Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS) is a critical cybersecurity concern that causes a service to stop by sending numerous processing requests from multiple computers to a target server over the network. DDoS basically is an expansion of the DoS attack, when multiple computers make simultaneously request service from a certain target in an effort to overwhelm its capacity and system resources. The server tries to automatically process the received information, and as a result, due to the volume of requests, the process can not catch up with it. Legitimate customers accessing the services are denied of the service, this usually causes the server to go offline.
While Dos attacks are attacks from a single computer, DDoS attacks are attacks from multiple computers and other Internet-connected smart devices. The so-called ” zombie machine ” is a device that has been hijacked and operated by a botnet, a network largely infected by malware and follows the commands from the virus authors. In a DDoS attack, the target website may go offline as the volume of traffic from zombie machines it receives are orders of magnitude above normal estimated levels. When the server can not bear the load it will drop connections as a precautionary measure.
As long as the company has a site on the Internet, there is a risk that any company will be subject to DDoS attacks. Also, using a cheap shared web hosting server, someone else’s DDoS attack on a shared server will also cripple your website in the process. This is the biggest concern for websites hosted on shared server space, the system resources are shared with multiple websites. Most companies are at a loss when the site is not available now, and it is the core of the business. This is the very reason that we recommend never settle for a cheap shared hosting account if the website you will be operating is critical to the business operations.
Therefore, it can be said that measures to prevent DDoS attacks in advance are essential. Since DDoS attacks are one of the mainstream methods used by hackers, there is also a way to deal with it after the DDoS session happened. Specific preventive measures include security hole checks and countermeasures, and the introduction of security software. Here are some ways to lessen the impact of a potential DDoS attack:
IP Restriction
This method, which is used as a countermeasure against DoS attacks, has the effect of reducing the damage from DDoS attacks in that it can mitigate attacks from one IP even if it is not a countermeasure against drastic DDoS attacks. In line with that, IPs that attack in particular are identified in particular, and although it is steady, measures to block access from those IPs are effective in some cases. This is especially useful for servers that only expects a specific number of visitors/users, as their specific IP addresses can be defined in a whitelist. Only those users coming from a specific IP address in the whitelist are granted access to the system.
Country-based IP blocking
This is implemented by websites that specifically offer its services in a limited number of countries. Every public IP is assigned to a specific custodian ISP, and this pool of IP addresses are assigned by the ISP through DHCP. As the ISPs can be identified by country, hence every pool of IP addresses can be identified per country as well. Country-based IP blocking is used to wholesale block region or a specific country from accessing the website and the services it offers.
Install a WAF utility
Put simply, WAF is a security tool that protects web applications from cyber attacks via networks. In conventional security measures, web applications placed on servers were considered to be ineffective. WAF is a kind of firewall, but unlike a general firewall, it is a major feature of WAF that it can analyze the contents of data at the application level. Currently, the WAF is said to be one of the most effective options as a defense against cyber attacks, and initially it was a problem that its introduction was complex and its introduction cost was high, but in recent years the mainstream CMS software (Content Management Systems) such as Joomla, WordPress, and Drupal offer installation of WAF as part of their plugin system. This makes the installation of WAF easy even for first-time web developers and website administrators.
Also, Read:
This Is An Honest Look At The Dangers of A DDoS Attack
Why Zombie DDoS Machines Keep Increasing?