How can DDoS attacks be stopped and prevented to protect companies?

DDoS attacks are becoming an increasingly serious concern for organizations around the world.

As reported by securitymagazine.com, compared with Q4 of 2020, total attack volume in Q1 of 2021 rose by 31%, while the total number of attacks declined by 2%. The largest attack recorded in Q1 of 2021 reached 295Gbps, up from 260Gbps in Q4 of 2020.

As a result, for businesses that conduct a significant portion of their operations online, protecting server infrastructures and web applications is no longer optional.

A successfully executed DDoS attack can harm a business’s reputation. It can also damage client relationships and cause a company to lose thousands of dollars.

The problem is so severe that major enterprises are losing upwards of $40,000 per hour because of DDoS attacks. In addition, smaller businesses are suffering significant damage. Cyber-attacks can be severe enough to potentially bring a business to an end.

Nevertheless, as serious as DDoS attacks sound, they can be avoided, or their effect could be lessened through correct vulnerability assessment and managementIt comes down to following the correct approach and making informed decisions. Naturally, DDoS protection is of the utmost importance.

That said, in this post, we will explain everything you need to know about DDoS attacks. This includes what they are, the types of DDoS attacks, DDoS mitigation techniques, DDoS protection, and how to stop a DDoS attack.

What is a DDoS Attack?

DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service is one of the most popular cyber-attacks of the 21st-century. The main objective of this type of online attack is to overwhelm your web server by taking it down entirely or crippling it from further functioning.

The attacker employs a variety of tools, including bots, and distributed machines in different locations, to repeatedly flood the server with signals. They continue until your server cannot perform even the simplest requests from users.

Simply put, DDoS attackers target critical services by overwhelming the network with malicious traffic. They use many malware-infected devices and computers to target one system. When this occurs, the website or app cannot respond or crashes.

Although hackers primarily target financial institutions and large businesses, SMEs are also at risk.

That is why it is essential for any organization, whether small or large, to learn about these attackers in order to stop a DDoS attack and ensure complete DDoS protection.

Types of DDoS Attacks

Since a Distributed Denial of Service attack is launched from multiple compromised devices, attackers use various methods to carry out the strategy. In other words, there are different types of DDoS attacks that can be categorized according to their effect on the server.

In essence, there are three categories of DDoS attacks.

Volumetric Attacks

Volumetric attacks are the traditional DDoS attacks. This approach generates large traffic volumes. It fills the server’s bandwidth, causing a traffic jam and making it hard, and almost impossible, for legitimate traffic to move in and out. This is the most frequently observed type of DDoS attack, and its magnitude is measured in bits per second (Bps). Within this attack category, there are particular DDoS attack styles that should be known.

• DNS Amplification: DNS amplification is a volumetric attack type that is typically an amplified reflection attack, damaging bandwidth by raising the outbound flow of traffic. Attackers employ a technique of requesting information from the server. By compromising the reply-to address, the server produces large volumes of data and sends it back to the server.
• ICMP and UDP Floods: Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) pings, echo requests, or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets are typical volumetric attacks that saturate host resources until the service is overwhelmed. The method is set up so that the malicious packets or echo requests seem to originate from the victim. Consequently, the server returns the response to itself.

Application Layer Attacks

Application layer attacks are viewed as the advanced form of DDoS attack, in which hackers leverage weaknesses in the application layer. The chief aim of the recent DDoS attack is to take down the server. The attack’s magnitude is measured in requests per second (Rps). It functions by exploiting the application layer, or Layer 7, by opening connections and making transaction and process requests. This leads to the use of limited resources such as available memory and disk space.

• HTTP Flood: Within application layer attacks, HTTP floods are the most common. Attackers use a method in which interactions from web browsers seem like normal user activities. In reality, these interactions are coordinated to drain as many webserver resources as possible.

Protocol Attacks

The final entry in this segment is protocol attacks, which are created and engineered to consume the processing capacity of network infrastructure resources, such as load balancing, firewalls, and servers, by targeting Layer 3 and Layer 4 protocol communications. Attackers use malicious connection requests to start the attack. The attack magnitude is measured in packets per second (Pps). Protocol attacks contain several different attack styles.

• Ping of Death: This is a kind of protocol attack intended to cause server-side system malfunction. In a normal ping attack, it simply crashes bandwidth through sheer volume. In the Ping of Death, however, the hacker exploits vulnerabilities within a targeted system through packet content. This makes the website freeze.

• SYN Flood: This is a common protocol attack that evades the 3-way handshake process used to establish TCP connections between servers and clients. It operates by making the initial synchronization requests in rapid succession. This causes the web server to hang.

How to Stop DDoS Attack?

As denial of service attacks keep growing, businesses need a hybrid and blended approach to counter the effect. Listed below are some mitigation methods you can use to stop a DDoS attack.

Have a DDoS Playbook

A DDoS playbook will help you document in detail every step involved in a pre-planned response during an attack. The playbook should include actions, contact names, phone numbers, and so on.

Identify the DDoS attack early On

The most effective method for mitigating a DDoS attack is to detect it early. The sooner you recognize suspicious activities, the faster you can halt the attack.

Provision Additional Bandwidth

Providing excess bandwidth can enable your web server to handle unexpected extra traffic.

Physically Limit Your Server

This is an important point to remember. Restricting access to your server room to a small number of people can help keep its integrity from being compromised. You must identify the correct solutions according to the anticipated cyber threats.

Call Your Hosting Provider

Tell your ISP or hosting provider about the attack right away and ask for help. Depending on the attack magnitude, your ISP may have already detected the attack and begun working to mitigate it. Alternatively, they may even be overwhelmed by the attack.

Call a DDoS Specialist

When the attack is severe, call a DDoS expert without delay. DDoS specialist companies exist that focus on helping businesses mitigate and block the issue. Their model is that if your company suffers a DDoS attack, the specialist will redirect all your traffic to them.

Use a CDN

A content delivery network, or CDN, is a distributed set of servers that collaborate to deliver internet content swiftly and promptly. A CDN helps increase your website speed and ensures that harmful traffic is pushed away from your site.

Practice Basic Network Security

Finally, adopting DDoS best practices is advised to prevent advanced attacks. This begins with your basic network security. You must secure your network with strong and complex passwords, engage in anti-phishing activities, reinforce your firewalls, and update your passwords regularly.

What Can I Do to Stop a DDoS Attack?

To keep a DDoS attack from occurring, it is essential to know what it is and how it can harm your business reputation. Be sure to partner with a professional DDoS specialist who can guide you through the entire process and provide access to best practices.

Services like Cloudflare DDoS are highly recommended because they provide a content delivery network, internet security services, and distributed domain name server services, positioned between the visitor and the hosting provider of the user and serving as a reverse proxy for websites.