DNS
DNS is what translates domain names into IP addresses. It powers the internet as we know it, and this makes it a potential point of failure. That’s why DNS servers are distributed around the globe, but their decentralization is only technical as most of the servers are maintained by large organizations that are influenced by governments and large companies.
Challenge
Since DNS providers can monitor internet traffic, they can potentially hijack users’ internet usage, spy on users and companies, or censor the Internet. We have to trust the organizations in control to not perform malicious actions. In this case, we believe it’s better to trust math and have provable decentralization than have these risks.
What Aleph Zero is doing
Aleph Zero can become the foundation for a truly decentralized DNS service built into web browsers. This would become the technological trust layer of the internet. It would not allow maliciously altering the end IP address on the DNS side, and it would not need certificates vouching for websites’ legitimacy or to encrypt the connection, as it would be a standard. The connection information wouldn’t be stored anywhere, improving privacy. It could even speed up the connection, compared to traditional DNS servers.
