logoalt Hacker News

tptacek • today at 5:05 PM • 2 replies • view on HN

(1) Because it doesn't actually solve the problem. The registry operator for .COM is not historically trustworthy either.

(2) Because DNSSEC is a nightmare to deploy. Leaving the IANIX-type operational stuff aside, it doesn't work on all network paths; plenty of middleboxes freak out when they see DNS packets with DNSSEC records in them. People see this and want a best-effort system that uses DNSSEC in the majority cases where it does work, but now you have a downgradable, strippable security protocol.

(3) eMudhra is being murdered by the root programs as we speak, and when they're gone all we'll remember them for is as a WebPKI incident. The WebPKI itself will continue to function and nobody will care. That can't happen with .COM or .CO.UK or .IO; there's no accountability for those registry operators at all, let alone transparency logs to track what they're doing.


Replies

isityettime • today at 5:56 PM

> plenty of middleboxes freak out when they see DNS packets with DNSSEC records in them. People see this and want a best-effort system that uses DNSSEC in the majority cases where it does work

Who? Companies whose audiences are certain kinds of corporations?

➕ show 1 reply
JackSlateur • today at 5:54 PM

The registry operator for .com has all the privileges (regarding certificate generation) over all .com domains

As such, DANE would not add more issue here;

DNSSEC is easy to deploy (of course, you need to know your work, which is rarely the case). Legacy-first mindset is not really productive;

That's is correct, but on the other hand, incorrect: as a .com registry, I can:

  - fake the CAA records
  - fake the DCV records
  - make any CA sign any certificates
People would not even notice because, if a given website is commonly signed by LE, I can trick LE into signing a new certificate for me. The transparency logs would just show that LE signed a certificate, as usual. Again: registries have already all the power in the world (it is a good thing: not the current issue :) )
➕ show 1 reply