Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a nightmare for any online business. Ironically, despite their prevalence and frequent occurrence, many businesses still do not recognize the real threat behind them.
This article intends to debunk the most popular DDoS myths, clarifying how every online business is equally vulnerable to denial-of-service threats.
Debunking Myths About Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
Myth 1: I am not worth a DDoS attack.
If your business deals with customers, relies on data and analytics and has market competition, you are worth a DDoS attack because your firm still has everything that the threat actors consider valuable.
No one can predict the risk factor and the severity of a denial-of-service threat since it varies between each target. With that said, every online business should consider itself a potential target and implement relevant defense mechanisms to prevent such situations.
Myth 2: My business has bigger priorities than worrying about DDoS.
People often consider DDoS attacks as relatively harmless since such attacks (generally) do not involve data or monetary theft. Companies focus more on building security mechanisms for ransomware attacks and data breaches, thus neglecting DDoS threats.
DDoS attacks can be as devastating as any other cybersecurity threat. They also incur financial and operational damages to firms by rendering their services inaccessible, potentially for days at a time. It would therefore be wise to portion the budget toward DDoS prevention measures.
Myth 3: Handling DDoS isn’t a big deal for me.
For the same reasons explained above, some businesses may not consider DDoS attacks a real security threat since these attacks do not directly involve data theft. Some organizations also believe that a few minutes of downtime won’t be a big issue to tackle.
DDoS attacks aren’t just a few minutes of downtime; attackers now possess sophisticated DDoS techniques that make it difficult to estimate the size and severity of a DDoS, especially in the case of application-layer attacks. Such risks make DDoS a significant cybersecurity threat on which businesses should focus their attention.
Myth 4: My hosting/cloud provider will protect me sufficiently against DDoS.
Cloud services and hosting providers usually offer essential cybersecurity services to protect apps. However, sophisticated DDoS attacks can escape such measures. That’s because the red flags for an incoming DDoS attack, such as the traffic pattern analysis, demand specific detection measures that cloud service providers may not offer.
Myth 5: My anti-DDoS hardware setup is enough to protect me.
Relying solely on hardware security is indeed dangerous; this is because contemporary DDoS techniques are sophisticated and evolutionary for hardware measures to prevent. Therefore, businesses need to source extra DDoS prevention mechanisms on top of hardware security.
How To Prevent Distributed Denial of Service Threats?
The principal method to avoid DDoS attacks on your business is not to believe the above-listed myths; only then can you come up with adequate protective strategies.
Here are a few techniques to help alleviate DDoS threats against a network.
- Communicate with your hosting and cloud provider about DDoS protection. While they may offer basic security services, asking them about their capabilities to defend against malicious traffic would be advantageous.
- Increase your cybersecurity budget if you find the current amount inadequate for sourcing a DDoS protection mechanism.
- Run regular site monitoring to help detect suspicious data packets before they manifest into a larger-scale attack.
- Protect web applications with a robust firewall
- Create dedicated security policies about how your organization should deal with an ongoing DDoS attack.
It may also be beneficial to hire the services of a professional DDoS protection vendor. Ideally, you should choose providers that ensure websites and apps remain safe from various cybersecurity threats, including DDoS. Indusface’s AppTrana offers a robust firewall and anti-DDoS security for web applications.
Wrapping Up
DDoS attacks are still a major cybersecurity threat; realizing their importance requires you to avoid believing the myths that make these threats seem less potent. When it comes to business cybersecurity, one must implement a comprehensive defensive strategy to prevent numerous online threats, including DDoS.