\u201cThis page isn\u2019t working.\u201d \u201cThis site can\u2019t be reached.\u201d\n\u201cThis service is unavailable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Error 503 messages are things that no one ever wants to see on their website. They cause CISOs and IT managers worldwide to reach for antacids. These messages sometimes appear when sites undergo general site maintenance. But they also can result from malicious DDoS attacks \u2014 attacks that NETSCOUT reports<\/a> could cost businesses more than $221,000 per attack in just downtime. This doesn\u2019t even include other related costs and reputational damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But what is DDoS and what does it mean for your website?\nWe\u2019re going to dive into what is considered a DDoS attack, how it works, and\nwhat you can do to protect your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you go to a website and it fails to load, saying the server is busy, it\u2019s possible that your website has experienced a DDoS attack, or what\u2019s more specifically known as a distributed denial of service attack<\/a>. If you\u2019re familiar with what a denial of service (DoS) attack is, then you\u2019re already ahead of the game when it comes to understanding what a DDoS attack is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A denial of service attack occurs when an attacker uses a\nsingle device and internet connection to target your system with repeated\nrequests for service. Essentially, it\u2019s a rapid assault that intends to\noverwhelm it to knock your systems offline or make them unresponsive to your\ncustomers and users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let\u2019s take a DoS attack and kick it up to the next\nlevel. That\u2019s what you get with a DDoS attack. But what exactly is a DDoS\nattack? Much as the name suggests, a distributed denial of service attack\ndisrupts service for genuine users. Basically, your server or system is being taxed\nby more traffic or service requests than it can handle. This occurs when\nmultiple compromised systems \u2014 potentially hundreds or thousands \u2014 with\nmultiple internet connections to target a single website, service, or system with\nthe goal of making that target unresponsive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some examples of real-world DDoS attack victims include GitHub<\/a>, PlayStation Network<\/a>, PayPal, Twitter, and Spotify<\/a>. It stops people from accessing the target\u2019s websites and services so real customers who pay for and use the affected services can\u2019t do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, translation: DDoS Attackers = Jerks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still not quite sure how a DDoS attack works? Let\u2019s imagine\nthe following scenario:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re a server at a restaurant. You\u2019re typically\nassigned a section of five to eight tables to wait on and take care of customers.\nOn a regular workday, you can handle this load with ease. Everything\u2019s going\ngreat, your customers are getting their food, and everyone\u2019s happy with the\nservice they\u2019re receiving. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, imagine that a big crowd of people walk in and\ndecide to sit at 20 tables surrounding your section. Suddenly, they\u2019re calling\non you, demanding that you wait on them. They\u2019re impatient, and they keep\nflagging you down to get your attention. When walk over to assist them, they\nthen ignore you. You quickly realize that you no longer have the bandwidth to\nserve your assigned tables and begin feeling overwhelmed. You\u2019re rushing from\ntable to table, trying to take order, refill drinks, and deliver food to these\nnew customers \u2014 all the while, still trying to take care of your assigned\ncustomers. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n While rushing out of the kitchen with an overloaded tray\nof food for one of your original tables, one of the rude and demanding customers\nat the table closest to the door suddenly backs their chair into you. You \u2014 as\nwell as the tray of entrees \u2014 crash to the floor. Food goes everywhere,\ncreating a huge mess \u2014 and your original customers aren\u2019t happy. They\u2019re not getting\nthe service they need and they\u2019re tired of waiting. They decide to leave to get\nbetter service elsewhere. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The situation above is a lot like what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) would describe as a SYN flood<\/a> DDoS attack. During such an attack, a cybercriminal sends unwanted traffic from multiple connections to your site to overwhelm it. What they do is repeatedly send connection requests without ever following through with the three-way handshake to complete the connection; this leaves your system waiting for a response that never comes. (Like the impatient tables of customers in the example who showed up, demanded your attention, and then proceeded to ignore you.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the CISA website states: \u201cThe incomplete handshake leaves the connected port\nin an occupied status and unavailable for further requests. An attacker will\ncontinue to send requests, saturating all open ports, so that legitimate users\ncannot connect.