DOCSLIB.ORG

DNS Root Name Servers Frequently Asked Questions ISOC MEMBER BRIEFING #20

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

DNS Root Name Servers Frequently Asked Questions ISOC MEMBER BRIEFING #20 http://www.isoc.org/briefings/020/ January, 2005 by Daniel Karrenberg DNS Root Name Server FAQ Version 1 - January 27th This is Daniel Karrenberg's personal FAQ about the root name 2005 server system. It is based on questions he had to answer over the past few years of "Internet Governance" debate. Expanded Coverage from ISOC Daniel brought the second DNS root name server, k.root- servers.net, to Europe in 1997 and he has been responsible for its A concise summary of the operation in the first years. Today he advises the operations team. material covered in this Daniel has also helped to build significant parts of the European FAQ is available in ISOC Internet in the 1980s; this included helping with the establishment member briefing #19. of many ccTLDs in the area. In the 1990s Daniel led the In-depth articles, papers, establishment of the RIPE NCC, the first of the regional Internet links and other resources registries. During this time Daniel helped to create the policy on a variety of topics are development process for Internet number resources in the RIPE available from the ISOC region and as CEO of the RIPE NCC he has been responsible for the site at: implementation of those policies. Through this effort he has become www.isoc.org/internet/ a practitioner at what others often refer to as "Internet issues governance". He prefers to be an engineer and pragmatist rather Acknowledgments than fully engaging in the process of public policy making. However, he strongly believes that policy making should be based on as much I thank all root name relevant information as humanly possible. Hence this FAQ. server operators for providing the quantitative Q: What is it that root name servers do exactly? information contained this FAQ. The following A: They are part of the Domain Name System (DNS), a worldwide individuals have provided distributed database that is used to translate worldwide unique substantive and useful domain names such as www.isoc.org to other identifiers. The DNS comments which have is an important part of the Internet because it is used by almost all improved the answers I Internet applications. give: Brian Carpenter, Steve Crocker, James The root name servers publish the root zone file to other DNS Galvin, Patrik Faltstrom, servers and clients on the Internet. The root zone file describes Thomas de Haan, Johan where the authoritative servers for the DNS top-level domains Ihren and Mirjam Kuehne. (TLD) are located; in other words: which server one has to ask for However these answers names ending in one of 258 (December 2004) TLDs, such as ORG, as well as any errors and NET, NL or AU. For a detailed description of how the DNS works omissions remain my and the role of the root name servers see: personal responsibility. I http://www.isoc.org/briefings/016/index.shtml also thank the RIPE NCC for providing the resources for the work on documents like this. Q: So the root name server operators determine who gets to About the Author operate TLDs? Daniel Karrenberg A: No, absolutely and positively not! The root zone file is just currently serves the RIPE published by the root name server operators. The file is edited by NCC as Chief Scientist. the IANA according to a process described on the IANA web site. His interests include The root name server operators publish the file as received from Internet measurements, the IANA. See: http://www.iana.org/root-management.htm the development of the DNS and the evolution of what others often call Q: Does all Internet traffic pass through the root name "Internet Governance". servers? A: No Internet traffic passes through the root name servers at all. They have nothing to do with routing, note the difference in Daniel is spelling. Name servers just answer queries from other parts of the one of DNS. the founders Q: Do the root name servers store all information in the of RIPE DNS? In the 1990s Daniel led the A: No, DNS is a distributed database. Storing all the information in establishment of the RIPE one place would be totally infeasible today. This is exactly why the NCC, the first of the DNS was developed as a distributed database. For a detailed Regional Internet description of how the DNS works and the role of the root name Registries. He has helped servers see: http://www.isoc.org/briefings/016/index.shtml to shape Internet address space distribution policy, Q: Are the root name servers queried every time I browse transferring both policy the web or send mail? development and implementation to the A: No, information is cached in the DNS. Your