A DDoS is a very disruptive attack. Every online organization and business can suffer. Criminals don’t stop targeting victims. Therefore we can’t let our guard down! We have to be ready to stop them!
DDoS attack definition
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is defined as a criminal attempt to affect the regular operation of a targeted network, service, application, or server by saturating it with huge loads of malicious traffic. Different techniques are used by criminals to create, amplify, and send the traffic loads that are needed to shut down a target. What makes these attacks very effective is that traffic comes not from one but from many different sources. Multiple compromised devices around the world can take part in a DDoS attack. This makes a DDoS attack hard to stop and the attacker difficult to track.
The immediate objective of a DDoS attack is to cripple the target, to shut it down so users can’t access it. When they require the domain, service, or application, the only thing they will receive is a denial of service. Behind a DDoS attack, there can be other criminal objectives like extortion, data breach, a boycott of a competitor, or even a proof-of-concept.
How to stop a DDoS attack?
There are different security measures that organizations can take to help prevent or stop a DDoS attack. Here you have the most effective!
- Traffic scrubbing or filtering
Both involve analyzing incoming traffic and removing or blocking malicious or unwanted traffic before it reaches a network, application, or server. It is an effective protection against DDoS attacks by preventing the attacker’s traffic from overwhelming the system. Furthermore, different Monitoring services can help you in detecting malicious incoming traffic.
- Acquiring a DDoS protection service
Many DDoS protection services are available, and they usually combine the above methods with other techniques to prevent or stop DDoS attacks.
- Implementing a network firewall
A network firewall prevents unauthorized traffic from reaching a network or server and can be configured to block or filter traffic based on various criteria, such as source IP address, destination port, or type of traffic.
- Getting a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A CDN is a distributed network of servers that can be used to deliver content to users more quickly and efficiently. A CDN can help mitigate the effects of a DDoS attack by redirecting traffic away from the targeted server and distributing it across the CDN’s network of servers. In addtion, you can create your own CND with DNS to achieve this aim.
- Set up Private DNS server
A Private DNS server helps to protect your website from being impacted by DDoS attacks, and it can also help to protect your privacy. It can also assist in improving your online security, as it can aid in protecting your computer from being hijacked or hacked.
- Using a web application firewall (WAF)
A WAF is a specialized firewall designed to protect web applications from various types of attacks, including DDoS. A WAF can be configured to block or filter traffic based on specific rules and can help protect against common web application vulnerabilities and attacks.
Conclusion
There are different strategies and techniques to prevent or stop a DDoS attack. The best approach will depend on the specificities of your organization. What is a must is to fortify your defenses because DDoS attacks are a real danger! Not a joke at all!