DoS DDoS Attacks and Countermeasures

DDoS attacks on SMBs cost an average of $120,000 to restore services following the attack.

DDoS and DoS attacks continue to be a Global Threat.

DoS/DDoS attacks have become a global cyber threat, increasing in the last year. There is no way to completely prevent yourself from becoming a target of this cyber-security incident, but there are proactive measures you can implement to minimise its impact.

Understanding the differences between DoS and DDoS Type of Attack

A denial-of-service (DoS) attack occurs whenever a user attempts to gain unauthorised entry into a system or resource by overwhelming client systems with abnormal traffic and connection requests. To protect against these types of threats, organisations must implement security measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and intrusion detection/prevention solutions.

Distinct from DoS, which uses multiple connections to send traffic volumes as malicious packets mixed with legitimate packets, a distributed denial of service (DDoS) flood attack uses one onnection to send malicious packets to the server. The attack damage will vary depending if the victim experienced an all-out attack or a simple brute force attack against a single host.

Attack Surfaces are Changing

As more and more things connect to the internet, the number of potential targets for cyberattacks has grown exponentially with more sophisticated attacks, including application attacks, attacks against content delivery networks, and protocol attacks.

These days, even simple household items like light bulbs and thermostats are connected to the internet. If they're infected with malware, hackers could potentially control them remotely. And if they're compromised, attackers could take complete control of the device and its owner's network.

With the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT devices), the increasing numbers of remote workers who use their personal computers at home, and the growing number of devices connecting to networks, the need for DoS/DDoS protection and mitigation has never been greater.

Various Attack Methods of DDoS/DoS

DoS attacks include attempts to overwhelm a server with too much traffic, which prevents legitimate traffic from accessing the server. They may also involve making invalid requests to the server, such as HTTP requests with invalid IP addresses. Or they may just fill up the bandwidth of a network connection, preventing legitimate users from accessing the web server.

A botnet is a group of computers under the control of hackers using them to launch DDoS attacks. Botnets are usually used to launch DDoS attacks against websites. Volumetric attacks require botnets for execution.

Denying service isn't just something that affects websites; individuals can be denied service. There are some indications that an attempt at denying service is underway. A hacker could launch numerous attacks with random patterns using various service attack tools. 

DDoS Protection & Mitigation Strategy

To prevent a successful attack, one of the first things you need to do is limit the potential points of entry into your system. You don't want to open up too many doors, so an attacker has many ways to get inside. Real-time prevention strategies also include dynamic ACLs, content distribution in case of an attack, and enabling intrusion prevention policies to go into effect once an attack has been executed. Leveraging detection algorithms, software, and a proven detection process for DoS against unscrupulous attackers will help keep organisational systems from crashing. 

You can achieve this by using load balancers, firewalls, or access controls lists (ACLs).

· Transit capacity - To avoid DDoS attacks, ensure that your host has adequate redundancy and that your application is located near major Internet exchanges.

· Monitor and analyse network traffic - You can monitor traffic through firewalls or IDS systems. Administrators can set policies that trigger alerts when certain conditions are met. They can also block traffic from specific IP addresses or ports.

· Strengthen your security posture - These include fortifying all internet-connected computers and servers to prevent them from being compromised, ensuring that antivirus software is installed and maintained, setting up firewall configurations to block malicious traffic, and implementing robust security measures to monitor and control unwanted traffic.

About LinearStack

LinearStack is a New Zealand-owned and operated specialised cyber security services company with a global footprint.

The core focus of our business is to accelerate our customer’s cyber security operations with the help of our cyber defence services.

We augment our client’s teams by acting as a true an extension of their team empowering our clients to prioritise their cyber security strategy and customers while we protect their business from cyber threats 24x7.

Technology Architecture & Implementation DoS/DDoS Protection

Our Technology and Architecture Implementation services are designed for organisations that need security frameworks tailored to their existing IT infrastructure and organisationa goals.

Specialist Teams Ready to Respond

Seconds matter with security breaches. Our dedicated threat response teams are ready and alert, quickly identifying threats, searching through log data, making decisions, collaborating, and remediate incidents.

Preventing a DoS/DDoS attack is possible by implementing integrated security controls within the routers, firewalls, IDS, and switching devices. Shutting-down ports, rate limiting on-the-border routers, patching exploited systems, and redeploying corporate application systems across multi-cloud and on-premise data centers will help reduce the organisation exposure.

Our solution architectures help clients migrate their workloads to help reduce the DoS/DDoS threat while providing 24 x7 x 365 SOC-as-a-service to help with proactive and reaction security controls in case your organisation is under a DoS/DDoS attack.

Our SOC-as-a-Service is designed for organisations that want a partner to monitor their security threats around the clock, allowing them to focus on business as usual and more strategic projects.

Alert and protected 24/7

Threats never sleep. We have teams in two time zones, so you can be confident your security analysts are always alert and fresh. Take the pressure off your internal team.

Culture

We’re 100% privately held, grown with a family mindset. When working with clients, we’re well-integrated within their teams and act as an extension of their operations. Augmenting existing teams isa transition we manage smoothly, empowering our customers to prioritise cybersecurity strategy while we protect their business from cyber threats 24x7.

We believe maintaining thriving IT systems and assuring data protection are fundamental needs that all businesses deserve.