How the Consumer Product Safety Commission is (Inadvertently) Behind the Internet’s Largest DDoS Attacks

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is indirectly responsible for facilitating some of the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the Internet due to a misconfigured Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) implementation. DNSSEC is designed to prevent cache poisoning, but when implemented incorrectly it can be used by attackers to amplify their DDoS attacks. The CPSC's DNS zone file is currently over 4,000 bytes long and could be reduced to around 1,389 bytes without compromising any functionality or security. This would significantly reduce the maximum possible DNS reflection attack size using the CPSC's domain. The misconfigured DNSSEC implementation includes a number of mistakes that can be fixed by choosing better encryption algorithms, eliminating redundant records, and optimizing other aspects of their configuration. The CPSC could also benefit from implementing anti-DNS reflection protections similar to those offered by CloudFlare's DNS infrastructure. In order to prevent future misconfigurations like this one, it is important for organizations to ensure that they have proper training and resources in place when setting up and managing their DNS records. Additionally, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) should consider implementing stricter standards or guidelines for configuring DNSSEC to help reduce the likelihood of similar issues arising in the future. Overall, while it may seem like a small issue, fixing misconfigured DNS zones can have a significant impact on reducing the potential harm caused by DDoS attacks and improving the overall security and stability of the Internet as a whole.