In the digital world, where our lives and businesses are increasingly online, security is more important than ever. One of the most common threats to online security is a DDoS attack. But what exactly is a DDoS attack, and how can you protect your website from it? Let’s dive in and explore this topic in a way that’s both easy to understand and helpful.
What Are DDoS Attacks?
A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is a type of cyber assault* where multiple compromised devices are used to flood a target — for example, a server, network, or website— with an overwhelming amount of traffic.
The goal? To make the target’s services unavailable to legitimate users by exhausting the server’s resources like bandwidth, processing power, or memory.
Imagine trying to get through a crowded doorway.
If too many people try to push through at once, no one can enter. That’s essentially what a DDoS attack does to a website — by overwhelming it with traffic, it blocks access for everyone.
How DDoS Attacks Work
Let’s break down the steps involved in a DDoS attack:
The Launch of the Botnet Attack
The attacker uses a network of compromised devices, known as a botnet, to launch the attack. These devices, which could be anything from personal computers to smart appliances, are infected with malware that allows the attacker to control them remotely.
Traffic Overload: The Flood
The attacker then instructs the botnet to send a massive number of requests to the target server all at once. This surge in traffic can overwhelm the server, causing it to slow down, crash, or become completely inaccessible to legitimate users
Types of DDoS Attacks:
Volume-Based Attacks:
Aim to overwhelm the bandwidth of the target site or server.
Protocol Attacks:
Exploit weaknesses in the server’s protocol stack, leading to resource exhaustion (e.g., SYN flood attacks).
Application Layer Attacks:
Target the application layer of the server, such as HTTP, to disrupt the functioning of web applications (e.g., HTTP flood attacks).
Application-Layer DDos Attacks Explanation
Targeted at Specific Applications: These attacks are designed to exploit vulnerabilities in the application’s processing power or architecture. For instance, attackers might flood a web server with HTTP GET or POST requests that appear normal but are intended to overload the server’s ability to handle them.
Lower Traffic Volume: Compared to network-layer DDoS attacks, application-layer attacks typically require less bandwidth because the focus is on sending fewer but more complex requests. Despite the lower volume, these attacks can be more effective because they directly affect the application’s ability to function.
Difficult to Detect: Since the requests in an application-layer DDoS attack often mimic legitimate user behaviour, it can be challenging to distinguish between normal traffic and malicious activity. This makes detection and mitigation more complex.
What is DDoS Protection?
DDoS protection involves a set of measures and technologies designed to detect, mitigate, and prevent DDoS attacks, ensuring that your website or network remains operational even under attack.
Here’s how it works:
TRAFFIC FILTERING: Rate Limiting:
Controls the number of requests a server will accept from a single IP address within a specific time frame, preventing attackers from overwhelming the server.
IP Address: Explanation
Just like your home address tells people where to send your mail, an IP address tells the internet where to send data, whether it’s a webpage, an email, or a file.
In essence, an IP address is like a digital address for your device on the internet, ensuring that the data you request gets delivered to the right place.
TRAFFIC FILTERING: Traffic Analysis:
Monitors incoming traffic patterns to detect anomalies, like a sudden surge in requests from a particular source, that might indicate an attack.
LOAD BALANCING:
Distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers, ensuring no single server is overwhelmed. This makes it more difficult for a DDoS attack to take down your entire service.
ANYCAST NETWORK:
Uses multiple data centres around the world to handle incoming traffic. During an attack, traffic is distributed to the nearest or least busy data centres, reducing the impact on any single location.
SCRUBBING CENTRES:
Dedicated facilities that filter out malicious traffic from legitimate traffic. When an attack is detected, traffic is rerouted through these centres, where malicious packets are identified and removed before legitimate traffic reaches your server.
WEB APPLICATION FIREWALLS (WAF):
Protects web applications by filtering and monitoring HTTP requests. WAFs can block malicious requests that are common in application-layer DDoS attacks.
ANTI-DDoS APPLIANCES:
These are specialised hardware devices or virtual appliances designed to detect and mitigate DDoS attacks. They can be deployed on-site or in the cloud to protect servers and networks.
Why DDoS Protection is Essential
DDoS protection is not just a technical necessity; it’s a critical component of your overall online security strategy.
Here’s why:
Maintains Availability:
DDoS protection ensures your website or online service remains accessible to legitimate users, even during an attack.
Protects Your Reputation:
Downtime caused by DDoS attacks can damage your brand’s reputation and erode customer trust. By preventing these attacks, you safeguard your brand image.
Minimises Financial Loss:
For e-commerce sites and other online services, downtime equals lost revenue. DDoS protection helps minimise these financial losses by keeping your site online.
Here’s a handy quick list of different types of cyber assaults: Phishing: Deceptive attempts to steal sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, or personal data by pretending to be a trustworthy person or entity in electronic communications. Malware: Malicious software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to computer systems. Types include viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, spyware, and adware. Ransomware: A type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files, or, locks them out of their systems until a ransom is paid. SQL Injection: A type of attack where hackers insert malicious SQL code into a query to manipulate a database, giving unauthorised access to data. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attack: An attack where the hacker secretly intercepts (and possibly alters) the communication between two parties without their knowledge. Zero-Day Exploit: An attack that targets a previously unknown vulnerability in software before the vendor has issued a patch or fix. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): A type of injection where malicious scripts are injected into trusted websites, typically to steal information from users. Password Attacks: Various techniques used to gain unauthorised access to accounts by cracking passwords, including brute force attacks, dictionary attacks, and credential stuffing. Distributed Denial of Service: An attack where multiple systems overwhelm a targeted server, service, or network with a flood of internet traffic, causing it to become unavailable. Social Engineering: Manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information, or, performing actions that compromise security – often through deceit or impersonation. Advanced Persistent Threat (APT): A prolonged and targeted cyber attack in which an intruder gains access to a network and remains undetected for an extended period, often to steal sensitive data. Drive-by Download Attack: Occurs when a user unknowingly downloads malware onto their device simply by visiting a compromised website. Credential Reuse: Using stolen login credentials from one service to access other services, exploiting users who use the same password across multiple sites. IoT Attacks: Exploiting vulnerabilities in Internet of Things (IoT) devices to gain control over them, or, to use them as entry points into larger networks.
DDoS Protection with 1-grid WordPress Hosting
At 1-grid, we understand how crucial it is to keep your website running smoothly and securely. That’s why our WordPress hosting plans come standard with robust DDoS protection. With features like traffic filtering, load balancing, and web application firewalls, our hosting services are designed to keep your WordPress site safe from DDoS attacks, ensuring uninterrupted service for your customers.
Whether you’re running a personal blog, a business website, or an online store, our DDoS-protected WordPress hosting provides the security and reliability you need to focus on what matters most — growing your business.
DDoS attacks are a serious threat to the availability and security of online services. However, with the right protection in place, such as the DDoS protection included in 1-grid’s WordPress hosting, you can defend your website against these attacks and ensure that your business remains online and operational.
Ready to safeguard your WordPress site?
Explore our WordPress Hosting Plans today and enjoy peace of mind knowing your site is protected with industry-leading DDoS protection.