computer will query a region. caching DNS server to resolve domain names. A well behaved DNS server needs to query the root name servers only once every 48 Daniel helped to design hours for each particular TLD. In the meantime it can resolve NSD, designed and names for that TLD without involvement of the root name servers. implemented dnsmon and Because of this caching almost all DNS queries are answered deployed the initial K-root without involvement of the root name servers. server. In the 1980s Daniel For a detailed description of how the DNS works and the role of the helped to build EUnet and root name servers see: led the effort to transition http://www.isoc.org/briefings/016/index.shtml it to Internet protocols, making EUnet the first Q: Who are the root name server operators? pan-European ISP and bringing Internet A: There currently are 12 organisations providing root name service connections to many at 13 unique IPv4 addresses. They are: places in and around Europe. A - VeriSign Global Registry Services B - University of Southern California - Information Sciences Acknowledgments Institute C - Cogent Communications The ISOC Member D - University of Maryland Briefing series is made E - NASA Ames Research Center possible through the F - Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. generous assistance of G - U.S. DOD Network Information Center ISOC’s H - U.S. Army Research Lab I - Autonomica/NORDUnet Platinum Program J - VeriSign Global Registry Services Sponsors: Afilias, APNIC, K - RIPE NCC ARIN, Microsoft, and Ripe L - ICANN NCC, Sida. More M - WIDE Project information on the Platinum Sponsorship Information about most operators can be found via Program: http://www.root-servers.org/, or specifically via http://X.root- http://www.isoc.org/isoc/ servers.org/ where X stands for one of the letters listed above. membership/platinum.sht ml Q: What is the meaning of the letters A-M? About the Background A: In the past each letter identified a particular server machine. Paper Series Currently each letter identifies a single IPv4 address at which the service is provided under the responsibility of a single root name Published by: server operator. Some operators still provide the service from one The Internet Society location with one or more physical machines. Other operators 1775 Wiehle Avenue, provide the service from multiple locations using a method called Suite 102 "anycast". See below for an explanation. Reston, Virginia 20190 USA Q: So where are those root name servers anyway? Tel: +1 703 326 9880 Fax: +1 703 326 9881 A: Where in what sense? In the geographical sense there are root name servers in more than 80 locations within 34 countries 4, rue des Falaises (ISO3166 definition of country) worldwide (December 2004). Before CH-1205 Geneva you ask: the majority of them are outside the United States of Switzerland America. In terms of Internet topology the servers tend to be either Tel: +41 22 807 1444 in very well connected places so that they can serve a maximum Fax: +41 22 807 1445 number of clients; others are in relatively isolated places to provide reliable service to the local community while reducing non-local Email: [email protected] DNS traffic. The exact locations of many servers are often not Web: published for fear of physical attacks. http://www.isoc.org/ Series Editor: Martin Q: So you mean that no one knows where all of them exactly Kupres are? Copyright © Internet A: Yes, does any one person need to know that? I certainly do not Society 2005. All rights want to know! reserved. Q: So do you speak for all letters? A: No! No one can do that. See further down for an explanation why this is. I speak here on personal title. I would not say things that would cause the other root name server operators to stop talking to me; I actually like the folks I work with. ;-) I try my best to keep the answers restricted to factual information; but of course they reflect who I am and where I come from. I am always open to suggestions on how to better answer these questions and for new questions, of course. Q: So the root name server operators are all volunteers? A: In the distant past, more than 10 years ago, root name server operators could be described like that. Today no root name server operator is a volunteer in any sense of the word. None of them is an individual anymore. All of them are organisations that acknowledge the obligation to provide this service. Root name server operation has not depended on single individuals for a long time. See below for answers regarding the motivation of root name server operators to provide good service. Q: Who selects the root name server operators? A: All root name server operators have been selected by the IANA.
Recommended publications
  • Configuring DNS

