DNS Security
Posture Checklist
What to actually check, fix, and document against NIST SP 800-81r3 — the first update to the federal DNS security guide in over 12 years.
NIST published SP 800-81r3 on March 19, 2026, the first update to the federal DNS security guide in over 12 years. The philosophy behind it is a major shift: DNS is no longer just infrastructure to protect. It is an active security layer that should be protecting you. This checklist gives you the practical version: six areas to check against the new standard, with clear actions and a prioritization framework.
6 Areas to Check Against the New Standard
Each area includes specific items to verify, fix, or document in your environment.
Protective DNS
Deploy a DNS resolver with threat intelligence that blocks malicious domains in real time. The single highest-impact DNS control per dollar.
Encrypted DNS Audit
DoT, DoH, and DoQ are all formally covered now. Browser DoH bypass is specifically called out as a risk that kills your DNS visibility.
DNSSEC Crypto
The guide prefers ECDSA and Edwards-curve algorithms over RSA. Key rotation should be automated — manual management is the 2013 approach.
Dangling DNS Records
Subdomain takeover via dangling CNAME records is now a formally documented threat. First time NIST has addressed it explicitly.
DNS Logs to SIEM
DNS query logs should feed your SIEM and correlate with DHCP lease history to map IPs to specific assets during incident response.
Architecture Review
The 2013 architectural recommendations are still valid, but worth confirming — especially after cloud migrations that quietly break clean separation.
What's Inside
Everything you need to assess your DNS security posture against the new standard.
Actionable Checklist Items
Specific questions to verify across all six areas — not abstract guidance, but concrete items you can check today.
Prioritization Framework
A ranked order for where to start based on risk reduction per dollar and per hour — so you fix the highest-impact gaps first.
New Threat Coverage
Protective DNS, subdomain takeover, and browser DoH bypass — the new threats NIST formally addressed for the first time.
NIST SP 800-81r3 Alignment
Every checklist item maps directly to the updated standard so you can document compliance and remediation plans.
"DNS is no longer something you protect. It is something you use to protect everything else."
Voke Cyber helps organizations understand their real attack surface, not just what a compliance checklist says. If your DNS posture has never been formally assessed, that is a conversation worth having.
Need Help With Your DNS Security Posture?
Our team can assess your DNS infrastructure against the new NIST standard and identify gaps before attackers do.