Two years ago, I discussed the challenges of creating truly decentralized systems due to structural aspects of the internet. Most distributed systems rely on central, semi-static nodes for initial introductions, like Bitcoin and Tor. DNS, a fundamental part of the internet, is hierarchical and relies on authoritative nameservers. Root DNS servers, consisting of thirteen clusters of anycast sites, ensure internet functionality. Attacks on DNS root servers have occurred but had minimal impact. Surprisingly, in a 2015 attack, fixed domain names were queried, indicating an attack on two Chinese mobile game websites likely directed at root servers by mistake. Such attacks are often attributed to commercial booters using multiple botnets.
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