DDoS attacks are one of the more common types of cyber threats that businesses have faced since the 1990s when the first attacks took place.
Though the DDoS attacks that cyber defense companies deal with today are more complex and damaging, the basis of these events is still the same.
With greater reliance on the internet including cloud-based servers, cyber defense against DDoS events is essential.
This primer from cyber defense consulting services that addressed these frequent attacks should help companies understand how they happen, the damage they can cause, and how they can be prevented in today’s cyber world.
What Is A DDoS Attack?
Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attacks are cyber attacks that overload a network with traffic to prevent it from functioning.
Cyber defense companies see these events occurring when an outside source bombards a server or network with traffic faster than it can handle, resulting in the network slowing down or crashing.
Although there are multiple types of DDoS attacks that cyber defense specialists are aware of, the ultimate goal with all of them is resource exhaustion that eventually causes the targeted network to crash.
Some different types of DDoS attacks that cyber defense services see include:
- Smurf or IP spoofing attacks.
- Protocol attacks that find and exploit server weaknesses.
- SYN flood attacks that open too many connections with target servers.
- The most common layer 7 attacks that overload the network with too many requests that quickly exhaust the target’s bandwidth.
How Do DDoS Attacks Cause Damage To A Business?
Although they might seem harmless, cyber defense companies warn that DDoS attacks can be highly damaging simply by interrupting a company’s websites and its ability to do business.
Websites can be shut down or made inoperable with this type of targeting that is usually more along the lines of hacktivism designed to cause disruption as opposed to gaining information or money.
Still, DDoS attacks have cost companies billions in downtime as well as lost sales and should be taken seriously.
What Kind of Cyber Defense Can Prevent DDoS Attacks?
Key components of cyber defense against DDoS attacks are network monitoring and utilizing the appropriate cyber security tools, then having a response plan should an attack happen.
Traffic monitoring as well as network detection and alerting allow businesses to know what normal traffic looks like so that abnormal traffic can be recognized before major damage can be done.
Additionally, cyber defense services recommend implementing security practices such as spoof prevention, effective use of firewalls to control ingress and egress traffic, limiting broadcast forwarding, and endpoint protection.
There should also be a protocol for incident reporting and a response plan that will go into effect once an incident is detected.
Naturally, all other basic cybersecurity protocols should be practiced as well.
Get Help From A Cyber Defense Consulting Service
Cyber defense challenges are becoming more complicated every day; however, that does not suggest that basic cyber security measures to detect and prevent less invasive attacks such as DDoS attacks are any less important.
Cyber defense companies find that DDoS attacks that prevent a company from doing business for a period of time can be just as damaging as other more invasive types of attacks.
In all cases, the best prevention is working with a cyber defense consulting service that can effectively assess a company’s risk, then help implement an effective security plan to prevent DDoS attacks and protect against other threats.
Need Help With Cyber Defense for Your Business?
Contact ACP Technologies for Cyber Defense Consulting Services!
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