    Configuring DNS

    Configuring DNS The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed database in which you can map hostnames to IP addresses through the DNS protocol from a DNS server. Each unique IP address can have an associated hostname. The Cisco IOS software maintains a cache of hostname-to-address mappings for use by the connect, telnet, and ping EXEC commands, and related Telnet support operations. This cache speeds the process of converting names to addresses. Note You can specify IPv4 and IPv6 addresses while performing various tasks in this feature. The resource record type AAAA is used to map a domain name to an IPv6 address. The IP6.ARPA domain is defined to look up a record given an IPv6 address. • Finding Feature Information, page 1 • Prerequisites for Configuring DNS, page 2 • Information About DNS, page 2 • How to Configure DNS, page 4 • Configuration Examples for DNS, page 13 • Additional References, page 14 • Feature Information for DNS, page 15 Finding Feature Information Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module. Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
  • Reverse DNS What Is 'Reverse DNS'?

    Reverse DNS What Is 'Reverse DNS'?

    Reverse DNS Overview • Principles • Creating reverse zones • Setting up nameservers • Reverse delegation procedures What is ‘Reverse DNS’? • ‘Forward DNS’ maps names to numbers – svc00.apnic.net -> 202.12.28.131 • ‘Reverse DNS’ maps numbers to names – 202.12.28.131 -> svc00.apnic.net 1 Reverse DNS - why bother? • Service denial • That only allow access when fully reverse delegated eg. anonymous ftp • Diagnostics • Assisting in trace routes etc • SPAM identifications • Registration • Responsibility as a member and Local IR In-addr.arpa • Hierarchy of IP addresses – Uses ‘in-addr.arpa’ domain • INverse ADDRess • IP addresses: – Less specific to More specific • 210.56.14.1 • Domain names: – More specific to Less specific • delhi.vsnl.net.in – Reversed in in-addr.arpa hierarchy • 14.56.210.in-addr.arpa Principles • Delegate maintenance of the reverse DNS to the custodian of the address block • Address allocation is hierarchical – LIRs/ISPs -> Customers -> End users 2 Principles – DNS tree - Mapping numbers to names - ‘reverse DNS’ Root DNS net edu com arpa au apnic in-addr whoiswhois RIR 202202 203 210 211.. ISP 6464 22 .64.202 .in-addr.arpa Customer 2222 Creating reverse zones • Same as creating a forward zone file – SOA and initial NS records are the same as normal zone – Main difference • need to create additional PTR records • Can use BIND or other DNS software to create and manage reverse zones – Details can be different Creating reverse zones - contd • Files involved – Zone files • Forward zone file – e.g. db.domain.net • Reverse zone file – e.g. db.192.168.254 – Config files • <named.conf> – Other • Hints files etc.
  • Service (SRV) Records

    Service (SRV) Records

    Service (SRV) Records You deploy multiple DNS SRV records in different locations on your enterprise DNS structure. Understand which records you should provision on which name servers. Review examples of SRV records to ensure a successful deployment. • Deploy SRV Records, page 1 • SRV Records, page 4 Deploy SRV Records The client queries name servers for records in the services domain. The services domain is determined as described in How the Client Discovers Available Services. You must deploy SRV records in each DNS zone for those service domains if your organization has multiple subsets of users who use different service domains. Deploy SRV Records in a Separate Domain Structure In a separate name design there are two domains, an internal domain and an external domain. The client queries for SRV records in the services domain. The internal name server must serve records for the services domain. However in a separate name design, a zone for the services domain might not exist on the internal name server. If the services domain is not currently served by the internal name server, you can: • Deploy records within an internal zone for the services domain. • Deploy records within a pinpoint subdomain zone on the internal name server. Use an Internal Zone for a Services Domain If you do not already have a zone for the services domain on the internal name server, you can create one. This method makes the internal name server authoritative for the services domain. Because it is authoritative, the internal name server does not forward queries to any other name server.
  • ICANN, Ipv6 and the Root

