Worried about threats that disrupt your services? Learn the tips about DDoS attack detection.
DDoS Attack Detection Overview
Threats do not only come in the form of viruses but also the form of network threats. These network threats are known as Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attacks. DDoS attacks are a type of attack wherein the attacker employs numerous systems to carry out the attack.
The aim is to overwhelm the target system or server with traffic or requests. So that the target becomes unavailable for legitimate users. The effect of DDoS attacks can be devastating for any organization.
It can not only affect the availability of services but also cause business losses in terms of revenue and reputation. A good example of a DDoS attack was when it was carried out on Dyn, an Internet infrastructure services company. A DDoS attack carried out on Dyn affected services of some major websites, namely Twitter, Netflix, Reddit, and Spotify among others.
DDoS Impact
DDoS attacks are often launched as a way to extort money from organizations or even individuals. But there are many other motives behind these attacks such as hacking into systems, stealing data, and destroying systems. Since the impact of these attacks can be devastating, organizations must learn how to detect and prevent them from happening.
One of the ways you can detect DDoS attacks is by monitoring your network traffic. If you notice a sudden increase in traffic in your network without any corresponding increase in legitimate traffic then that could be an indication that an attack is taking place. You should immediately check your bandwidth usage.
This is to see if there is an abnormal traffic increase or decrease. Especially if you have a prepaid bandwidth plan with a low bandwidth allowance. As mentioned earlier, the one-way attackers carry out these attacks is by using compromised systems connected to the internet.
This is as part of their botnet army of zombie army. Compromised systems are those where hackers gain access to them by exploiting vulnerabilities present in them. Also, this includes such as outdated software, weak passwords, and more.
DoS Attack Detection and Prevention
If you notice a sudden increase in activity on your systems such as increased CPU utilization, then this could be caused by a DoS attack. So, you should look into it further by checking which systems are being affected by the attack. Then take corrective measures if required.
The IP addresses from which connections are being made at an abnormally high rate should also be looked into. Since they could be part of an attack since they might be trying to overwhelm your system with traffic. There are various ways to detect and prevent DoS attacks to prevent them from causing any damage.
A good way to prevent these attacks is by using a network firewall appliance. Firewalls can detect suspicious traffic and block or limit it to avoid its impact on your systems. Enterprises often use firewalls that support inline intrusion prevention systems or IDPs.
If you have a firewall, then you must set up rules for traffic filtering on the firewall itself. This helps you divert traffic to the systems protected by the firewall and prevent traffic. This is from reaching your other systems which are not protected by the firewall.