Defaults.Exposed › Methodology › v7 registry › DNSSEC (DNSKEY)
DNSSEC (DNSKEY)
Methodology v7 · canonical ID dnssec-dnskey · DNS Security · scored · census as of July 28, 2026
The signing key that makes DNSSEC protection actually work.
Definition
| Canonical ID | dnssec-dnskey |
|---|---|
| Category | DNS Security |
| Grade impact | Scored — counts toward the grade |
| Pass | The zone publishes DNSKEY records that validate against the DS record. |
| Fail | DNSKEY is missing or does not validate (signed-but-broken). |
| Example (passing) | example.com. IN DNSKEY 257 3 13 mdsswUyr… |
No-data rule: when this check couldn't be determined for a domain (timeout, SERVFAIL, redacted
source) it returns N/A and is excluded from that domain's scoring denominator — "couldn't determine"
is never counted as a failure. "Determined absent" is a real fail.
Prevalence across the census
6.28% of graded domains have a valid, fully validating DNSSEC chain (17,317,905 of 275,666,275, as of July 28, 2026).
The census reports DNSSEC as a single signed-and-validating measure — not split into DS vs DNSKEY. A further share are signed but broken.
Census denominator: 275,666,275 graded domains. Aggregates only — never an individual domain's result.
Fix it
Plain-English impact, cost of ignoring it, and step-by-step remediation: defaults.exposed/en/fix/dnssec
Cite this check
Defaults.Exposed, "DNSSEC (DNSKEY) (dnssec-dnskey)", Grading Methodology v7 (census as of July 28, 2026). https://defaults.exposed/methodology/v7/dnssec-dnskey
Permalink: https://defaults.exposed/methodology/v7/dnssec-dnskey ·
All 34 checks: v7 registry ·
Machine-readable: checks.json ·
Licence: open data