What is DNSSEC?

Domain Name System Security Extensions or, simply for short, DNSSEC combines several security measures that implement cryptographic authentication of the DNS information. It serves to prove that the DNS data has not been modified, although it still does not encrypt the DNS records. It acts similar to a chain of trust that supports verifying each step that a DNS query makes. 

At its origin, the DNS (Domain Name System) is fast and stable. However, it has one great downside, which is exactly lacking security. When we look back in the days at its creation, it was not that big of a deal. But, unfortunately, things have changed, and more protection is highly required.

Get your DNSSEC service to improve your protection.

Thanks to the DNSSEC, we are able to take benefit from such security. Its main purpose is to keep safe the integrity of the DNS data from various cyber threats. 

DNSSEC is able to provide a higher level of security thanks to the fact it operates with a combination of public and private keys.

From what it keeps you safe?

The main and most important goal of DNSSEC is to produce restrictions for third parties. That way, they would not be able to try to forge any of the DNS records. In addition, when the following situations are limited from happening, DNSSEC is able to protect the integrity of the domain name.

DNS Cache Poisoning

It is a very common and widely used type of man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. The main purpose of the criminal by initiating this attack is to flood with false DNS data a particular DNS recursive server. However, it is not an unusual situation in which the attack could progress even more. That involves setting a fake end result in the cache memory of the DNS recursive server. Then, the resolver provides that malicious and fraudulent address to each one of the users demanding that specific website. That lasts until the Time-to-Live (TTL) value expires.

Fabricated zones

DNSSEC is able to secure against DNS attacks that unfairly utilize the DNS system, including providing simulation results for DNS zones. They may not exist, really, and criminals take advantage of holes among zones. Therefore, DNSSEC offers tools for these holes not to be used and protects the entire zone. 

How to use DNSSEC? 

DNSSEC is not activated by default, but you could easily change that. The majority of DNS hosting companies have it as an included feature. 

There are a number of domains that are not able to implement DNSSEC at all. However, their amount is not significant. Popular, well-known generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) are capable of using it.

To start implementing it, you should just open your DNS hosting provider’s control panel and activate it. Then, simply find the DNSSEC and click “enable” for every DNS zone you want. Next, you will receive a DS (Delegation Signer) record and place it where your domain is registered.