FlashStart launches AI-powered DNS security platform
Mon, 3rd Aug 2026 (Today)
FlashStart has launched FlashStart 2026, a redesigned DNS security platform for enterprises and service providers. The new version adds AI-powered investigations, new APIs and a rebuilt cloud architecture.
The platform targets internet service providers, communications service providers, managed service providers, security operations centres, systems integrators, enterprises and public sector bodies. It is designed to block malware and other threats, filter online content and manage safer web access across devices.
The launch marks a broad rebuild of the company's cloud platform, including a new management console, public APIs and a microservices architecture. It also expands policy controls, reporting tools and administration for organisations managing multiple customer environments.
At the centre of the product is DNS-layer filtering, which checks internet destinations before a connection is established. The system verifies factors including domain data, server IP address, geolocation and other server attributes to stop access to harmful sites, internet applications and links before users reach them.
The new platform also uses AI algorithms to automate routine work for security teams and provide recommendations based on changes in attack activity. This is intended to help teams investigate threats more quickly as online attack methods evolve.
The management console has been redesigned to simplify administration and provide more detailed visibility into DNS traffic. The update improves user and permission management, shared and customised policy controls, whitelist and blacklist administration, threat categorisation, Safe Search settings and compatibility with routers and firewalls.
Public APIs are another part of the launch. These interfaces allow service providers and integrators to incorporate FlashStart into managed security offerings while handling administration through their own systems.
UK presence
FlashStart has points of presence in London and Manchester to support customers in the UK and Ireland. Those sites are intended to reduce latency and help customers meet data residency requirements by keeping browsing data within the region where they operate.
The platform also includes the UK Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit Metropolitan Police blacklist of terrorist content. This helps organisations address UK requirements for DNS filtering compliance.
FlashStart gave several scale figures for its network and customer base. It said the platform processes more than 35 billion web requests a day, protects more than 32 million users in more than 160 countries and checks about 200,000 new websites daily.
The business said it serves around 20,000 customers, including telecoms operators, managed service providers, systems integrators, businesses, public administrations and educational institutions. It added that its DNS resolver has ranked among the fastest in DNSPerf benchmarks since 2025, with an average resolution time of 12 milliseconds.
FlashStart, which is based in the EU and was founded in 2001, said it has expanded internationally over the past two years. It said turnover doubled in the last year through agreements with US companies as well as internet service providers, managed service providers and distributors.
Francesco Collini outlined the company's position on the market for web threat protection.
"Most security breaches begin with a user clicking a malicious link or accessing an unsafe website," said Francesco Collini, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of FlashStart. "That's why organisations need protection that can prevent users from reaching malicious websites in the first place. FlashStart 2026 is a completely redesigned platform built on a robust and extensive Anycast network infrastructure that has been proven for over a decade. It provides customers and partners with a professional-grade cloud cybersecurity solution that combines advanced DNS-layer protection, stronger defences against zero-day threats, AI-powered investigations, greater scalability and seamless integration into existing security environments."