DNSSEC Safeguard Websites

In this article, we’re going to delve into DNSSEC (DNS Security) and how it protects websites against hackers. We will discuss the different protocols it includes, along with their various functions.

What is DNSSEC and What Does it Do?

DNSSEC stands for DNS Security. It refers to a collection of protocols that aim to secure the process of DNS resolution. Without DNSSEC, DNS requests can be hijacked and manipulated by hackers to initiate cyberattacks.

Here is what DNSSEC does:

• It uses a particular type of DNS record called RRSIG to give cryptographic signatures to the existing DNS records.
• Another type of DNS record, namely the DNSKEY record, is used to contain a public signing key for the records.
• A DS record is used to contain the hash of the DNSKEY record.

The cryptographic signatures are checked and verified using the DNSKEY records, while the DNSKEY record itself is checked with the DS record.

The entire point and purpose of DNSSEC is to create a multi-step verification process for the DNS resolution process so that the client can be sure of the response’s legitimacy.

How Does DNSSEC Safeguard Websites Against Hackers?

1. DNSSEC protects against Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

Man-in-the-middle attacks are a type of cyber threat in which a request made by a client is hacked before it reaches the host. During the “in-between” phase, the request is maliciously altered so that the client receives a false or misleading response from the host.

The hacker, in this case, can hijack the request and then respond to the client while posing as the official authoritative DNS server. Instead of giving the user the IP that they’ve requested, the hacker could lead them to a malicious website. Once there, the user could end up compromising their personal details and fall victim to phishing or other types of scams.

Here is an illustration that shows an MITM attack:

However, with DNSSEC, such attacks cannot be performed.

Each DNS response is checked via the cryptographic signatures. If there is a malicious alteration in the response, it can easily be detected. The response, in this case, is discarded, and the device is not routed to it.

2. DNSSEC prevents cache poisoning attacks

Cache poisoning is another type of cyberattack that DNSSEC can prevent. In cache poisoning, a hacker adds malicious data to the cache of the victim device, causing it to be routed to a different IP when it tries to visit the website.

The request is resolved to the malicious address, and the victim can end up getting phished/scammed without realizing they’re at the wrong site.

Here, DNSSEC also helps protect the user by validating every DNS response.

3. DNSSEC enforces trust in the DNS hierarchy

With DNSSEC, the various parent and child zones in the DNS hierarchy are all cross-verified with one another. In other words, for the child zones, there are public signing keys stored within the parent zones. The keys are used to validate the cryptographic signatures of the child zones when data is being transferred between them.

When DNSSEC is activated, since all of the internal data transfers are validated, it helps in making sure that nothing is tampered with and the DNS records aren’t maliciously altered.

If there is any tampering at any level of the DNS hierarchy, the resolution process would fail. The user will be protected from any malicious action perpetrated by a hacker.

How to Make Sure that DNSSEC is Properly Configured for Your Domain?

To set up DNSSEC for your domain, there are usually two approaches that you can take:

• You can use a managed DNS provider, such as Cloudflare or Google Cloud DNS. When using these types of providers, DNSSEC is automatically set up.
• You can also manually set up DNSSEC by creating the DNSKEY records for your DNS zone and submitting the DS records to your registrar.

Whichever approach you may be using, you have to periodically verify and validate the records to make sure that the DNSSEC protocols are in place.

You can use an online DNS lookup tool by dnschecker.org for this purpose. You will be able to find and verify the simple records (such as A, AAAA, CNAME) as well as the DNSSEC records (such as DNSKEY and DS).

Wrapping Up

DNSSEC is a necessary layer of security that you should set up for your domain. It helps prevent DNS spoofing and man-in-the-middle attacks. It also prevents cache poisoning and enforces trust within the different hierarchies of the DNS zone.

To make sure that DNSSEC stays up and running for your domain, regularly check your DNS records. The DNSKEY and DS records are the primary components of DNSSEC, and you have to make sure they are always properly configured.