector organizations across Europe. The setup is non-disruptive, and the benefits are immediate.

Public institutions can register here: www.whalebone.io/immunity-dns4gov

Private institutions can begin their own Protective DNS trial here: www.whalebone.io/immunity/free-30-day-trial

About Whalebone

Whalebone is a European cybersecurity provider delivering DNS security solutions to government institutions and other critical infrastructure providers under the DNS4EU initiative and DNS4GOV framework. As the DNS4EU Consortium Leader and the market leader in the communications service providers (CSPs) sector, it aims to make internet connectivity safer for everyone by providing privacy-compliant DNS protection to public institutions, private enterprises, and national networks.