DNS security is crucial for protecting the internet's DNS infrastructure from cyberattacks. Since attackers frequently target DNS, DNS security tools play a vital role in safeguarding against threats such as malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks.
In order to properly understand what domain name system security is, one must first understand the internet’s domain name system. The domain name system, or DNS, is a program that acts as an address book for computers worldwide. Website or domain names mean nothing to computers. Internet protocol addresses (IP addresses) are the numbers that computers use to interact with one another. DNS takes these domain names and translates them into IP addresses. Once this translation has been performed, a computer user can access the website that they want. However, if hackers can manipulate the DNS, then they could send anyone to the website of their choosing. It is for this reason that the Internet Engineering Task Force, which oversees the DNS, sought a solution. Their answer was to create the domain name system security extensions or DNSSEC. This protocol extends the actions that DNS takes beyond simply translating and matching domain names with IP addresses.
These tools offer several benefits, including increased security by countering potential threats, improved performance through efficient DNS query handling, and enhanced visibility into DNS traffic, allowing for quicker threat identification and response.
There are two primary types of DNS security tools to consider. First, DNS firewalls act as a protective barrier between a user's computer and the DNS server. They can block malicious DNS requests and reroute traffic to secure servers, ensuring a safer browsing experience. Second, DNS filtering tools inspect DNS requests for harmful content and can block access to malicious websites, ads, and other undesirable content, providing an additional layer of defense.
Domain name system security (DNSSEC) adds a level of protection to the DNS by using two digital keys to authenticate any address retrieved by the DNS. One of the keys is held privately by the owner of the website and revealed to no one. The other key is present in the code of the web page where anyone can access it publicly. These keys attempt to verify the authenticity of a signature on the web page data that the DNS pulls up. A search for a web page prompts the DNS to retrieve and attempt to match the public key to a digital signature that stamps the data. If the key confirms that the signature is valid, then the information is returned to the person who issued the query. However, if the key is unable to verify the data as valid, then the data is rejected. The system will assume that it is under attack and will issue an error message.
The reason that domain name system security is necessary is that by itself the DNS is not secure. It is possible for hackers to manipulate the DNS and send users to any web page that they desire. An unsuspecting person can be redirected to a site which can maliciously target them. Hackers have the ability to forge DNS data and make it so that the IP address appears to be anything that they want. The computer that launches the query ordinarily would not have any way to determine the true source of the data. The development of DNSSEC created a way of securing the DNS against data forgery.
A domain name system (DNS) is an object in itself. This is a program that takes domain names and transforms it into a format that computers are able to read. It exists as its own independent entity and requires nothing else for it to be meaningful. Domain name system security (DNSSEC) is a protocol that exists as an addition to DNS. DNSSEC provides a layer of security to the DNS which is otherwise pretty insecure. For this reason, DNSSEC only has meaning when seen as an add-on to the DNS.
There are a number of benefits that come with the use of domain name system security (DNSSEC). It can: