Backing Up Defenses against DDOS Attacks
DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. DDoS is a type of DOS attack where multiple compromised systems, which are often infected with a Trojan, are used to target a single system causing a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. This kind of attack tries to make a computer resource unavailable to users.
Examples of the legitimate tools used are in helping, socket programming, and httping. There are also underground tools available for such attacks.
Signs Of A DDoS Attack
• The US Computer Emergency Response Team defines symptoms of a DDoS attack as :
• Unusually slow network performance, either processes or opening files. Unavailability of a website.
• Inability to access a web site. Dramatic increase in spam emails, this is an email bomb.
• DDoS attacks lead to issues with branches of a network being attacked. The attack over loads the network; other branches will try to compensate for the increase in traffic.
• This causes the whole network to slow down. A large enough attack can shut down entire regions of internet connectivity.
The DDoS Attack May Also Use Malware To Cause Further Damage:
• Max out the processor’s usage so no work gets done
• Cause Microcode errors in the machine
• Lock up the computer by giving the processor erroneous sequencing
• Locking up the computer through the operating system through resource starvation.
• Crashing the operating system itself.
Defending Against DDoS Attacks:
• Recognize the signs of a DDoS attack. The first and best defense against a DDoS attack is the ability to recognize it early. Unfortunately, not all DDoS attacks are easy to distinguish from normal spikes in network or web traffic or a sudden slowdown in network performance.
• DDoS attacks can take a website down quickly and emphatically. By knowing what you are facing you can defend against them.
• DDoS Attacks range from brute force incursions to surgical strikes against key components of a network. The right tools to set up your defenses and a DDoS attack can be stopped cold.
Consider our advice to help prevent attackers from shutting down your network with a flood of unwanted traffic. Have an incident response plan in place and talk about DDoS countermeasures in advance with your ISP and a service provider that specializes in mitigating these types of attacks.
