A method and system for authenticating answers to Domain Name System (DNS) queries originating from recursive DNS servers are provided. A verification component provides a verification that a DNS query originated from the recursive DNS server. An authoritative DNS server receives the query via a network, such as the Internet, and provides an answer to the query to an authentication component. The authentication component then provides an authentication, such as a digital signature, which confirms that the received answer was provided by the authoritative DNS server, and then communicates the answer and the authentication to the verification component via the network. The verification component then verifies that the authentication corresponds to the received answer and sends the answer to the recursive DNS server. When the verification component receives an answer in the absence of a corresponding authentication, the verification component drops the answer.