Tag: DNSSEC

DNS is the first line of defense for security and resilience

nielharper

On March 19, 2026, NIST finalized the SP 800-81r3 (Secure DNS Deployment Guide). This isn’t just a routine update; it is a fundamental shift in how we approach Internet resilience and organizational trust.

For years, DNS was the “quiet utility” in the background. In the modern threat landscape, NIST Revision 3 reimagines it as a proactive security control point.

Why does this matter for your 2026 security roadmap?

1️⃣ DNS as a Policy Enforcement Point (PEP): Moving beyond simple resolution, r3 integrates DNS into Zero Trust Architecture. By leveraging DNS as a PEP, organizations can neutralize threats such as malware, phishing, and command and control (C2) callbacks at the resolution stage, before a single packet of malicious data is exchanged.

2️⃣ Closing the Privacy Gap: For the first time, we have a definitive standard for deploying DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT) at scale. This effectively encrypts the “digital breadcrumbs” of our network metadata, protecting against unauthorized surveillance and data harvesting.

3️⃣ Operational Resilience & Integrity: Through rigorous DNSSEC validation and the elimination of “dangling CNAME” exploits, r3 provides a fail-safe directory. In a world of automated attacks, your “Single Source of Truth” must be immutable.

NIST SP 800-81r3 ensures that DNS is no longer your weakest link, but your most resilient shield. Standardizing these protocols isn’t just about compliance, it’s about building an Internet that is secure by design.

Do you plan on auditing your DNS architecture against the new r3 standards?

Download the SP 800-81r3 (Secure DNS Deployment Guide) now!

Internet Infrastructure Security in Africa

nielharper

The Internet is becoming critical infrastructure for Africa. Across the continent, Africans increasingly depend on the Internet to communicate, socialize, and most importantly to conduct their day-to-day jobs and activities. A major outage of the Internet infrastructure is a prevailing fear for network operators, governments and users alike. But, has Africa secured its Internet Infrastructure?

I just finished participating in a panel discussion titled ‘Internet Infrastructure Security in Africa’ at the African Internet Summit (AIS) in Gaborone, Botswana. We sought to identify the major security challenges facing the Internet infrastructure driving Africa’s digital economies. This panel is a precursor to my participation in developing guidelines that will serve African countries in their efforts to protect their Internet Infrastructure from present and future threats.

My speaking points were specifically about existing mechanisms to combat various threats, and the cooperation between key stakeholders to defend their organizations/countries from and ever changing threat landscape. I also described what types of structures were needed at the national and regional level based on best practices from around the world.