What Akamai is used for

Akamai is an edge platform used by organizations for content delivery, application performance, DNS, and security services. Its network can cache eligible content closer to users and route or protect requests at the edge.

A site may therefore show an Akamai hostname or response header even though Akamai is not the company that publishes the site's content. Common services include CDN delivery, web application and API protection, bot and DDoS mitigation, and authoritative DNS. The exact products and headers depend on the customer's configuration.

Seeing Akamai in a DNS record or certificate does not by itself explain a problem or prove that traffic is malicious. For a site owner, investigate cache rules, origin health, TLS, DNS, and security policies through the account and documentation. For a visitor, use the site's own support channel; changing local DNS or disabling security controls is not a reliable way to bypass an edge service.

Sources

• Akamai