A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack involves many computers sending massive amounts of traffic to overwhelm a website or server, causing it to slow down or crash and become inaccessible to real users.
A DDoS attack is a significant threat. Each year, numerous businesses fall victim to these attacks, including well-known companies like Amazon and Google. To safeguard your business, it’s crucial to understand DDoS attacks and how they can impact your operations.
Keep reading to learn more.
What is a DDoS – Distributed Denial of Service attack?
A Distributed Denial of Service attack is a cyberattack. It is designed to overwhelm a server, service, or network by flooding them with excessive internet traffic. This overload disrupts normal operations, causing the targeted system to slow down or become completely inaccessible to legitimate users.
The primary goal of a DDoS attack is to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with more traffic than it can handle. This attack typically involves multiple compromised computer systems, often infected with malware, which are used to generate the massive volume of traffic required to disrupt the targeted service.
In October 2024, when users visited the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, they were greeted with a “Temporarily Offline” message indicating a security breach. According to a report, the attack exposed sensitive information like email addresses, screen names, and bcrypt-hashed passwords of over 31 million users. As a result, the website was down for some time.
Read More – Wayback Machine DDoS Attack: Internet Archive Hacked
Previously, in the third quarter of 2023, big tech companies like AWS, Google, and Cloudflare were hit by some of the largest DDoS attacks ever seen. What made these attacks especially surprising was that the botnets (networks of infected devices controlled remotely) used were smaller than usual but still managed to create an enormous amount of internet traffic. Even though these botnets were not as big as those used in the past, they were incredibly effective, causing record-breaking disruptions.
What is DoS Attack
A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is a type of cyberattack where a malicious person tries to make a website or online service unavailable to its users. They do this by overwhelming the system with so many requests or data that it can’t handle them all, causing it to slow down or even crash. Imagine trying to use a website, but it’s so crowded with fake visitors that you can’t get in—that’s what a DoS attack does. Unlike regular technical issues, a DoS attack is intentional and designed to disrupt regular activity, making it a severe problem for online services.
Difference between DoS and DDoS
A DoS (Denial of Service) and a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack both try to overwhelm a website, service, or network, making it unusable. However, they differ in how they are carried out and the scale of their impact.
| DoS | DDoS | |
| Full Form | Denial of Service attack. | Distributed Denial of Service attack. |
| Number of Sources | Single computer or device. | Multiple devices or computers (often part of a botnet). |
| Attack Method | Overloads the target with data from one source. | Overwhelms the target with data from multiple sources. |
| Speed of Attack | Usually slower. | Faster and more intense. |
| Ease of Blocking | Easier to block since it’s from one source. | Harder to block because it comes from many sources. |
| Traceability | Easier to trace the source of the attack. | Harder to trace because many devices are involved. |
| Tools Used | Uses one device with DoS tools to attack. | Uses many devices or bots to attack simultaneously. |
| Types of Attacks |
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Here’s a more detailed understanding of DDoS vs DoS.
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How They Work:
DoS Attack: A DoS attack is launched from a single computer or network. The attacker sends an excessive amount of data or requests to the target, trying to overload it. This can cause the website or service to slow down or even crash, making it difficult or impossible for real users to access.
DDoS Attack: A DDoS attack, on the other hand, is much larger in scale. Instead of one source, the attack comes from multiple computers or devices, often spread out across different parts of the world. These devices are usually part of a “botnet,” a group of infected computers controlled by the attacker. By sending massive amounts of traffic from many sources at once, the attacker can overwhelm the target more effectively.
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Impact and Damage:
DoS Attack: Since a DoS attack comes from just one place, it can still cause problems, but it’s usually easier to detect and stop. The impact might be limited to temporary disruptions.
DDoS Attack: A DDoS attack is far more destructive. Because it involves many devices working together, it can generate a much larger amount of traffic, making it much harder to defend against. This can lead to significant downtime for the website or service, causing frustration for users and potential financial losses for the business.
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Defence and Prevention:
DoS Attack: Defending against a DoS attack is often simpler because once the source of the attack is identified, it can be blocked or shut down. However, the attack can still cause damage before it is stopped.
DDoS Attack: Defending against a DDoS attack is more complicated. Because the attack comes from many different places, it’s hard to block without also affecting legitimate users. Specialized tools and techniques are needed to filter out malicious traffic while allowing real users to access the service.
Types of DDoS Attacks
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Volumetric Attacks:
These attacks overwhelm a target by flooding it with a huge amount of traffic or data. It’s like sending so many messages to a phone that it can’t handle any new ones. The goal is to fill up the target’s bandwidth or network capacity so that legitimate users can’t access the service. Common examples include UDP floods, where many data packets are sent, and ICMP floods, which use ping requests to overload the network.
