For more than two decades, DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) has been promoted as the standard for safeguarding the Domain Name System (DNS). Its adoption has been encouraged by technical standards bodies, industry groups, and government regulators alike. Yet despite these efforts, implementation has remained uneven, particularly among top-level domains (TLDs). Why?
Despite its clear security value, DNSSEC is notoriously complex, resource-intensive, and prone to operational pitfalls when not implemented carefully. While there are several key obstacles to adoption, the benefits are tangible, and for many organizations, automation offers a path to bridge the gap between complexity and security.
Is DNSSEC Outdated?
DNS is how we navigate the internet, translating human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses. Yet, the protocol itself lacks robust security, leaving it vulnerable to attacks such as cache poisoning and spoofing. DNSSEC was created to close this gap by providing a mechanism to verify the authenticity of DNS responses. By creating a “chain of trust” from the root zone down to individual domains, DNSSEC ensures that data has not been tampered with in transit.
Some critics question whether DNSSEC is outdated. The core specifications were developed in the 1990s, and its complexity has slowed adoption. A key argument is that HTTPS has made DNSSEC redundant. But HTTPS only secures the connection after a DNS query is resolved; it does nothing to stop an attacker from redirecting the query itself. DNSSEC remains the only standardized way to protect this critical first step.
Progress has been made at the infrastructure level. According to CircleID, as of 2023, approximately 92% of delegated TLDs in the root zone are DNSSEC-signed. The challenge now is driving adoption further down the chain.
The Challenges of DNSSEC Implementation
Implementing DNSSEC is far from a flip of a switch. It requires careful planning, ongoing maintenance, and operational expertise. These hurdles explain why, despite strong support at the TLD level, uptake among registrants is still limited. For example, in 2024 only about 5% of .com domains were signed with DNSSEC.
This gap between capability and deployment illustrates DNSSEC’s central paradox: the ecosystem is ready, but adoption remains uneven, largely due to operational and administrative burdens.
Increased Computational Load
They say bigger is better, but DNSSEC increases everything. DNSSEC-signed zones are larger, taking up more disk space, and DNSSEC-aware servers require a significant computational overhead to process additional cryptographic computations. Network packets are also bigger, which puts more strain on network infrastructure. For zones with millions of records, this signing process is highly resource-intensive.
DNSSEC responses are also larger than standard DNS responses because they include additional records like Resource Record Signature (RRSIG). While DNS Public Keys (DNSKEY) are not included in every response, they must be retrieved during validation, adding to the overall traffic and complexity. These expanded packet sizes can strain network infrastructure and add slight latency to queries. At the same time, validating resolvers must verify each cryptographic signature, consuming more CPU cycles and memory than non-validating lookups
New Security Concerns
Ironically, implementing a security protocol can introduce new security risks. DNSSEC misconfigurations can lead to self-inflicted denial-of-service, leaving legitimate users unable to access a domain because resolvers cannot validate the signatures. Beyond configuration errors, vulnerabilities can emerge within the protocol itself. A notable example is the KeyTrap vulnerability, where a single maliciously crafted DNS packet could exhaust the CPU resources of a validating resolver, potentially taking down critical DNS services.
Increased Complexity
The single greatest barrier to DNSSEC adoption is its inherent complexity. Managing the cryptographic keys at the heart of the protocol is a delicate and error-prone process. It involves handling at least two types of keys: the Zone Signing Key (ZSK), used to sign records within the zone, and the Key Signing Key (KSK), which signs the DNSKEY record set. These keys must be securely generated, stored, and periodically replaced to maintain security. This key management lifecycle, especially the DS record update process with the parent zone, is a multi-step procedure that, if mishandled, can easily break the chain of trust and render a domain inaccessible. Additionally, the process demands a high level of technical expertise that is often not available in-house.
Increased Service Outage Risk
The complexity of DNSSEC directly translates to an increased risk of service outages. The most common cause is a failed key rollover. If a ZSK or KSK expires before a new one is properly generated, signed, and propagated, validating resolvers will reject the domain’s DNS records, effectively taking it offline for a significant portion of users. Similarly, if the DS record at the parent registry is not updated correctly during a KSK rollover, the chain of trust is broken. These outages are notoriously difficult to diagnose because non-validating resolvers will continue to resolve the domain without issue, leading to confusing and intermittent connectivity problems for end-users.
Additional Maintenance Requirements
DNSSEC requires continuous, active management. Zones must be re-signed whenever records are added, changed, or removed. Cryptographic keys must be rolled over on a regular schedule; typically annually for KSKs and more frequently for ZSKs. This creates a significant administrative burden, which can be magnified in organizations where DNS management is distributed across multiple teams.
Teams must establish and adhere to strict operational procedures for key management and zone signing. They also need robust monitoring systems to alert them to impending key expirations, signature failures, and other potential issues before they cause an outage. This ongoing maintenance commitment is a significant deterrent for organizations with limited resources.
