Mitigating DDoS Attacks: Best Practices for Businesses Owners

With our dependence on the Internet growing each day, businesses face a significant threat from DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks. DDoS is a type of cyberattack where multiple compromised systems, often referred to as a botnet, are used to flood a target website with an overwhelming volume of malicious traffic. The goal of DDoS attacks is to overwhelm the target server to prevent normal operation, disrupting the business. Website owners must implement effective strategies to mitigate DDoS attacks.

According to a report by CloudFlare, DDoS attacks are increasing in size and volume. In 2022, the total number of DDoS attacks worldwide increased by 115% over the amount observed in 2021. During the same period, the average attack length increased from 30 minutes to 50 minutes. This statistic underscores the growing prevalence and severity of DDoS threats, necessitating proactive defense measures.

What makes DDoS attacks difficult to mitigate?

DDoS attacks are difficult to stop for several reasons, primarily due to their distributed nature, the sheer volume of traffic they generate, and the variety of attack vectors they employ. Here are some key factors that contribute to the challenge of stopping DDoS attacks:

1. Distributed Attacks

DDoS attacks typically involve a large number of compromised devices, which are coordinated to flood a target with malicious traffic. These devices may include computers, servers, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, and even mobile phones. Because the attack traffic comes from multiple sources distributed across different geographic locations, it can be challenging to identify and block all malicious traffic effectively.

2. Volume of Traffic

DDoS attacks can generate an enormous volume of traffic, far exceeding the capacity of the target's network infrastructure to handle. This flood of incoming traffic overwhelms the target's servers, and network devices, causing them to become inaccessible to legitimate users. Mitigating such high-volume attacks requires significant resources and specialized infrastructure capable of filtering out malicious traffic while allowing legitimate traffic to pass through.

3. Exploit Vulnerabilities

DDoS attacks exploit vulnerabilities in network protocols or services (Protocol Attacks) and target the application layer to exhaust server resources or disrupt functionality (Application-Layer Attacks). Attackers use techniques like spoofing and amplification to disguise traffic and launch attacks with low cost and effort (Spoofed or Amplified Traffic), gaining an asymmetrical advantage over defenders and necessitating constant adaptation of defense tactics (Asymmetric Warfare).

What are the DDoS defense techniques?

DDoS defense techniques typically fall into several categories, each addressing different aspects of mitigating and preventing DDoS attacks. Here are the main categories:

1. Network-Level Defenses

These techniques focus on protecting the network infrastructure from DDoS attacks. They often involve filtering and blocking malicious traffic at the network perimeter before it reaches the target server. Network-level defenses may include:

• Firewalls: Firewalls are used to monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. They can be configured to block traffic from known malicious IP addresses or restrict traffic based on protocol and port numbers.
• Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): IDPS solutions monitor network traffic for suspicious activity and can automatically block or mitigate DDoS attacks in real-time.
• Rate Limiting: Rate limiting involves imposing restrictions on the rate of incoming traffic to prevent overload and mitigate the impact of DDoS attacks.

2. Application-Layer Defenses

These techniques focus on protecting the application layer of a website from DDoS attacks. Application-layer defenses are designed to identify and block malicious requests that mimic legitimate user traffic. Examples include:

• Web Application Firewalls (WAFs): WAFs analyze HTTP traffic and filter out malicious requests, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. They can also detect and block suspicious traffic patterns indicative of DDoS attacks.
• Rate-Based Filtering: Rate-based filtering techniques analyze the rate of incoming requests and block excessive traffic from reaching the application servers. This helps prevent server overload and ensures that legitimate users can access the application.

3. Traffic Scrubbing and Mitigation Services

Traffic scrubbing and mitigation services are provided by specialized DDoS mitigation providers and are designed to detect and mitigate DDoS attacks in real time. Those services typically involve diverting traffic through scrubbing centers, where malicious traffic is identified and filtered out before being forwarded to the target server. This category includes:

• Cloud-Based DDoS Protection: Cloud-based DDoS protection services leverage the scalability and resources of cloud infrastructure to absorb and mitigate DDoS attacks before they reach the target network.
• On-Premises DDoS Mitigation Appliances: Some organizations prefer to deploy on-premises DDoS mitigation appliances that are capable of detecting and mitigating DDoS attacks at the network edge.

Implementing a Multi-Layered Defense Strategy

One of the best practices for mitigating DDoS attacks is implementing a multi-layered defense strategy. This approach involves deploying a combination of network-level filtering, web application firewalls (WAFs), and traffic scrubbing services to filter out malicious traffic before it reaches the website's servers. By distributing the workload across multiple layers of defense, businesses can effectively mitigate the impact of DDoS attacks and maintain uptime for their websites.

Proactive Monitoring and Threat Intelligence

Proactive monitoring and threat intelligence play a crucial role in detecting and responding to DDoS attacks in real time. Website owners should invest in robust monitoring tools that can analyze incoming traffic patterns and identify anomalies indicative of a DDoS attack. Additionally, leveraging threat intelligence feeds can provide valuable insights into emerging DDoS threats and enable businesses to adjust their defenses accordingly.

Scalability and Cloud-Based Solutions

Scalability is another important consideration in DDoS mitigation efforts. As DDoS attacks continue to increase in size and complexity, businesses must ensure that their infrastructure is capable of handling sudden spikes in traffic without compromising performance. Cloud-based DDoS mitigation services offer scalability advantages, allowing businesses to scale their defenses in response to evolving threats.

DDoS Mitigation Service Providers

In addition to implementing in-house DDoS mitigation measures, businesses can also enlist the services of specialized DDoS mitigation service providers. These providers offer dedicated solutions designed to detect, mitigate, and prevent DDoS attacks, allowing businesses to focus on their core operations without worrying about cyber threats.

Some notable DDoS mitigation service providers include:

• Cloudflare
• Imperva Incapsula
• Akamai
• Arbor Networks
• Radware

By partnering with reputable DDoS mitigation service providers, businesses can benefit from their expertise and advanced technologies to defend against DDoS attacks effectively.