With increase internet use due to COVID-19 and many people working from home, there is also an increase in online DDoS attacks.
What is a DDoS online attack?
A DDoS attack, or distributed denial-of-service attack, is an immense surge of traffic to a website with the sole purpose of preventing normal users from accessing the website. It’s like purposely flooding a highway with unnecessary vehicles creating traffic clogs to hinder legitimate commuters.
Here are symptoms your website may experience if under a DDoS attack:
- Slow performance
- Users getting the message: Unable to connect to the Internet
- Excessive comment and form spam
- Exceeding Bandwidth limits
Why are DDoS attacks happening?
DDoS attacks are designed to impede normal traffic. Someone may choose to perform a DDoS attack on Zoom, for example, preventing normal users from accessing the service. No one can be sure why people choose to do DDoS attacks, but some common reasons might be competitive websites fighting for traffic, politics, revenge, or unfortunately, it may be completely random.
Depending on the subject of your website, you may be targeted for many different reasons. With more internet traffic, there will also be more people trying to impede the day-to-day operations of working from home and general use.
According to Help Net Security, “The total number of attacks increased by over two and a half times during January through June of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.”
Can you stop a DDoS attack?
The attack targets the server that the website is hosted on, and tries to push so much traffic into the site that the server fails. There are several ways to prevent DDoS attacks, but it depends on the type of attack. For smaller attacks, you can block the malicious incoming IP addresses. The issue with larger DDoS attacks it is extremely difficult to differentiate between normal users and malicious ones.
In the case of larger DDoS attacks, it is best to reach out to your web host or IT professional to determine the best actions to take.
What can you do to protect your website?
Several things can be done to prevent DDoS attacks. Although it is impossible to prevent 100% of attacks, taking preventative measures can save you or your business a lot of money and time in the future. Some methods to prevent DDoS attacks may include identifying them early, limiting your router to only allow a certain amount of traffic to the server, and of course, contacting your hosting provider.
Be Proactive. Contact Tecadvocates to set up protection for your website from malicious DDoS attacks.