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Fragmentation Attacks:
In a fragmentation attack, data is broken into small pieces and sent to the target. The target has to reassemble these pieces, and if there are too many or if they are manipulated, it can cause the system to become slow or crash. This is like sending a puzzle in tiny pieces to make it hard for the target to put it back together. Examples include TCP fragmentation attacks, where data is split into fragments that overwhelm the target’s ability to reassemble them properly.
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Application Layer Attacks:
These attacks focus on specific parts of a website or online service, like a login page or search function. The attacker sends a lot of requests that use up the server’s resources, making it unable to handle requests from real users. It’s similar to sending so many requests to a website that it can’t respond to normal users anymore. Examples include HTTP floods, where many web requests are sent, and Slowloris attacks, which keep connections open to tie up server resources.
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Protocol Attacks:
Protocol attacks exploit weaknesses in the network protocols, which are the rules that help devices communicate. These attacks can disrupt or crash network devices by sending specially crafted packets that exploit these weaknesses. Imagine tricking a system into doing too much work by messing with its communication rules. Examples include SYN floods, which overload network devices by sending many half-open connections, and Ping of Death attacks, which send malformed packets that cause system crashes.
How does a DDoS attack work?
A DDoS attack involves multiple devices working together to overwhelm and disrupt a target’s online service. Here’s a step-by-step look at how it works:
Building the Botnet
The first step in a DDoS attack is creating a network of infected devices. These devices, including computers, smartphones, and smart gadgets, are infected with malware. This malware allows the attacker to control them remotely. The infected devices are called bots or zombies, and the collection of them is known as a botnet.
Preparing the Attack
Once the botnet is established, the attacker sends instructions to each bot in the network. These instructions tell the bots what actions to take and when to start sending requests. The goal is to coordinate a massive amount of traffic aimed at the target.
Launching the Attack
At the set time, each bot starts sending a large volume of requests to the target’s server or network. This could include anything from simple pings to more complex data requests. The sheer number of requests overwhelms the target, which can cause it to slow down significantly or crash completely.
Overwhelming the Target
The target server or network becomes overloaded with requests from the botnet. Because the requests are coming from many different devices, it’s hard to distinguish between normal user traffic and attack traffic. This makes it difficult for the target to block the malicious requests while allowing legitimate ones through.
Disrupting Service
As the server or network struggles to handle the overwhelming amount of traffic, it becomes unable to serve regular users. This results in a denial-of-service for normal traffic, meaning legitimate users can’t access the website or online service.
How to Protect Yourself from DDoS Attacks?
Defending against DDoS attacks involves several strategies to ensure your online services remain secure and operational. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help protect yourself:
Use a Strong Firewall
A firewall acts as a barrier between your network and incoming traffic. A robust firewall can help filter out malicious requests before they reach your server. Make sure your firewall is properly configured to detect and block suspicious traffic patterns.
Implement Rate Limiting
Rate limiting controls the number of requests that can be made to your server within a specific timeframe. By setting limits on how many requests a user can make, you can reduce the impact of a DDoS attack and prevent your server from being overwhelmed.
Deploy DDoS Protection Services
There are specialized DDoS protection services that can absorb and mitigate the attack traffic. These services work by rerouting traffic through their network, where malicious requests are filtered out before reaching your server. Consider using these services for added security.
Monitor Network Traffic
Regularly monitoring your network traffic helps you identify unusual patterns or spikes that may indicate a DDoS attack. Implement network monitoring tools that can alert you to suspicious activity so you can take action quickly.
Scale Resources
Scaling your resources means increasing your server’s capacity to handle higher volumes of traffic. Cloud-based services allow you to quickly adjust your resources to handle traffic spikes, which can help your server withstand a DDoS attack.
Maintain a Response Plan
Have a response plan in place for dealing with DDoS attacks. This plan should include steps for identifying the attack, mitigating its effects, and communicating with your team and users. Regularly update and practice this plan to ensure you are prepared.
Conclusion
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are a serious threat that can impact any online service by overwhelming it with excessive traffic from multiple sources. To protect your business, it’s crucial to understand how these attacks work and implement effective security measures. Using tools such as strong firewalls, rate limiting, and specialized DDoS protection services can significantly enhance your defences.
We offer DDoS protection with many of our hosting plans such as our VPS managed hosting service.
So, stay informed and prepared to safeguard your online presence from these disruptive threats.
If you still have questions, leave a comment below.
