What is a DDoS Attack?

First, let’s define what a DDoS attack is:   DDoS, short for Distributed Denial of Service, is a type of denial of service attack where multiple compromised systems — which are usually infected with a Trojan — are used to target a single system causing system instability and/or full downtime.

Identify a DDoS Attack Early

Knowledge is power!  If you run your own servers, then you need to be able to identify when you are under attack. That’s because the sooner you can establish that problems with your website are due to a DDoS attack, the sooner you can start to do something about it.

To be in a position to do this, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with your typical inbound traffic profile; the more you know about what your normal traffic looks like, the easier it is to spot when its profile changes. Most DDoS attacks start as sharp spikes in traffic, and it’s helpful to be able to tell the difference between a sudden surge of legitimate visitors and the start of a DDoS attack.

Keeping Control Over Your Inbound Traffic

The risk of being affected by a DDoS attack can be greatly reduced by utilizing the proper tools.   One way we protect our clients is to analyze their network to identify security holes and work to implement various resources that can help protect you such as proper business-class firewall protection.  Following are examples of just a few of the tools available that you might want to consider for your business:

• Antivirus Enforcement:  Provides continuous protection against viruses, web attacks, and email intrusions. The awareness of viruses and malicious activity strongly increases for network administrators. And through the use of alerting and managed reports, surprises are reduced if not fully eliminated.
• Gateway Monitoring: Provides continuous protection against viruses by integrating high performance virus scanning and definition updates in real-time. By stopping infections at the gateway level, the risk of reaching servers is eliminated.
• Intrusion Prevention: Proactive monitoring of network access attempts which are compared against a continuously updated database of signature files. Sources are blocked when they are matched to known attackers.
• Proactive Monitoring: For instance, as part of our Managed IT Services, we can proactively monitor your infrastructure. Network security logs are continuously monitored and analyzed by our IT professionals. If any suspicious attempts are detected, our professionals will block the source of the traffic.
• Location-based filtering: Optionally, you can configure your network to only allow inbound traffic from locations/countries that you approve of. This would limit your network’s exposure and reduce the potential for inbound attacks.

WHY MORE IS, WELL, BETTER

Having more bandwidth keeps systems stable

It generally makes sense to have more bandwidth available to your Web server than you ever think you are likely to need. That way, you can accommodate sudden and unexpected surges in traffic that could be a result of an advertising campaign, a special offer or even a mention of your company in the media.

Even if you add more bandwidth by 100 percent or even 500 percent that likely won’t stop a DDoS attack. But it may give you a few extra minutes to act before your resources are overwhelmed.

CATS Technology can help

With a solid team of certified, Managed IT service professionals combined with our UltimateCare services, CATS Technology can help reduce or eliminate your chance of being affected by a DDoS attack. Call CATS Technology at (732) 204-7100 for further details. Be sure to reference this DDoS article to receive a free consultation.