Companies still shy away from DNSSEC

ISPs and carriers are still hesitating to deploy a DNS security technology to keep hackers from bay citing cost and lack of customer interest as a reason for the inertia.

That's according to a study from the EU's cybersecuirty agency which found a marked reluctance to implement DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) to prevent hackers from tampering with DNS information and redirecting web traffic.

Although carriers agree that the deployment of DNSSEC provides a much needed improvement on security, 56 percent are still considering whether to implement it, and 22 percent do not plan to implement it in the next three years, according to the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) study.

A lack of customer demand for DNSSEC and the cost of deployment are two of the main reasons for operators either hesitating or choosing not to implement the technology in the near future, according to ENISA.

Operators that have rolled out DNSSEC cite the complexity of deploying the technology as the greatest challenge, in part because of a lack of tools for automating the operation process. There is also a lack of security policies focusing on DNSSEC security guidelines, key management and recommendations, ENISA said.

Putting pressure on software vendors and operators to add support for DNSSEC would get it implemented much faster, said Torbjörn Eklöv, a security expert at consulting firm Interlan, who has implemented the technology at Swedish municipalities.

The general lack of awareness and understanding of DNSSEC also means that companies overestimate the expense and difficulty of actually implementing it, said Eklöv. He claimed that he can implement the technology at a Swedish municipality in less than a day.

Companies should spend as much energy and resources on securing DNS as they currently do on firewalls and spam protection, he said.