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Traffic Centralization and Digital Sovereignty: An Analysis Under the Lens of DNS Servers

Demétrio F. Boeira, Eder J. Scheid, Muriel F. Franco, Luciano Zembruzki, Lisandro Z. Granville

TL;DR

The paper tackles the problem of DNS centralization and its impact on digital sovereignty by proposing a measurement framework that maps popular domains to authoritative NS records and then to AS operators and countries via CAIDA datasets, using the Tranco top domain list. It identifies the top-10 DNS providers and quantifies centralization, finding an average concentration around one third of domains, with peaks approaching forty percent. Country-focused analyses for BRICS and the EU reveal substantial US-based hosting and varying levels of national hosting, raising sovereignty concerns for critical infrastructure. The study highlights the need for cross-disciplinary policy and technical approaches to mitigate centralization risks and preserve sovereign control over digital infrastructure, while outlining future work to expand coverage and capabilities.

Abstract

The Domain Name System (DNS) service is one of the pillars of the Internet. This service allows users to access websites on the Internet through easy-to-remember domain names rather than complex numeric IP addresses. DNS acts as a directory that translates the domain names into a corresponding IP address, allowing communication between computers on different networks. However, the concentration of DNS service providers on the Internet affects user security, privacy, and network accessibility. The reliance on a small number of large DNS providers can lead to (a) risks of data breaches and disruption of service in the event of failures and (b) concerns about the digital sovereignty of countries regarding DNS hosting. In this sense, this work approaches this issue of DNS concentration on the Internet by presenting a solution to measure DNS hosting centralization and digital sovereignty in countries. With the data obtained through these measurements, relevant questions are answered, such as which are the top-10 DNS providers, if there is DNS centralization, and how dependent countries are on such providers.

Traffic Centralization and Digital Sovereignty: An Analysis Under the Lens of DNS Servers

TL;DR

The paper tackles the problem of DNS centralization and its impact on digital sovereignty by proposing a measurement framework that maps popular domains to authoritative NS records and then to AS operators and countries via CAIDA datasets, using the Tranco top domain list. It identifies the top-10 DNS providers and quantifies centralization, finding an average concentration around one third of domains, with peaks approaching forty percent. Country-focused analyses for BRICS and the EU reveal substantial US-based hosting and varying levels of national hosting, raising sovereignty concerns for critical infrastructure. The study highlights the need for cross-disciplinary policy and technical approaches to mitigate centralization risks and preserve sovereign control over digital infrastructure, while outlining future work to expand coverage and capabilities.

Abstract

The Domain Name System (DNS) service is one of the pillars of the Internet. This service allows users to access websites on the Internet through easy-to-remember domain names rather than complex numeric IP addresses. DNS acts as a directory that translates the domain names into a corresponding IP address, allowing communication between computers on different networks. However, the concentration of DNS service providers on the Internet affects user security, privacy, and network accessibility. The reliance on a small number of large DNS providers can lead to (a) risks of data breaches and disruption of service in the event of failures and (b) concerns about the digital sovereignty of countries regarding DNS hosting. In this sense, this work approaches this issue of DNS concentration on the Internet by presenting a solution to measure DNS hosting centralization and digital sovereignty in countries. With the data obtained through these measurements, relevant questions are answered, such as which are the top-10 DNS providers, if there is DNS centralization, and how dependent countries are on such providers.
Paper Structure (12 sections, 7 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 12 sections, 7 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background and Related Work
  3. Measurement Approach
  4. Evaluation and Analysis
  5. Identifying Top-10 DNS Providers
  6. Measuring DNS Centralization
  7. Analyzing Digital Sovereignty
  8. BRICS Domains
  9. European Union
  10. Hosting Governmental Domains
  11. Discussion and Key Observations
  12. Conclusion and Future Work

Figures (7)

  • Figure 1: Overview of the Approach to Analysis Domains
  • Figure 2: NS Resolution Flow Example
  • Figure 3: Concentration on Top-10 DNS Providers over 3 Months
  • Figure 4: Results from the BRICS Domains Separated by ccTLD
  • Figure 5: Results from the Aggregated BRICS Domains
  • ...and 2 more figures