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, SYN floods are just one type of DDoS attack \u2014 there are many others that we haven\u2019t even mentioned. According to Imperva<\/a>, the top 12 types of DDoS attacks are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern DDoS attacks virtually always use botnets. Botnets are a network of insecure, connected devices \u2014 everything from smart baby monitors to connected office printers \u2014 that are hijacked without their owners even knowing it! The Internet of Things (IoT) market is ripe with opportunities for hackers and other cybercriminals. That\u2019s because IoT devices<\/a> are known for being insecure. And for cybercriminals, they can rent out botnets (or DDoS attack-for-hire services) at little cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although device certificates, firewalls, and other tactics\ncan be used to help increase IoT device security, the overwhelming majority of\nmanufacturers don\u2019t bother installing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BotNets allow hackers to do many things, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, wait, don\u2019t all DDoS attackers use botnets? Not necessarily. Smaller attacks can be performed by multiple attackers who are working together while using multiple internet connections and\/or devices. However, the most significant attacks use botnets because an attacker would need to own thousands of devices, which is just about impossible (or, at the very least, extremely unlikely). <\/p>\n\n\n\n DDoS attacks can occur for a multitude of reasons. For\nexample, some hackers think they have something to prove; for others, the\nreasons are motivated by other factors: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, we know you were singing that in your head as your\nread it. Financial gain is a huge<\/em> motivator for many hackers. And\nfrankly, DDoS attacks are potentially profitable in two main ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it\u2019s for political, social, or other reasons, some hackers use DDoS attacks to attack, fight, or protest something (or someone). These types of cyberattacks can involve leaking or publishing sensitive information, defacing websites, or taking websites offline entirely through DDoS attacks. Is hacktivism on the rise<\/a> or is it declining<\/a>? The answer really depends on whom you ask. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another tactic that cybercriminals use is to launch DDoS\nattacks to serve a larger goal. Essentially, it\u2019s a cover-up attack they\nimplement to hide their real move, which may be a cyberattack on another area\nof an organization. The idea is that if they can distract the target by making\nthem pay attention to the DDoS attack, the idea would be that their real attack\nmay go unnoticed in the chaos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what does a DDoS mean for your business? Well, for\nstarters, a successful DDoS attack means you\u2019re going to have some very unhappy\ncustomers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember several years ago feeling extremely frustrated while playing World of Warcraft (don\u2019t judge me, it\u2019s a great game!) when the gaming servers kept going down mid-raid<\/a>. As a player with a paid subscription, I had to keep checking the WOW Realm Status<\/a> web page to see if there was any news about when the server would be back online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And as we all know: If your customers aren\u2019t happy, nobody\u2019s\nhappy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n DDoS attacks are also expensive. We already shared\nNETSCOUT\u2019s estimated costs of downtime at the beginning of the article. But\nthere are other costs associated with DDoS attacks \u2014 costs that include the\nlabor and infrastructure that are necessary to combat DDoS attacks, as well as\nthe reputational damage that may result from such an attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your website or service is frequently taken offline by\nhackers because you don\u2019t have the defense mechanisms in place to combat DDoS\nattacks, then your reputation is going to take a hit. The question is whether\nyour company can bounce back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wondering what you can do to protect your business? For\nstarters, you can invest in IoT device certificates.<\/strong> While this won\u2019t\nhelp you to protect your business from botnet attacks that user others\u2019\nconnected devices, it can help you not contribute to the larger issue by having\ninsecure devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your organization is under a DDoS attack, there are a\ncouple of ways you stop these attacks and protect your organization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With these tactics in\nplace, any denial of service attack on your website can be thwarted\u2026 or, shall\nwe say, DENIED!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DDoS attacks cost organizations an average of $221,836 in downtime per attack and cause service disruptions for millions of customers globally \u201cThis page isn\u2019t working.\u201d \u201cThis site can\u2019t be reached.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyber-security","tag-ddos","post-with-tags"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is DDoS? Or, More Specifically, What Is a DDoS Attack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To Understand DDoS Attacks, You First Need to Understand DoS Attacks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Exploring How a Distributed Denial of Service Attack Works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SYN Floods and Other Types of DDoS Attacks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
BotNets Are the Cheapest, Most Effective Methods of DDoS Attacks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Causes of DDoS Attacks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Money, Money, Money <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hacktivism and Nation-States<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Diversion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dissecting the DDoS Attack Meaning and Costs for Your Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
DDoS Attack Costs: Unhappy Customers <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
DDoS Attack Costs: Downtime and Mitigation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
DDoS Attack Costs: Reputational Damage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What You Can Do to Protect Your Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n