    ICANN, Ipv6 and the Root

    ICANN, IPv6 and the Root John L. Crain Chief Technical Officer Beijing, China April 12, 2007 1 12 APRIL 2007 In the beginning . 2 12 APRIL 2007 Internet’s unique identifiers were coordinated through the Internet Address Naming Authority JonJon PostelPostel 19431943––19981998 3 12 APRIL 2007 Need for change circa 1996–97 • Globalisation of Internet • Commercialisation of Internet • Lack of competition in domain name space • Trademark–domain name conflicts • Need for a new model of governance 4 12 APRIL 2007 ICANN mission statement • To coordinate, overall, the global Internet's system of unique identifiers, and to ensure stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. In particular, ICANN coordinates: 1. Allocation and assignment of the three sets of unique identifiers for the Internet: • Domain names (forming a system called the DNS) • Internet protocol (IP) addresses and autonomous system (AS) numbers • Protocol port and parameter numbers 2. Operation and evolution of the DNS root name server system 3. Policy development reasonably and appropriately related to these technical functions 5 12 APRIL 2007 Principles of operation 1. Contribute to stability and security of the unique identifiers system and root management 2. Promote competition and choice for registrants and other users 3. Forum for multi-stakeholder bottom-up development of related policy 4. Ensuring on a global basis an opportunity for participation by all interested parties 6 12 APRIL 2007 The Secretariat (People doing the day to day work) 58 Staff from 26 Countries 7 12 APRIL 2007 • The secretariat’s work is administration and aiding policy processes. • We do not set policy, that is the job of the community.
  • Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology DATE: 13 February 2017 Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology

    Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology DATE: 13 February 2017 Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology

    Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology DATE: 13 February 2017 Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology Introduction This document is part of ICANN’s effort to contribute to enhancing the Stability, Security, and Resiliency (SSR) of the Internet’s system of unique identifiers (“Internet Identifiers”) by working with the Community to identify and increase awareness of related attacks and to promote broader adoption of attack mitigation practices. This effort also addresses Recommendation #12 of the Security, Stability & Resiliency (SSR) Review Team (SSR-RT) by creating an Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology. Specifically, this document identifies and prioritizes types of attacks against the Identifier System, providing a stepping-off point for ICANN to coordinate with the Community to develop a series of short technical documents (“Tech Notes”) on actual high-impact attacks and emerging high-risk vulnerabilities. This document will be periodically updated to reflect evolution of both the Identifier System and the cybercrime landscape, supporting on-going efforts within both ICANN and the Community to mitigate attacks that pose the greatest risk to Identifier System SSR. Authors: Lisa Phifer and David Piscitello Page 1 Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology DATE: 13 February 2017 Attack Mitigation Methodology ICANN is proposing a new Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology to: • Identify, prioritize, and periodically refresh a list of top Identifier System attacks; • Develop guidance on actual high-impact attacks and emerging high-risk vulnerabilities; • Describe corresponding attack mitigation practices that are commonly considered useful; and • Encourage broader adoption of those practices via contracts, agreements, incentives, etc. This document represents the first component of this methodology.
  • DNS) Administration Guide

    DNS) Administration Guide

    Edgecast Route (DNS) Administration Guide Disclaimer Care was taken in the creation of this guide. However, Edgecast cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, including the warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, accompanying this product. Trademark Information EDGECAST is a registered trademark of Verizon Digital Media Services Inc. About This Guide Route (DNS) Administration Guide Version 2.40 8/28/2021 ©2021 Verizon Media. All rights reserved. Table of Contents Route ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 Scope ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Module Comparison ................................................................................................................................. 2 Managed (Primary) or Secondary DNS Module .................................................................................... 2 DNS Health Checks Module .................................................................................................................. 3 Billing Activation ......................................................................................................................................
  • Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of Ipv6

    Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of Ipv6

    Special Publication 800-119 Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6 Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Sheila Frankel Richard Graveman John Pearce Mark Rooks NIST Special Publication 800-119 Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6 Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Sheila Frankel Richard Graveman John Pearce Mark Rooks C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y Computer Security Division Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930 December 2010 U.S. Department of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary National Institute of Standards and Technology Dr. Patrick D. Gallagher, Director GUIDELINES FOR THE SECURE DEPLOYMENT OF IPV6 Reports on Computer Systems Technology The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, proof of concept implementations, and technical analysis to advance the development and productive use of information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, administrative, and management standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer systems. This Special Publication 800-series reports on ITL’s research, guidance, and outreach efforts in computer security and its collaborative activities with industry, government, and academic organizations. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-119 Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 800-119, 188 pages (Dec. 2010) Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately.
  • CS4700/CS5700 Fundamentals of Computer Networks

