Your basic security system can’t protect your business from massive DDoS attacks. You will lose access to your website and systems due to a massive DDoS attack. Dyn was recently hit by a massive DDoS attack and they are still trying to rebuild their reputation. They lost more than 8% of their business revenue. Thus, DDoS attacks are a nightmare for businesses. In this article, we are going to share best practices that will help you in preventing DDoS attacks.

Definition of DDoS attacks:

It is a simple form of cyber attack where attackers will target your critical systems. They will try to disrupt network connectivity or service by using a denial of service. Attackers will send the excess amount of requests to your servers. They can use multiple botnets or malware-infected PCs for targeting your business.

According to a report from Neustar, the average damage caused by DDoS attacks is $250,000 per hour. Thus, it is very important to protect your business from these attacks.

How to protect your business from DDoS attacks?

The DDoS attacks are evolving with time. They are growing in frequency and volume. Most attackers are using a hybrid approach for attacking businesses. You need early threat detection systems for detecting these attacks.

These attacks will target your infrastructure, applications, and data at the same time. You need a battle plan for dealing with these attacks. Some of the best practices that you can follow for protecting your business are:

Develop a Response plan

You should create a DDoS prevention plan by conducting a security assessment first. If you have a large company, then you will have access to complex infrastructure. Thus, there is no time to assess the situation during a real attack. You need to develop your DDoS Response plan in advance.

If you take the first step correctly during an attack, then you can easily stop it. Make sure that your data centers are prepared for these attacks. Also, your employees should know about their roles and responsibilities. This will help you in minimizing the impact of these attacks.

You should create a list of all the systems that you are using. Also, you should create a response team. Make sure that your team members know about the escalation and notification procedures.

Secure your infrastructure

If you want to protect your business from network security threats, then you should consider using a multi-level protection strategy. This strategy will include advanced firewalls, VPN, intrusion prevention systems, and content filtering. These tools will provide consistent and constant network protection to your network. They will help you in identifying traffic inconsistencies. Also, they will help you in blocking these attacks.

Most network equipment can’t deal with DDoS attacks. Thus, you might need to outsource some services. There are various cloud-based solutions that will give you access to advanced protection and mitigation resources. This is perfect for SMBs as they have access to a limited security budget.

You should also ensure that all your applications and systems are up-to-date. If you are using outdated systems, then attackers can easily find a backdoor in your network. It is important to regularly patch your entire IT infrastructure. You should install new software for protecting your network from known attacks.

These attacks are generally very complex in nature. Thus, it is impossible to protect your network until you are using the right systems. You should use intrusion prevention systems as they will help you in finding anomalies in your traffic. Also, you should invest your money into building a strong infrastructure.

Basic Network security

The best way to protect your network is by reducing the chances of user error. You should implement the best security practices. These practices will help you in protecting your network from attacks. You should use complex passwords for protecting your user accounts. Also, your employees should change their passwords after some regular interval of time. You should deploy firewalls and anti-phishing methods for protecting your network. These measures will act as a solid security foundation. However, you should still implement advanced security solutions for protecting your network.

Strong Network architecture

You should focus on creating a strong network architecture. It is important to work on creating redundant network resources. If one of your servers is attacked, then you can re-route the traffic to some other server. These servers should be located in different geographical locations. If you have access to spread-out resources, then it will become very difficult to attack your business.

Use cloud technology

You can also use cloud-based services for dealing with these attacks. The cloud services have access to more bandwidth. You can’t match the capacity of the resource of cloud providers. If you are relying only on your on-premises hardware, then you are doing a big mistake.

The cloud servers will absorb the malicious traffic before it can reach your servers. These cloud-based services are mostly operated by IT professionals. Their main job is to protect their users from DDoS attacks.

You should find the right cloud environment for your business. This will vary according to your industry type. Most companies like hybrid environments as it provides the right balance between flexibility and security. You can develop your custom solutions if you are using a hybrid cloud.

Warning Sings

DDoS attacks will first slow down your network. You might see spotty connectivity on your company intranet. Also, sometimes your website can shut down for some time due to a DDoS attack. These are the symptoms of DDoS attacks. If you think that your network performance is bad, then maybe you are hit by a DDoS attack. You should initiate your DDoS response plan and protect your resources.

Conclusion

DDoS attacks are becoming a headache for SMBs also. Attackers are now even targeting small and medium-sized companies. Thus, you should focus on building a multi-layered security solution. You should also consider working with a good MSSP. Experienced MSSPs like Bleuwire can help you in protecting your business from attackers. They will help you in creating a response plan which you can use for protecting your business. Also, they will help you in creating a strong IT infrastructure. If you need more information regarding DDoS mitigation strategies, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.