Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) – Can you stop them?

As the name suggests Distributed Denial of Service is a popular attack on a distributed machine instead of a single computer. In this type of an attack the hackers attack different devices from different locations, making it difficult for the organisation to trace the attacker. The attack was first seen in the year 1990s and it was the era of the Dial-up connection.

A DDoS attack is aimed at disturbing and confusing the companies to steal private information and bring disrepute to the organisation.

Cybersecurity researchers at Netscout say that there were 5.4 million DDoS attacks in the first half of 2021. When In comparison with last year it is a solid 11% rise in the cases. It is the most effective cyberattack when infrastructure is bombarded with repeat requests for access, the authorised users are denied access leaving your company in distress.

A DDoS attack can happen on computers, servers, IoT, etc. The original owner will not be aware that their device has been compromised. The cyber criminals are adapting to new techniques to refine their attacks to even break the cloud defense and the on-premise defences.
Preventing DDoS attacks
Only a foolproof plan can protect the organisation from DDoS attacks. Though, it cannot completely protect you from an attack, it can definitely reduce the intensity and frequency of the attack.

Microsoft in August 2021 mitigated a DDoS attack as it peaked at a bandwidth of 2.4 terabytes per second (Tbps). The attack lasted 10 minutes with bouts of high traffic, aiming at putting the site offline. Microsoft informed that though the customers did not experience any downtime, it could have led to severe financial damage, if it was successful.

SMOAD devices cannot completely prevent a DDoS attack but can reduce its severity and longevity by giving quick alerts through logs and analytics. Since it comes from a random source it is hard to trace, but if you are sure it is coming from a specific location, then that region can be disabled temporarily. This way you can ensure the attack does not peak, leading to major financial strain to your organisation.