Understanding DDoS Attacks How They Work and How to Protect Against Them

What is DDoS?

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. It is a type of cyber attack where attackers use multiple systems to overload a targeted server, service, or network. The goal is to render the victim's services unavailable.

How Does a DDoS Attack Work?

DDoS attacks utilize a large number of compromised systems (known as botnets). Attackers coordinate these systems to send massive amounts of traffic to the target. This can crash the target server or network, making it inaccessible to legitimate users.

Types of DDoS Attacks

• Volumetric Attacks: These attacks are designed to overwhelm the target’s bandwidth by sending large volumes of traffic.
• Protocol Attacks: These attacks exploit server resources, such as SYN floods, which prevent the server from establishing connections.
• Application Layer Attacks: These attacks target specific applications, such as HTTP floods, which overload web servers.

How to Protect Against DDoS

• Traffic Filtering: Monitoring network traffic and filtering out malicious traffic.
• Rate Limiting: Setting limits on the amount of traffic that can hit the server at once to prevent overload.
• DDoS Protection Services: Using services specifically designed to offer protection against DDoS attacks.
• Redundancy and Load Balancing: Employing multiple servers to distribute the load, ensuring no single server becomes overwhelmed.

Conclusion

DDoS attacks pose a serious threat that can jeopardize an organization’s online presence. Therefore, implementing robust cyber security measures is crucial to be prepared against such attacks.