Abstract
Since the 1980’s and creation of the World Wide Web, Internet utilization is a common and arguably, necessary, part of daily life. The internet is young and still relatively new, but as of 2016, 3.4 billion people were online, and that number has since grown [1]. This is a significant number, but as such a common part of daily life, how elements of the internet or its infrastructure work is complex. The world would very likely be thrown into dark ages if DNS or any other significant aspect of the internet's infrastructure were to succumb to an attack. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in 2021, is a small example of the impacts that cyberattacks can and do have on our daily lives. The research presented is an effort to educate and review current workings of the DNS, its structure and vulnerabilities, and explore new research ideas that better protect and defend the DNS. As it is entangled with many elements of critical infrastructure, it is necessary to continue to educate and survey what we know about the inner workings of the internet. This paper intends to give a brief, yet moderate description of a few of these elements, such as; DNS structure, Root Servers, vulnerabilities, and proposed methods for increasing the security of critical components and infrastructure of the internet.
Document Type
Paper
Disciplines
Digital Communications and Networking | Information Security
DOI
10.25776/3ke3-7633
Publication Date
12-7-2022
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Powerpoint Presentation
A Brief Review of DNS, Root Servers, Vulnerabilities and Decentralization
Since the 1980’s and creation of the World Wide Web, Internet utilization is a common and arguably, necessary, part of daily life. The internet is young and still relatively new, but as of 2016, 3.4 billion people were online, and that number has since grown [1]. This is a significant number, but as such a common part of daily life, how elements of the internet or its infrastructure work is complex. The world would very likely be thrown into dark ages if DNS or any other significant aspect of the internet's infrastructure were to succumb to an attack. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in 2021, is a small example of the impacts that cyberattacks can and do have on our daily lives. The research presented is an effort to educate and review current workings of the DNS, its structure and vulnerabilities, and explore new research ideas that better protect and defend the DNS. As it is entangled with many elements of critical infrastructure, it is necessary to continue to educate and survey what we know about the inner workings of the internet. This paper intends to give a brief, yet moderate description of a few of these elements, such as; DNS structure, Root Servers, vulnerabilities, and proposed methods for increasing the security of critical components and infrastructure of the internet.