Key Benefits of DNSSEC
Implementing DNSSEC allows organizations to directly address fundamental weaknesses in the internet’s architecture. For organizations committed to a robust security posture, the benefits of DNSSEC provide a powerful defense against dynamic, fast-moving cyber threats.
Data Integrity
The primary benefit of DNSSEC is guaranteeing DNS data integrity. It ensures that the information received by a user from a DNS query is identical to the information published by the domain owner on their authoritative server. Digital signatures allow resolvers to verify that records have not been altered in transit, preventing attackers from forging DNS responses and redirecting users to fraudulent websites.
Authentication
DNSSEC provides origin authentication, confirming that the DNS response truly comes from the legitimate owner of the domain. By establishing a cryptographic chain of trust that extends from the DNS root zone all the way down to the specific domain, resolvers can be certain they are communicating with the correct source. This authentication is a critical defense against DNS cache poisoning and man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.
Improved Security Posture
Implementing DNSSEC strengthens an organization’s overall security posture by protecting against DNS-based attacks such as DNS cache poisoning and spoofing. By ensuring that DNS responses are validated and authentic, DNSSEC protects users, partners, and employees from being unknowingly misdirected to malicious websites. This, in turn, helps safeguard brand reputation. DNSSEC also provides a trusted foundation for additional security technologies, such as DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) for email authentication, making it a critical layer in a defense-in-depth security strategy.
Increased User Trust
While end-users may not be aware of DNSSEC directly, its implementation fosters a more secure and trustworthy online environment. By preventing DNS-based redirection attacks, organizations ensure that when a user types their domain name, they arrive at the intended destination. This reliability builds subconscious trust and confidence in the brand’s digital presence, which is essential for e-commerce, online banking, and other sensitive transactions.
Compliance with Security Standards
For many organizations, implementing DNSSEC is becoming a requirement for regulatory compliance. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) mandates DNSSEC deployment at the registry level for all new gTLDs, and the forthcoming wave of gTLD applications will likely extend these requirements even further. In addition, security standards and frameworks in sectors like finance, healthcare, and government increasingly recommend or mandate DNSSEC as a best practice for protecting sensitive data. By aligning with both ICANN’s obligations and industry-specific frameworks, organizations not only avoid compliance gaps and potential penalties but also demonstrate a commitment to robust security controls.
Enhanced Business Continuity
DNS-based attacks can cause significant business disruption, leading to financial loss and reputational damage. By implementing DNSSEC, an organization protects its critical online services from being hijacked or taken offline by DNS spoofing. This enhances business continuity by ensuring that websites, email servers, and other essential applications remain available and trustworthy for customers and employees.
Using Automation to Overcome DNSSEC Challenges
DNSSEC, like many aspects of securing the modern internet, is not without its own problems. But those challenges are not insurmountable. The most effective strategy is to minimize human error with automation. Modern DNS management platforms can handle the most difficult aspects of DNSSEC automatically, making deployment more reliable and sustainable for organizations of all sizes.
Automate Zone Signing to Reduce Service Disruptions
Manually re-signing a zone every time a record changes is tedious and prone to error. An automated system can detect any change to a DNS zone and automatically re-sign the records with the current ZSK. This ensures that the zone data is always fresh and correctly signed, eliminating the risk of signature expiration and preventing validation failures caused by stale records. This continuous, automated signing process is fundamental to maintaining a reliable DNSSEC deployment.
Automate Key Rollovers to Reduce Administrative Overhead
Automating the key rollover process is perhaps the most critical step in mitigating DNSSEC-related risks. An automated system can manage the entire lifecycle of both ZSKs and KSKs according to predefined policies. It can generate new keys, introduce them into the zone, transition to using them for signing, and eventually retire the old keys. For KSK rollovers, advanced systems can even automate the process of updating the DS record with the parent registry via protocols like EPP, completely removing the most dangerous manual step from the process.
Employ ECDSA to Reduce Computational Load
The choice of cryptographic algorithm has a major impact on DNSSEC performance. While RSA has been traditionally used, the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) offers a more efficient alternative. ECDSA keys and signatures are much smaller than their RSA counterparts for an equivalent level of security. This results in smaller DNS responses, reduced network overhead, and faster signature generation and validation. By employing ECDSA, organizations can significantly reduce the computational load on their DNS infrastructure, mitigating one of the core performance challenges of DNSSEC.
Take the Next Step with UltraDNS
DNSSEC can feel like a daunting undertaking, but the right partner turns complexity into confidence. DigiCert UltraDNS is purpose-built to handle the performance and security challenges of DNSSEC at scale. With built-in automation for zone signing and key rollovers, support for modern cryptographic algorithms like ECDSA, and enterprise-grade monitoring, DigiCert UltraDNS eliminates the operational risks that hold many organizations back.
Ready to strengthen your DNS security and simplify management? Explore how UltraDNS can help your organization implement DNSSEC seamlessly while boosting performance, compliance, and user trust.
