dns-witness · about & watchlist

A verifiable, tamper-evident record of how a set of watched organizations' internet infrastructure behaves over time. ← live report

What this records (and what it doesn't)

This is not a reputation database for judging unknown domains. It is the opposite: it proactively watches a known list of organizations and records their DNS and certificate infrastructure over time — where their records resolve, under whose networks (ASN) and in which countries, their DNSSEC validation status, and new subdomains appearing in Certificate Transparency.

Every observation is cryptographically signed and hash-chained; the log head is anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain; and independent nodes can witness it — so the history can be independently verified as un-altered and un-backdated. The purpose is change detection and verifiable evidence: noticing when a watched entity's infrastructure shifts (moves jurisdiction, a DNSSEC signature breaks, a new subdomain appears) and being able to prove what was true, and when.

The watchlist

A demonstration hotlist of organizations prominent in current trade- and technology-competition discourse, monitored symmetrically — entities designated by both sides — to keep the lens neutral.

About the "designation" column: these are publicly-reported official designations, listed for reference only — verify against primary sources before relying on them. A listing reflects a government's action, not any assessment by this project, and designations change frequently.

Domain	Organization	Country	Designation (publicly reported)	By
China entities designated by the United States
huawei.com	Huawei	China	FCC Covered List; BIS Entity List	FCC; US Commerce (BIS)
zte.com.cn	ZTE	China	FCC Covered List; BIS Entity List	FCC; US Commerce (BIS)
smics.com	SMIC	China	BIS Entity List; DoD 1260H	US Commerce (BIS); US DoD
dji.com	DJI	China	DoD 1260H; FCC Covered List; Treasury NS-CMIC	US DoD; FCC; US Treasury (OFAC)
catl.com	CATL	China	DoD 1260H (Jan 2025)	US DoD
US entities designated by China
mpmaterials.com	MP Materials	USA	MOFCOM export-control list (Jun 2026)	China MOFCOM
micron.com	Micron	USA	Barred from critical information infrastructure (2023 review)	China CAC
lockheedmartin.com	Lockheed Martin	USA	Sanctions over Taiwan arms sales	China MOFCOM / MFA
anduril.com	Anduril	USA	—	—
intel.com	Intel	USA	—	—
Strategically contested (not formally designated unless noted)
asml.com	ASML	Netherlands	Advanced-tool exports to China restricted (export controls, not an entity list)	Netherlands; US
tsmc.com	TSMC	Taiwan	— (strategically central)	—
arm.com	Arm	UK	—	—
kaspersky.com	Kaspersky	Russia	BIS ICTS prohibition (2024); BIS Entity List; OFAC (executives)	US Commerce (BIS); US Treasury (OFAC)
thalesgroup.com	Thales	France	—	—

The signals

ASN / country — whose network and which jurisdiction an IP sits in; a shift is a key signal.
DNSSEC — secure / insecure / bogus; a signed domain dropping to bogus alongside an IP change is a high-confidence hijack indicator.
Vantage — the same name resolved from different viewpoints (resolver / EDNS Client Subnet); disagreement across vantages reveals geofencing.
CT — new certificates in Certificate Transparency reveal new subdomains / infrastructure as they appear.

References & primary lists

FCC Covered List — fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist
BIS Entity List / Consolidated Screening List — trade.gov/consolidated-screening-list
DoD 1260H (Chinese Military Companies) — Federal Register, Jan 2025
OFAC sanctions lists (SDN, NS-CMIC) — ofac.treasury.gov
China MOFCOM — english.mofcom.gov.cn

Reporting referenced for specific designations: CATL added to 1260H (CNN); Kaspersky prohibition + Entity List (BIS); MP Materials / USA Rare Earth added to China's export-control list (MINING.COM).

Don't trust this page — verify it. The signed log is at /observations.jsonl, the public key at /public_key.pem. Source: github.com/standalonedefense/dns-witness.