Authenticated DNSSEC bootstrapping
Secure in-band announcements of DNSSEC parameters
Turning on DNSSEC for a domain involves (1) signing the domain's DNS zone content and (2) adding the signature public key to the chain of trust. The second step has long posed a problem, as it requires (often manual) transfer of information from the domain's operator to the parent (usually the top-level domain). It is largely due to this "DNSSEC bootstrapping problem" that only about 6% of the Top 1M domains are securely delegated (Tranco, 06/2022).
The project extends commonly used authoritative nameserver software with native support for authenticated DNSSEC bootstrapping (draft-ietf-dnsop-dnssec-bootstrapping, ). This protocol, meanwhile published as RFC 9615 by IETF, allows DNSSEC parameters to be communicated automatically and securely, enabling DNS operators and parent registries to turn on DNSSEC automatically. To measure the protocol's impact on real-world DNSSEC deployment, measurements of protocol adoption over time will be made available.
- The project's own website: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-dnsop-dnssec-bootstrapping
This project was funded through the NGI Assure Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No 957073.
