A DDoS attack can happen to anyone.

In the past, it has hit Twitter, Telegram, GitHub, and the
BBC. Whole governments, like those of Ecuador and Estonia, have had their
websites knocked out by it. 

This is not a rare threat. Every year, numerous
organizations suffer from targeted DDoS attacks, launched at them by malicious
agents from unknown locations. It causes their websites and networks to shut down
and makes them lose millions of otherwise productive hours.

That’s a lot of revenues foregone. In the United States
alone, businesses lose $10 billion annually because of these incidents. And
with these attacks growing in other parts of the globe, there’s reason to be
wary of the threat that they pose.

Your organization could be at risk, regardless of where you
are.

But what are DDoS attacks? How do they work?

What is a DDoS
Attack?

A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is a type of
DoS attack.

In a DoS attack, a malicious agent attempts to overwhelm
their victim’s networks with fake traffic. For instance, they could send a lot
of false requests to the victim website. The aim here is to stuff the network
so much that people with real requests cannot get through to the website.

A regular DoS is launched from a single user device. But in
a DDoS, the human agent gains access to several devices (PCs or smartphones) by
infecting them with malware, and use those devices (collectively called a
‘botnet’) to flood the victim’s network with fake requests.

When a network comes under attack in this way, its servers
will either fail to perform optimally or crash.

What are the Types of
DDoS Attacks?

There are two general groups of attacks in this category:

•Network Layer
Attacks: this aims to clog up the pathways connecting your network. They
make it difficult for genuine traffic (from customers or non-malicious
visitors) to access the affected organization.

The scale of these attacks is measured in Gigabytes per
second (Gbps). Assaults of several hundred Gbps have been reported, but
anything above 20Gbps could knock out your network. 

•Application Layer Attacks:
In this case, the attacker sends requests that require considerable resources
to handle. They cause the victim’s disk spaces and CPU to fill up with false
logs.        

What
Motivates DDoS Attacks?

Here are the most common reasons why attackers launch DDoS
assaults.

•Extortion: They may
ask you for a ransom in exchange for ceasing their attacks.

•Cyber-Activism: Also
known as ‘hacktivism’. Certain groups strike at organizations that they believe
aren’t aligned with their cause (e.g. if they think the organization has a bad
social or environmental record).

•Competition: A
competitor may be responsible for a DDoS attack launched at your business.

•Lone Attackers: Some
people may do this for other reasons, e.g. gaining the respect of a community
of illegal hackers.

How Do You
Protect Against DDoS Attacks?

You wouldn’t want to waste days recovering from a DDoS strike, or
lose substantial amounts of money in that period. Here are some steps you can
take to prevent this from happening:

1. Design
a Response Plan for DDoS Attacks

Document a response strategy for a DDoS attack. This should
include ways to ensure business continuity even when a DDoS attack succeeds.
Assign roles (for instance, a rapid response team) and establish communication
systems that can be activated if this happens. 

2. Guard
Against Other Threats to Your Networks

Many cyber attackers are now using DDoS as a diversionary tactic.
They could keep IT teams engaged with a DDoS strike, while they launch malware
at your systems. This calls for vigilance on your part. Don’t be so preoccupied
with fending off a single threat that you forget to guard other posts.

3. Track
Your Traffic

Use monitoring tools to track traffic. Monitor for possible spikes
in incoming network traffic, and keep an eye on suspicious IP addresses when
you spot them. Note that sudden, sharp, and unexplained rises in traffic could
be a sign that an attacker is ‘testing’ your defenses. If the threat isn’t
checked at this early stage they may follow up with a major DDoS attack.

This measure isn’t enough to keep malicious agents away. But it
does let you prepare for a possible strike against your network infrastructure. 

4. Set Up
Network Security

You should have a combination of network security tools in place
to protect against these strikes. These include firewalls, content filtering,
anti-spam, and load balancing. Taken together, these should give you a moderate
buffer against malicious traffic.

5. Update
Your Systems

Your old systems could have vulnerabilities in them that DDoS
attackers could exploit. By updating your system, you gain access to the newest
defenses that your IT service providers have to offer and stay a step ahead of
the vandals.

6. Work
with an IT Security Solutions Provider

Unless you have a big, five-star in-house IT team, even your best
efforts may fail to ward off a DDoS attack. That’s why you need to work with an
IT security services company that takes on this task and delivers at the
highest level.

If you’re in Nigeria, you can trust Layer3 to secure your networks against security
threats. It provides this service to clients in several industries, including
some of the country’s top organizations.

Conclusion

Denial-of-service attacks are becoming more frequent. It’s
one unsavory consequence of an interconnected world—ill-intentioned actors can
target victims from wherever they are in the world. Unless you have the right
defenses and mitigating strategies, you may suffer major losses from these
assaults.

Thankfully, there’s help you can use. At Layer3, our team of experienced cybersecurity
professionals can help you guard against these threats. Whether it’s testing
and vulnerability assessment, log management, incidence response, or a fully managed security service, you’ll
get the protection that suits your needs.

Would you like to get a robust defense against DDoS and
other cyberattacks? Get in touch with us today via the contact channels here.