DNSSEC stands for Domain Name System Security Extensions. It is a suite of security protocols and extensions designed to add an extra layer of security to the Domain Name System (DNS). The DNS is responsible for translating human-readable domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses (such as 192.0.2.1) that computers use to locate and communicate with each other over the internet.

The primary purpose of DNSSEC is to mitigate various types of DNS attacks, such as DNS cache poisoning or man-in-the-middle attacks, which can lead to unauthorized or malicious redirection of internet traffic.

DNSSEC achieves its security goals by adding digital signatures to DNS data. When DNS records are signed using cryptographic keys, they can be validated to ensure their authenticity and integrity. This allows DNS resolvers and clients to verify that the DNS information they receive has not been altered or tampered with during the resolution process.

Here's a basic overview of how DNSSEC works:

1. Signing DNS Data: The owners of a domain sign their DNS records using a private key. This private key is used to generate a digital signature for each DNS record.

2. DNSKEY and DS Records: DNSSEC introduces new resource record types, DNSKEY, and DS. The DNSKEY record contains the domain's public key, which can be used to verify the signatures. The DS record is stored in the parent zone and contains a hash of the child zone's DNSKEY record. This chain of trust extends from the top-level domain (TLD) down to the specific domain.

3. Validation: When a client, such as a web browser, requests to access a website, it sends a DNS query to a DNS resolver. If DNSSEC is supported and enabled for the domain, the DNS resolver checks the digital signatures of the DNS records using the chain of trust from the TLD down to the specific domain. If the signatures are valid, the resolver knows the DNS information is authentic and can proceed with the DNS resolution.

By implementing DNSSEC, domain owners and internet users can have greater confidence in the integrity of DNS data, making it more challenging for attackers to manipulate or redirect internet traffic illicitly. However, it's important to note that DNSSEC primarily focuses on verifying the authenticity of DNS data and does not provide encryption for the data itself.

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