If you have a website, you must be aware of the threats posed by cybercriminals. DDoS attacks are one of these threats and are widely presented. DDoS attacks are literally one of the favorite strategies cyber criminals use to interfere with the websites of innocent businessmen, and they have been around as long as the internet itself, starting from basic DoS attacks involving one PC and ending with DDoS attacks that use a whole network of malicious devices. This fact is good news and bad news at the same time: first, you are likely to encounter such an attack sooner or later, but on the other hand, various strategies of DDoS protection have been developed, so there will be always a way to avoid or at least mitigate such an attack. In any case, the first thing you can do for your website’s protection against this kind of threat is to opt for a reliable linux vps hosting from a provider who offers options for DDoS protection. Further in this article, we’ll explore a bit more in detail the ways of how to protect your business from DDoS attacks in 2023.
What is a DDoS attack?
DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service, attacks are a type of cyberattack that aim to take a website or online service offline by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. The goal of a DDoS attack is to disrupt the normal functioning of a website or service, making it unavailable to users.
DDoS attacks have been around for decades. As mentioned, they were preceded by (not distributed) Denial of Service attacks, which webmasters learned to counter rather soon. Over years, however, more complex and advanced ways to DDoS a server were developed, so even today they present a relevant threat.
While DoS attacks were typically carried out by individuals or small groups using a single device to flood a website with traffic. Today’s DDoS attacks are often much more complex, involving networks of compromised devices, known as botnets, that are used to generate massive amounts of traffic.
DDoS attacks usually don’t lead to direct damage to your website, its data, or server hardware, but they bring an about a significant decrease in operation that persists over a period of time, and can eventually lead to the complete unavailability of the service, so you can lose your customers or your reputation and eventually your revenues. Also, these attacks can serve as a cover for other types of attacks like ransomware attacks or data thefts.
Which types of DDoS attacks are there?
There are different parts of your server that can be the goal of a DDoS attack. According to which part is the victim, DDoS attack can be distinguished in
- Volume-based attacks: These attacks consist in overwhelming the server with traffic, thus exhausting the bandwidth and preventing the website from proper operation.
- Protocol attacks: Protocol attacks target the communication protocols used by a website or service, such as HTTP or HTTPS. The goal is to exhaust the resources of the server or the network infrastructure supporting the website.
- Application-level attacks: These attacks target specific applications or services, such as online shopping carts or login pages. The goal is to disrupt the functionality of the application and make it unavailable to users.
Overall, DDoS attacks are a significant threat to businesses and can have serious consequences. It’s important for businesses to take steps to protect their websites and online services from DDoS attacks to ensure the availability and security of their online presence.
How to protect your website from DDoS attacks?
So, how can you protect your business from DDoS attacks in 2023? Here are some measures:
- Cloud-based DDoS protection services. These services work by routing traffic through a network of servers, which can absorb the traffic from a DDoS attack and prevent it from reaching your website.
- Rate limiting: Rate limiting is a technique that limits the number of requests that a server will accept from a single IP address within a given time period. By implementing rate limiting on your website, you can prevent DDoS attacks that rely on a high volume of traffic from a single source.
- Content delivery network (CDN): A CDN is a network of servers that are distributed around the world and can serve content to users based on their geographical location. By using a CDN, you can distribute a load of traffic across multiple servers, making it more difficult for a DDoS attack to take your website offline.
- Monitoring your website traffic: By monitoring your website traffic, you can identify potential DDoS attacks early and take action to mitigate the impact. There are tools available that can help you monitor your website traffic in real-time, alerting you to any unusual spikes in traffic.
- A firewall: A firewall is a security system that controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. By using a firewall, you can block traffic from known malicious IP addresses and protect your website from DDoS attacks.
Conclusion
DDoS attacks used to and can still be a serious threat to businesses. There are, however, steps you can take to protect your website and online presence and we hope that his article has made them clear for you now. That was it for today, thank you for your attention, take care!