10 protection tips against denial-of-service attacks for companies

A constantly growing online market offers companies numerous opportunities for growth and success. But with increasing reliance on online services and digital infrastructure comes the threat of denial of service (DoS) attacks. Get ready to protect your business from the dangers of the digital age and secure your online presence!

In this blog post, we reveal how DoS attacks work and offer effective tips and strategies that companies can use to secure their networks and maintain the availability of their services despite potential attacks.

A. What is a denial of service attack?

A denial of service (DoS) attack is an attack on a computer system where the goal is to prevent or restrict access to the system's service or resources.

The motivation behind a DoS attack can vary. Some attackers carry out denial of service attacks to cause chaos, others want to blackmail companies or organizations by interfering with services and demanding ransom payments. Sometimes DoS attacks are also carried out by activists or hacktivists to draw attention to political or ideological issues.

4 types of denial of service attacks

B. 10 important differences between a DoS attack and a DDoS attack

A denial-of-service (DoS) attack and a distributed denial-of-service ( DDoS) attack are both types of cyberattacks that aim to disrupt the availability of a system or service. However, the main difference between them lies in the number and source of attackers and the impact on the target system.

DoS attacks are carried out by a single attacker, while DDoS attacks originate from many different sources simultaneously, acting as part of a botnet. DDoS attacks tend to be more severe and require more advanced defenses.

C. How a denial-of-service attack works in companies

A denial of service (DoS) attack is a form of cyberattack in which the main goal is to disrupt the availability of a computer system or service. By bombarding the system with an overwhelming number of requests or data packets, an attacker overloads the target's infrastructure, causing it to deny or restrict access to legitimate users.

Take a look at how this attack can be carried out.

1. Flooding with traffic: In many DoS attacks, the attacker floods the target with more traffic than it can handle. The excessive number of requests or data packets causes the system to slow down or stop responding altogether.

2. Exploitation of vulnerabilities: Some denial of service attacks exploit vulnerabilities in the software or protocols used by the target. The attacker sends specially crafted requests that confuse or disrupt the system.

3. Resource exhaustion: Many systems only have a limited number of resources such as memory, processing power or network bandwidth. A DoS attack aims to consume these resources so that the system can no longer process legitimate requests.

4. Denial of service via distributed attacks (DDoS): A distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) is an advanced version of a DoS attack. Instead of a single attacker, a DDoS attack involves multiple compromised systems (usually a botnet) working together to flood the target.

5. Symptoms of a DoS attack:

   - Slow or unresponsive websites or services.

   - Network congestion or long delays in communication.

   - Server crashes or application errors.

   - Complete unavailability of the target system or service.

DoS attacks essentially work by overloading or disrupting systems so that they are no longer available to users. They can be caused either by excessive traffic or by exploiting vulnerabilities in the target system.

2 examples of denial-of-service attacks

EXAMPLE 1:

An attacker carries out a denial-of-service attack on the website of an e-commerce company. The attacker uses a botnet of infected computers to send a massive number of requests to the website. The website's servers are overloaded with a high volume of data, causing the website to become inaccessible to legitimate customers and affecting e-commerce operations for an extended period of time.

EXAMPLE 2:

An attacker carries out a DoS attack on a corporate network. The attacker sends a large number of specially formatted network packets to the company's network router. These packets are designed to exploit a security flaw in the router and cause it to reboot or crash repeatedly. As a result, the company's network is compromised, communication is interrupted and employees can no longer access their work resources.

D. 10 tips on how companies can avoid denial of service attacks

To protect themselves from denial of service (DoS) attacks, companies should take proactive measures. Here are some practical tips that organizations can use to reduce the likelihood of DoS attacks and make their networks and systems more resilient.

1. Ensure your network has sufficient bandwidth, scalability and redundancyto cope with increased traffic and attacks.
2. Distribute incoming traffic to different servers to spread the load and prevent individual systems from being overloaded.
3. Set up firewalls to block unwanted traffic and use IDS/IPS detection/prevention systems to detect and prevent suspicious activity.
4. By using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), you can distribute traffic to different servers, improving the performance and resilience of your system.
5. Continuously monitor incoming traffic to detect unusual patterns or anomalies that could indicate a potential attack.
6. By regularly reviewing and updating your security measures, potential vulnerabilities can be identified and remedied before they are exploited by attackers.
7. Implement rate-limiting mechanisms. Use mechanisms that limit the number of requests or connections from individual IP addresses or users to prevent overload.
8. Make your employees aware of potential threats and provide them with training on how to recognize phishing attempts, social engineering and other common attack methods.
9. Create an emergency plan that contains clear instructions for dealing with DoS attacks. This includes what to do in the event of an attack, how to communicate with internal and external stakeholders and how to restore operations after an attack.
10. Work with DriveLock to audit your systems, identify vulnerabilities and implement measures to protect against denial of service attacks.
    
    

Denial of service attacks are a serious threat to organizations as they can impact the availability of their services and customer satisfaction. By proactively protecting themselves with security measures such as a robust network infrastructure, traffic monitoring and employee training.

They can strengthen their resilience and minimize the damage caused by such attacks. With a solid defense strategy, companies can maintain their online presence and retain the trust of their customers in an increasingly connected world.