Boosting EU Digital Sovereignty and Security: Introducing DNS4EU

DNS4EU: Strengthening Europe’s Digital Sovereignty with a Secure, Privacy-First Public DNS

Last updated: 9 June 2025

1. Executive Summary

DNS4EU is the European Union’s answer to the dominance of non-EU public DNS resolvers. Operated by a nine-member consortium led by Whalebone and supported by ENISA, it keeps DNS traffic inside EU jurisdiction, applies regional threat intelligence in real time, and complies natively with GDPR. The first public resolver instance became generally available in early June 2025, marking a milestone on the project roadmap. 

2. Why the EU Built Its Own Resolver

• Digital sovereignty – ensure critical resolution data never leaves the Union. 

• Privacy by design – no data monetisation, strict GDPR alignment. 

• Resilience – reduce dependency on a handful of global providers that represent single points of failure or surveillance. 

3. Technical Foundation

Feature	Details	Benefit
Encrypted protocols	DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT)	Blocks passive eavesdropping and tampering
DNSSEC validation	Default on all resolver tiers	Prevents spoofing and cache-poisoning attacks
Knot Resolver 6 core	Maintained by CZ.NIC	High performance, IPv6 ready
Multi-cloud EU hosting	Datapacket + Scaleway + national IXPs	<20 ms latency across most EU capitals
Filtering tiers	Standard, Child-Safe, Ad-Block	One-click policy enforcement for households and SMEs

4. Key Innovations

1. Regional Threat Intelligence Mesh – 20 + national CERTs already exchange IOCs via a shared MISP instance, so a malicious domain blocked in one Member State propagates Union-wide within minutes. 

2. Federated Operations Model – cloud nodes paired with on-prem appliances for telcos and governments, balancing agility with regulatory control. 

3. Built-in Policy Engine – fine-grained filtering that can align with the Digital Services Act and upcoming eIDAS2 mandates.

5. Current Status and Roadmap

Phase	Timeline	Highlights
Pilot (Jan 2023-Dec 2024)	Test bed with academic networks; 500-member stakeholder community formed.
Public Launch (Jun 2025)	Resolver IPs and bootstrap guides released to the public.
Telco & Gov Deployment (2025-2026)	Bulk onboarding of ISPs and national agencies; SLAs for critical infrastructure.
Post-project Continuity (2026+)	Self-funded model via premium security tiers and data-sharing agreements.

6. Benefits vs. Risks

Benefits

• Reduces exposure to non-EU surveillance, boosting compliance posture.

• Offers granular protection (malware, phishing, adult content) without third-party add-ons.

• Low-friction adoption – change two resolver IPs or push via DHCP/MDM.

Risks & Mitigations

Risk	Mitigation
Misconfiguration causing service loss	Auto-fallback to secondary EU nodes; clear rollback guides
Supply-chain vulnerabilities in hosting partners	Mandatory EU-based providers with continuous SOC-2 audits
Over-blocking or policy drift	Transparent block-lists, appeals process, daily threat-intel updates

7. Integration Playbook for Enterprises

1. Assess Current Resolver Footprint – inventory hard-coded DNS settings in endpoints, servers, and cloud VPCs.

2. Pilot in Monitor-Only Mode – point a subset of devices to the Standard tier, export logs to SIEM for 30 days.

3. Enable Filtering Policies – map Child-Safe or Ad-Block profiles to specific OU or VLAN groups.

4. Automate Rollout – use GPO, Intune, or DHCP option 6 for bulk deployment; update IaC scripts for cloud stacks.

5. Review Compliance Evidence – store Whalebone’s ISO 27001 and GDPR RoPA docs in your GRC platform.

8. Conclusion

DNS4EU offers European organisations a clear path to stronger privacy, tighter regulatory alignment, and reduced geopolitical risk in DNS resolution. Early adopters can gain these benefits now, while shaping the service’s evolution through the growing stakeholder community. Rescana stands ready to streamline your transition, mitigate third-party risk, and keep your DNS stack both secure and sovereign.