Key Highlights
- The EU’s NIS2 Directive and ENISA’s Technical Implementation Guidance explicitly call out DNS as a part of cybersecurity risk management.
- NIST’s updated SP 800-81 Secure DNS Deployment Guide treats DNS as a foundational security control, not just a naming service.
- This combination of regulations means public sector organizations in Scotland and across Europe must take DNS more seriously for compliance and resilience.
- ENISA provides guidance on implementing NIS2, including best practices for DNS security like deploying DNSSEC and protective DNS services.
The Rise of DNS: From Background Service to Cybersecurity Foundation
For years, Domain Name System (DNS) has been the unsung hero in cybersecurity. Everyone relied on it; few wanted to talk about it. But with the EU’s NIS2 Directive and ENISA’s Technical Implementation Guidance, DNS is now explicitly called out as part of the cybersecurity risk management story, not just a background service.
NIST’s Updated Role
Enter NIST’s updated SP 800-81 Secure DNS Deployment Guide. This guide doesn’t just treat DNS as a naming service; it recognizes DNS as a security control in its own right, underpinning zero trust and Protective DNS use cases.
The New Normal: Compliance with NIS2
For public sector organizations in Scotland and across Europe, this is no longer an option. NIS2 sets the obligations, ENISA explains what “good” looks like, and NIST provides the technical playbook. Take, for example, ENISA’s mapping from NIS2 to ISO 27001:2022, NIST Cybersecurity Framework v2.0, ETSI Standard EN 319 401 V3.1.1, and others.
Resilience and Good Practices
In section 6.7 of the guidance, ENISA points to a set of DNS security good practices that are “indicative, not exhaustive.” These include deploying DNSSEC, protective DNS wherever technically feasible, encrypting DNS traffic (internal and external), and using dedicated DNS servers.
A Practical Roadmap for Compliance
For any regulated entity under NIS2 or not, this is a glimpse into the future of cyber regulations. Here’s how you might start: make DNS resilient by design, ensuring critical services aren’t single points of failure; raise the bar on DNS hygiene with regular checks for stale records and misconfigurations; introduce or strengthen protective DNS to block known bad destinations.
Align your DNS logging strategy with incident response and reporting obligations. This will give you a concrete, globally recognized baseline that ENISA itself references, helping you make your case when regulators come to audit you.
The Bottom Line: Essential for Resilience
No matter if your organization is regulated under NIS2 or not, DNS is now an essential part of demonstrating cyber risk management. If you want resilient services and defensible compliance, it’s time to get DNS “done right” – resilient architecture, good hygiene, Protective DNS, and usable logging.
And as ENISA now makes clear: if you’re serious about cybersecurity, DNS can no longer be an afterthought. It’s a foundational part of your security strategy.