The number of DDoS attacks has been rising continuously. Most companies are focusing on preventing malware-related attacks during this coronavirus outbreak. However, you should still give top priority to DDoS attacks. It is important to ensure that your critical infrastructure is always running. In this article, we are going to share some tips that will help you in preventing these attacks.
Definition of DDoS attacks:
DDoS is a cyber-attack that only targets your critical systems. It disrupts network connectivity or service of companies. Thus, you can’t access these services. Most hackers are using a botnet or malware-infected computers for launching this attack. These attacks can forcibly crash your entire network.
A DDoS attack uses the principles of networking for attacking servers. It will send thousands of requests to a server. Your server will process these requests and will try to determine the identity, credentials, and origin of these data packets. Thus, your servers will waste a lot of time in processing these requests. Hackers don’t want to gain access to your server. They only want to crash your entire server. Your server will eventually crash after some time. It will also take your entire network down if you are not using any backup solution.
DDoS is probably the simplest cyberattack. Hackers only need access to a botnet. They can use malware for infecting multiple systems of normal users. After that, they will use these systems for sending malicious requests to the targeted server. These volumetric attacks have enough power to take down a whole server. Sometimes they will also use other strategies for attacking a system from a different direction.
If your servers are down, then it can cause serious damage to your business. You can’t access your critical applications and data. Also, you will lose a lot of revenue due to this downtime. It can also damage your digital infrastructure. We are going to share some tips that will help you in mitigating these attacks.
-
Create a DDoS Response Plan
You should work on creating a DDoS response plan. Large enterprises have a very complex IT infrastructure. Thus, they need to involve multiple teams in their response plan. You can’t think about this plan after a DDoS attack. It is important to define all the procedures in advance. This will help you in enabling prompt reactions. Also, you can avoid the impacts of a DDoS attack.
Your DDoS response plan will depend on your infrastructure. It is important to ensure that your data center is prepared for a DDoS attack. You should have a team that knows their responsibility. This will help you in minimizing the effect of a DDoS attack.
-
Secure your network infrastructure
You need to use multi-level protection strategies for protecting your network. This will include solutions like the threat management system and intrusion prevention. Also, you need to combine content filtering, VPN, anti-spam, and load balancing. These techniques will help you in preventing a DDoS attack. You need to identify traffic inconsistency in your network.
Most network equipment can’t protect them from DDoS attacks. Thus, you should consider working with a third-party provider. You can also work with a cloud services provider. They already have access to advanced mitigation tools.
You should update all your systems. Outdated systems can act as a loophole in your network. DDoS attackers are always looking for outdated systems. If you are regularly patching your software, then it will close some loopholes in your network.
-
Create a strong network
You should also focus on maintaining a strong network architecture. If one of your servers is not working, then other servers will handle the traffic. The best way to protect yourself from DDoS attacks is by spreading your servers. You should place your servers in different geographical locations.
-
Use cloud platform
You should outsource DDoS prevention to other cloud service providers. The cloud providers have access to more bandwidth. Also, they have more resources when compared to any private network. If you are only relying on your in-house servers, then your plan will mostly fail.
Cloud will also help you in diffusing your resources. Cloud-based applications won’t direct the malicious traffic to your servers. These cloud-based services are constantly monitored by software engineers. Thus, they will make sure that all your applications are up-to-date.
The cloud environment will depend on your applications and data. The hybrid environment is perfect for almost every company.
-
Check for warning signs
There are many symptoms of any cyberattack. You should look for spotty connectivity problems and network slowdown. Every network has some problems. However, if your network is experiencing a severe issue, then someone is attacking your servers. Your IT department should immediately start mitigating the attack.
-
DDoS-as-a-Service
This service will provide better flexibility for your infrastructure. It will help you in combining both third party and in-house resources. Also, you can work with a cloud hosting at the same time. DDoS-as-a-service will ensure that you are meeting all the security compliance and standards. The best thing about this service is that you can create a custom solution for your architecture. This service is perfect for both small and large companies. It can help you in mitigating DDoS attacks.
Conclusion
In the past, DDoS attacks were a problem for only massive enterprises. However, it has slowly become a problem for both small and medium-sized enterprises. Thus, it is important to implement a multi-layered security approach. This will help you in providing protection to your workloads. The threat landscape and security technologies are evolving with time. However, most small companies can’t keep up with these trends. Thus, you should consider working with a third-party provider. They will help you in protecting your network architecture from attackers. This is probably the best solution for every enterprise. If you need more security tips, then you can contact Bleuwire.
Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.
