What is DNSSEC and Why is it the Superhero of DNS Security

June 20, 2023, 1:30 pm, By Joyeeta Sen Rimpee

Imagine you’re throwing a party, and you’ve ordered pizza for your guests. You call your favorite pizza place, but instead of reaching them, someone pretends to be the pizza shop and sends you a suspicious-looking calzone. ?

That’s essentially what can happen on the internet without DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions). DNS is like the phonebook of the internet—it translates human-friendly domain names (like example.com) into machine-readable IP addresses. But just like that fake pizza order, DNS can be tricked into sending you to the wrong place. Enter DNSSEC, the superhero that saves the day by making sure you get what you asked for—no shady calzones allowed.

What is DNSSEC?

DNSSEC is like a bouncer for the DNS club. It uses cryptographic signatures to verify that the DNS information you receive is legit and hasn’t been tampered with. Think of it as a secret handshake between your browser and the DNS server. If the handshake doesn’t match, DNSSEC kicks the impostor out.

In technical terms, DNSSEC adds a layer of authentication to DNS responses, ensuring that the data comes from the real deal and not some hacker in a dark basement.

Why is DNSSEC Important?

Let me tell you a story. Back in 2019, a major DNS hijacking campaign targeted government and private organizations. Hackers redirected traffic from legitimate websites to malicious ones, stealing sensitive data and causing chaos. It was like someone changing all the road signs in a city—drivers ended up in the wrong places, and no one knew who to trust.

Without DNSSEC, DNS is vulnerable to attacks like:

Cache Poisoning: Hackers inject fake DNS data into a resolver’s cache, sending you to malicious sites.
Spoofing: Attackers pretend to be legitimate DNS servers and feed you false information.
Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks: Hackers intercept and alter DNS queries and responses.

DNSSEC stops these shenanigans by ensuring that the DNS responses you get are authentic and haven’t been messed with.

Joyeeta Sen Rimpee