    CS4700/CS5700 Fundamentals of Computer Networks

    CS4700/CS5700 Fundamentals of Computer Networks Lecture 17: Domain Name System Slides used with permissions from Edward W. Knightly, T. S. Eugene Ng, Ion Stoica, Hui Zhang Alan Mislove amislove at ccs.neu.edu Northeastern1 University Human Involvement • Just like your friend needs to tell you his phone number for you to call him • Somehow, an application needs to know the IP address of the communication peer • There is no magic, some out-of-band mechanism is needed – Word of mouth – Read it in the advertisement in the paper – Etc. • But IP addresses are bad for humans to remember and tell each other • So need names that makes some sense to humans Alan Mislove amislove at ccs.neu.edu Northeastern2 University Internet Names & Addresses • Names: e.g. www.rice.edu – human-usable labels for machines – conforms to “organizational” structure • Addresses: e.g. 128.42.247.150 – router-usable labels for machines – conforms to “network” structure • How do you map from one to another? – Domain Name System (DNS) Alan Mislove amislove at ccs.neu.edu Northeastern3 University DNS: History • Initially all host-addess mappings were in a file called hosts.txt (in /etc/hosts) – Changes were submitted to SRI by email – New versions of hosts.txt ftp’d periodically from SRI – An administrator could pick names at their discretion – Any name is allowed: eugenesdesktopatrice • As the Internet grew this system broke down because: – SRI couldn’t handled the load – Hard to enforce uniqueness of names – Many hosts had inaccurate copies of hosts.txt • Domain Name System (DNS) was born Alan Mislove amislove at ccs.neu.edu Northeastern4 University Basic DNS Features • Hierarchical namespace – as opposed to original flat namespace • Distributed storage architecture – as opposed to centralized storage (plus replication) • Client--server interaction on UDP Port 53 – but can use TCP if desired Alan Mislove amislove at ccs.neu.edu Northeastern5 University Naming Hierarchy root edu com gov mil org net uk fr etc.
  • DNS) Deployment Guide

    DNS) Deployment Guide

    Archived NIST Technical Series Publication The attached publication has been archived (withdrawn), and is provided solely for historical purposes. It may have been superseded by another publication (indicated below). Archived Publication Series/Number: NIST Special Publication 800-81 Revision 1 Title: Secure Domain Name System (DNS) Deployment Guide Publication Date(s): April 2010 Withdrawal Date: September 2013 Withdrawal Note: SP 800-81 Revision 1 is superseded in its entirety by the publication of SP 800-81-2 (September 2013). Superseding Publication(s) The attached publication has been superseded by the following publication(s): Series/Number: NIST Special Publication 800-81-2 Title: Secure Domain Name System (DNS) Deployment Guide Author(s): Ramaswamy Chandramouli, Scott Rose Publication Date(s): September 2013 URL/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-81-2 Additional Information (if applicable) Contact: Computer Security Division (Information Technology Lab) Latest revision of the SP 800-81-2 (as of August 7, 2015) attached publication: Related information: http://csrc.nist.gov/ Withdrawal N/A announcement (link): Date updated: ƵŐƵƐƚϳ, 2015 Special Publication 800-81r1 Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Secure Domain Name System (DNS) Deployment Guide Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Ramaswamy Chandramouli Scott Rose i NIST Special Publication 800-81r1 Secure Domain Name System (DNS) Deployment Guide Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Ramaswamy Chandramouli Scott Rose C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y Computer Security Division/Advanced Network Technologies Division Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899 April 2010 U.S.
  • DNS: Domain Name System a Scalable Naming System for the Internet

