Resolved: Understanding the Internet’s Surrender to Big DNS
Resolution of domain names is critical to the operation of the Internet and people’s access to web-services globally. A decade ago Domain Name System (DNS) resolution was mainly handled by decentralized infrastructure based on Free and Open software, run by independent operators around the world. Today we might be moving towards a more centralized DNS. Understanding this alleged trend of consolidation and its implications are of utmost importance to the privacy, security, and resilience of the global Internet. It can also help with re-decentralizing the Internet and public DNS resolvers.
The open Internet is in need of a sustainable and decentralized digital infrastructure. While studying emerging technologies to keep the Internet open is a worthy attempt, we should not ignore the infrastructure elements that have been critical to the functioning of the Internet for the past three decades. Such critical Internet infrastructures require strategies and collective action to maintain their decentralized nature and contribution to an open Internet. One such critical Internet infrastructure is Domain Name System resolvers. Resolution of domain names is critical to the operation of the Internet and people’s access to web-services globally. Geopolitical issues as well as consolidation of DNS resolvers affect global interoperability of the Internet. Even when consolidation is done by an altruistic organization that doesn’t collect utilization statistics, the fact of consolidation leaves the DNS open to commercial attacks with global implications. Centralization of such a critical component of the Internet leaves the DNS vulnerable to attacks on infrastructure, on the privacy of users, and on the content of the Internet. Understanding this trend and how it might be reversed is of utmost importance and this project tries to understand the reasons behind consolidation.
Final Report
Resolving the Future: DNS Resolvers and the Power to Navigate the Internet
DNS Resolvers and the Power to Navigate the Internet
Preliminary Report + Project Status Update
This early paper captures our mid-year findings and open questions.
Is Big DNS Taking Over? State of the Art report
Digital Medusa will at the upcoming DNS Oarc and RIPE meetings. The meetings will be held in Czech Republic 26-27 October: https://www.dns-oarc.net/node/239
Is Big DNS Taking Over? — FOSDEM 2025, Brussels
Date: February 1–2, 2025
Location: DNS Devroom, FOSDEM, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Farzaneh Badiei delivered a lightning talk raising the question: Why are only a few public DNS resolvers trusted? The talk explored the risks of consolidation in the DNS ecosystem, and Farzaneh explored the reasons behind the limited number of trusted public DNS resolvers and how we can re-decentralize the DNS and internet infrastructure.
DNS Resolver Trends & Centralization — DNS OARC 42, Prague
Date: October 26–27, 2024
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Farzaneh presented new findings from Digital Medusa’s DNS resolver research, examining shifts in public resolver usage and raising questions about infrastructure trust, accountability, and consolidation.
Panel on DNS Resolvers & Law — RIPE 89, Prague
Date: October 28–November 1, 2024
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
At RIPE 89, Farzaneh joined a panel discussion focused on legal and regulatory interventions affecting the internet’s technical layer, especially DNS resolvers. She emphasized the importance of policy best practices to facilitate DNS resolver compliance to provide their services globally.
This project is funded by The Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund (D//F), a collaborative effort supported by Ford
Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Omidyar Network, Schmidt Futures, and Open Collective Foundation.
