What is a DDoS attack?
What is a DDoS-aanval? Perhaps one of the most asked cyber security related questions of the year. To get straight to the point: DDoS is the short hand for ‘Distributed Denial of Service’. This is an attack hackers use to temporarily take systems or applications offline. In this article we’ll take a deep dive into the world of DDoS attacks and tell you exactly how to protect your organization against such an attack.
What is a DDoS attack?
When a big amount of traffic gets send towards a network or server it hinders its operation. In the worst case the network or server stops working altogether. This is why the term ‘Distributed Denial of Service’ is used, a network or server is unable to deliver services. That’s exactly what the perpetrator wants. Unfortunately, an online DDoS attack can be staged by anyone. Whether that is to outsmart a competitor, prevent access to specific data or information or simply to nag someone out of revenge. When professional cyber criminals perform a DDoS attack it’s usually with the goal of getting money. DDoS ‘attacks’ can also be caused when too many people try to get access to a website at the same time. This often happens with concert tickets and limited offers. This does not necessarily qualify as an attack but can have the same effect.
How long can a DDoS attack last?
Although the intention behind a DDoS attack isn’t always malicious, the impact of such an attack is. The duration of a DDoS attack determines the actual (financial) costs. According to the cybersecurity expert Kaspersky the average duration of a DDoS attack in 2021 was about 30 minutes. Doesn’t seem so shocking, right? Well, the bad news is that DDoS attacks are lasting longer and getting more and more complex. The average duration of a DDoS attack in 2022 already lasted a hundred times longer than in 2021! This means a DDoS attack can affect your company or organization from 30 minutes up to several days.
What tot do against a DDoS attack?
We have some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad news: A DDoS attack cannot be prevented. This means an attack can always take place. The good news? The effect of a DDoS attack can be significantly reduced. Below are some tips to reduce the effects of a DDoS attack:
- What are crucial parts of your organization? Find out where weaknesses in your organization take place. For example: what happens with the orders and communication done via the website when said website is down?
- Are you responsible for the availability of your services or is that supplier responsibility? Check the SLA-agreements that are made with the IT-supplier.
- Does your organization already work with protection software like an Anti-DDoS solution or Firewall? Currently there are a lot of service providers that can apply you with safe software to protect yourself against the impact of DDoS attacks.
The tips above are just a few examples that showcase how you can protect your organization against DDoS attacks. There are countless other measures you can take. Take a look at our tips to protect your business. Want to know more? Contact one of the OpenSight experts.
