Enabling DNS over HTTPS (DoH): Advantages and Best Practices

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How will the new DNS over HTTPS (DoH) protocol work. Advantages of DoH and how to implement it smoothly.

A new internet protocol is making headlines in the world of enterprise security: DNS over HTTPS. Even though this is of major interest especially for businesses and organizations, regular users will be impacted by it as well. Are you ready for this cybersecurity revolution yourself?

Here’s what all the fuss is about the new DoH protocol. If done right, the hype around it is well-deserved. Once it’s implemented well, DoH can make network communications much more secure.

The new DNS over HTTPS protocol is still relatively new in the world of network connections. First emerged about two years ago, the new protocol is mostly not implemented yet.

When it comes to browsers, Google seems to be the first to it. They recently announced they plan to roll out DNS over HTTPS in the near future.

This guide will tell you what this means and how you can implement DNS over HTTPS yourself, the changes to expect and so on.

What Is DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and How Does This Protocol Work?

First thing’s first, let’s clear up the basics. Not everyone understands exactly what DNS is and how it works, let alone the new DNS over HTTPS.

DNS definition:

DNS stands for Domain Name Server and it helps computer networks attach various information to each web domain. To put it simply, all Domain Name Servers are basically the fundamental internet address book.

But while people can remember a domain name easily, computers need numbers to understand it. That’s why the DNS system ‘translates’ each domain name into an IP number and assigns this info, together with other details.

A DNS traffic filtering solution is a crucial security layer for businesses and consumers alike. We discussed elsewhere the importance of DNS traffic filtering and what cybercriminals can hope to get from infiltrating it.

Now that we defined DNS and DNS filtering, let’s move on to the new buzzword in cybersecurity news: DNS over HTTPS (DoH).

DNS over HTTPS (DoH) definition:

The new standard released by the IETF enables DNS protocol to be enabled over HTTPS connections (the more secure form of HTTP).

DNS over HTTPS (abbreviated as DoH) is an internet security protocol which communicates domain name server information in an encrypted way over HTTPS connections.
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