    DNS: Domain Name System a Scalable Naming System for the Internet

    Introduction Queries and Caching Protocol History and Growth DNS: Domain Name System A Scalable Naming System for the Internet Daniel Zappala Brigham Young University Computer Science Department 1/26 Introduction Introduction Queries and Caching Protocol History and Growth Domain Name System • people like to use names for computers (www.byu.edu), but computers need to use numbers (128.187.22.132) • the Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed database providing this service • a program send a query a local name server • the local name server contacts other servers as needed • many DNS services • host name to IP address translation • host aliasing (canonical name versus alias names) • lookup mail server for a host • load distribution - can provide a set of IP addresses for one canonical name Demonstration: dig 3/26 Introduction Queries and Caching Protocol History and Growth Names • domain name: top-level domain (TLD) + one or more subdomains • example: cs.byu.edu • host name: a domain name with one or more IP addresses associated with it • TLDs • ccTLD: country codes (.us, .uk, .tv) • gTLD: generic (.com, .edu, .org, .net, .gov, .mil) { see full list at Wikipedia • iTLD: infrastructure (.arpa) • may be 127 levels deep, 63 characters per label, 255 characters per name 4/26 Introduction Queries and Caching Protocol History and Growth DNS Hierarchy • root, top-level domain (TLD), and local name servers • each level represents a zone • what zone is BYU in charge of? 5/26 Introduction Queries and Caching Protocol History and Growth Root Name
  • How to Add Domains and DNS Records

    How to Add Domains and DNS Records

    Barracuda NextGen Firewall X How to Add Domains and DNS Records https://campus.barracuda.com/doc/41109753/ Configure the Barracuda NextGen X-Series Firewall to be the authoritative DNS server for your domains or subdomains to take advantage of Split DNS or dead link detection. Step 1. Make the X-Series Firewall the authoritative DNS server at your domain registrar To become the authoritative DNS server for a domain contact the registrar for your domain to use the static or dynamic WAN IP addresses of your X-Series Firewall. Hosting a subdomain If you want to delegate a subdomain to the X-Series Firewall, add ns1 and ns2 records to the zone file of the domain where it is stored at the registrar. If the domain is yourdomain.com, and you want to host subdomain.yourdomain.com add the following DNS records: subdomain IN NS ns1 subdomain IN NS ns2 ns1 IN A <WAN IP 1 OF YOUR BARRACUDA FIREWALL> ns2 IN A <WAN IP 2 OF YOUR BARRACUDA FIREWALL> Step 2. Enable authoritative DNS on the X-Series Firewall In the DNS Servers table, you can view a list of the static IP addresses for which the DNS Server service is enabled (NETWORK > IP Configuration). Dynamic IP addresses are not listed. An access rule is created in step 3 to redirect incoming DNS requests on dynamic interfaces to the DNS service on the firewall. The access rule LOCALDNSCACHE must be active after enabling authoritative DNS for local clients to access the DNS server. 1. Go to the NETWORK > Authoritative DNS page.
  • Top Five DNS Security Attack Risks and How to Avoid Them How to Effectively Scale, Secure, Manage, and Protect Your DNS Table of Contents

    Top Five DNS Security Attack Risks and How to Avoid Them How to Effectively Scale, Secure, Manage, and Protect Your DNS Table of Contents

    WHITEPAPER Top Five DNS Security Attack Risks and How to Avoid Them How to Effectively Scale, Secure, Manage, and Protect Your DNS Table of Contents Executive Overview 2 DNS Attacks Are on the Rise 2 External Name Server Basics 2 DNS Security Flaws and Management Challenges 3 Aren’t General-Purpose Computers Good Enough for DNS? 4 Securing Your DNS Infrastructure and Applications 6 The Infoblox Approach to DNS Security 6 Benefits of Purpose-Built Appliances 7 Conclusion 8 1 WHITEPAPER Top Five DNS Security Attack Risks and How to Avoid Them Executive Overview “If your data center is not available, all the compli- Cyber attacks on Domain Name System (DNS) servers represent one of the most ance or data integrity in the significant threats to Internet security today. Because DNS is used by nearly all world is not going to help networked applications – including email, Web browsing, ecommerce, Internet your customers, business, telephony, and more – these types of attacks threaten the very basis of modern or your brand. DDOS is the number one threat to the communications and commerce. Whether conducted for financial motives, political availability of data center gain, or the notoriety of the hacker, the damage from a DNS attack can be devastating resources...” for the target organizations. Rob Ayoub, Frost and Sullivan, Global Program Director, This paper will highlight how traditional DNS infrastructure deployments can actually Network Security increase the risks of DNS attacks. The paper also covers best practices and options for a hardened DNS layer that can minimize the risk of experiencing a DNS attack by identifying the symptoms and implementing a response faster.