What is a DDoS attack?

According to researchers at the University of Twent in Netherlands, University of California, San Diego and Saarland University in Germany, nearly one third of all active networks on the internet have experienced a DDoS attack at some point in the last two years, according to SecurityWeek. That accounts for nearly 21 million attacks and on average 28,700 per day DDoS attackers per day. These types of attacks today are becoming very common, and a major problem as these attacks become more sophisticated, which should make it a top priority for IT security teams.

What is a DDoS attack though? DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. The purpose of this attack is to attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple IP addresses. The main type of DDoS attack is a volumetric attack. It attempts to overload the network with so many requests that the network can't handle it. These types of attacks can shut down an entire website or severely reduce performance of the network. Other types of DDoS attacks are: TCP Connection Attacks, Fragmentation Attack, and Application Attack.

Most attacks are not originated from a singular computer. The attack is distributed through multiple computers and IP address. That is where the distributed part comes into play in the name. These attackers infect multiple computers with malicious software. These infected computers are known as “botnets”. All the infected computers can be controlled remotely and launch an attack at the same time on the same target. These attacks have become so popular that you can actually purchase a DDoS attack on a network, $150 gets you a week-long attack on a network of your choice.

How should a company go about defending their network against such a prevalent threat though? These are 5 good tips to helping you identify and thwart a DDoS attack

• Identify the Attack Early. The earlier you identify the attack the sooner you can fight it off. Be familiar with your typical inbound traffic, so that you can notice when there is an uncharacteristic spike in traffic.
• Overprovision your bandwidth. Have more bandwidth available than you actually need for your network.
• Defend your network perimeter - limit your router to prevent the web server from being overwhelmed, add filters to your router, drop spoofed packages.
• Call your internet provider and ask for help
• Call a DDoS specialist for help

DDoS attacks are becoming increasingly popular, so it's vital that every company with an online presence is able to effectively fight one off. Make sure your company has a prepared emergency plan in case of a DDoS attack so that you aren't caught off guard for when this happens.

-Parker Fifield