Working Paper: NBER ID: w24317
Authors: Samantha Bates; John Bowers; Shane Greenstein; Jordi Weinstock; Yunhan Xu; Jonathan Zittrain
Abstract: This paper analyzes the extent to which the Internet’s global domain name resolution (DNS) system has preserved its distributed resilience given the rise of cloud-based hosting and infrastructure. We explore trends in the concentration of the DNS space since at least 2011. In addition, we examine changes in domains’ tendency to “diversify” their pool of nameservers – how frequently domains employ DNS management services from multiple providers rather than just one provider – a comparatively costless and therefore puzzlingly rare decision that could supply redundancy and resilience in the event of an attack or service outage affecting one provider.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: L22; L86
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increasing concentration of DNS services among a small number of providers (L86) | resilience of the internet (F60) |
| tendency of domains to rely on a single DNS provider (F55) | implications for redundancy and resilience (L15) |
| concentration of DNS services (L86) | increase in vulnerability to DDoS attacks (K24) |
| lack of diversification of DNS services (L86) | increased vulnerability to attacks and outages (F65) |
| trends in DNS provider concentration (L86) | more frequent and severe service disruptions in the future (L91) |