Conditional DNS Security Using Identity-Based Policy Enforcement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Domain Name System (DNS) operations lack the necessary security enhancements to ensure compliance with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) principles, leading to vulnerabilities such as unauthorized access and leakage of confidential information.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a domain name system operation security assistant that determines device and user identities associated with DNS operations and enforces security policies based on these identities, including actions like modifying DNS records, flushing caches, and redirecting requests to ensure secure and granular access control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If DNS operations are allowed to proceed without security enhancements, then DNS resolution and other operations function normally, but security is weakened when unauthorized access, data leakage, or expired authentication occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary security checks by determining device identity and user identity before allowing DNS operations to proceed. Security policies are evaluated in advance, and authentication status is verified before resolution requests are fulfilled, preventing unauthorized access, data leakage, or expired authentication issues before they occur
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary security enforcement mechanism is introduced between the DNS resolver and the DNS operation. This intermediary determines device identity, ascertains user identity, evaluates security policies, and enforces authentication status, acting as a mediator that adds security without fundamentally changing the DNS operation flow
2Reliability
If security policies are enforced against DNS operations, then unauthorized access and data leakage are prevented, but additional security checks may delay DNS resolution
Solution Approach 1:
Security checks including device identity determination, user identity ascertainment, and policy evaluation are performed as preliminary actions before DNS resolution. Authentication status is verified in advance, so that once authenticated, the actual DNS resolution can proceed without repeated security checks, minimizing time loss
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments enhance the security of domain name resolution and other DNS operations, by automatically intercepting the DNS operation, determining an associated device identity or ascertaining an associated user identity, and enforcing a security policy based on at least the DNS operation and based on at least one of the identities. Some securable DNS operations include resolution requests, reverse lookups from IP addresses to domain names, DNS record accesses, mail server mappings, redirection, forwarding, and DNS record cache operations. Enforcing the policy includes, e.g., preventing a result requested by the DNS operation, permitting computational progress toward the requested result, allowing a different result, modifying a DNS record, or flushing a DNS record from a cache. In some embodiments, DNS operation security functionality utilizes or implements a conditional access security functionality, thereby providing, e.g., a secure conditional domain name resolution.