What Happens During a DDOS Attack?

 

What are the mechanics of a DDoS attack? What happens during the attack?

DDoS attacks are carried out using a network of remotely controlled, hacked computers or bots, known as a botnet. The hacker, often referred to as a "botmaster", controls this network. The botnet is used to generate an overwhelming amount of traffic to a target website or an online service, rendering it inoperable.

In a typical DDoS attack, the hacker begins by exploiting a vulnerability in one computer system and making it the DDoS master. The attack master, also known as the botmaster, identifies and infects other vulnerable systems with malware. Eventually, the hacker gains control of several compromised computers to form a network of 'bots', which is called a botnet.

Once a botnet is established, the attacker sends updated instructions to the botnet, commanding it to attack a specified target. The botnet carries out these orders by sending vast amounts of traffic to the target, causing its network to overload and eventually crash.

DDOS Attack Frequency

What is the frequency of DDOS attacks?

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a cyber-attack in which multiple compromised computer systems flood the targeted system with superfluous requests, causing a denial of service to legitimate users.

DDoS attacks have become increasingly common in recent years. In 2022, the number of DDoS attacks grew 150% on a global basis compared to the previous year. This trend is expected to continue in 2023, with organizations facing an average of 29.3 attacks per day.

Types of DDoS Attacks

There are two main types of DDoS attacks: volumetric attacks and application layer attacks.

• Volumetric attacks flood the target system with large amounts of traffic. This can be done by using a botnet, which is a network of infected computers that are controlled by a single attacker.
• Application layer attacks target specific applications or services on the target system. This can be done by sending malicious requests to the application or service, or by exploiting vulnerabilities in the application or service.

Examples of DDoS Attacks

In 2022, there were a number of high-profile DDoS attacks, including:

• A 1.46Tbps attack on a major cloud provider
• A 1.3Tbps attack on a gaming company
• A 1Tbps attack on a financial institution

These attacks caused significant disruption to the targeted organizations, and in some cases, they resulted in financial losses.

Impact of DDoS Attacks

DDoS attacks can have a significant impact on organizations, including:

• Disruption of services: DDoS attacks can make it impossible for legitimate users to access the targeted organization's services. This can lead to lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, and damage to the organization's reputation.
• Financial losses: DDoS attacks can also lead to financial losses. For example, organizations may have to pay for additional bandwidth or for mitigation services. In some cases, organizations may also have to pay ransoms to the attackers in order to restore their services.
• Damage to reputation: DDoS attacks can damage the organization's reputation. If customers are unable to access the organization's services, they may take their business elsewhere. This can lead to a loss of market share and a decline in revenue.

Mitigation Strategies

There are a number of strategies that organizations can use to mitigate the risk of DDoS attacks, including:

• Deploying a DDoS mitigation service: A DDoS mitigation service can help to protect organizations from DDoS attacks by absorbing the attack traffic and preventing it from reaching the target system.
• Implementing security best practices: Organizations should implement security best practices, such as patching vulnerabilities and using strong passwords, to help protect themselves from DDoS attacks.
• Educating employees: Employees should be educated about DDoS attacks and how to identify and report suspicious activity.

Conclusion

DDoS attacks are a serious threat to organizations of all sizes. The frequency of DDoS attacks is increasing, and the attacks are becoming more powerful. Organizations need to take steps to protect themselves from DDoS attacks by deploying a DDoS mitigation service, implementing security best practices, and educating employees.

Sources

• A simple cyberattack is becoming more destructive and commonplace: https://www.axios.com/2023/07/07/ddos-cyberattack-more-destructive
• DDoS Attacks Not Only More Frequent But More Powerful - Report: https://securitybrief.com.au/story/ddos-attacks-not-only-more-frequent-but-more-powerful-report
• 20+ DDoS attack statistics and facts for 2018-2023: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/ddos-statistics-facts/
• Organizations fought an average of 29.3 attacks daily in late 2022: https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/98958-organizations-fought-an-average-of-293-attacks-daily-in-late-2022

DDOS Attack, Blizzard Entertainment

The DDOS attack against Blizzard Entertainment:

• Date: February 20, 2023
• Time: 10:00 AM Pacific Time
• Target: Blizzard Entertainment's online gaming platforms, including World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo
• Attack method: Distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack
• Impact: The attack caused widespread outages across Blizzard's online gaming platforms, making them inaccessible to players for several hours.
• Responsibility: The hacktivist group Lapsus$ claimed responsibility for the attack.

The DDOS attack against Blizzard Entertainment was a significant event that disrupted the gaming experience for millions of players. The attack also highlighted the vulnerability of online gaming platforms to cyberattacks.

Here are some additional details about the attack:

• The attack was carried out using a large number of compromised devices, which were used to flood Blizzard's servers with traffic. This made it impossible for Blizzard to process legitimate requests from players, resulting in the outages.
• Lapsus$ is a hacktivist group that has been responsible for a number of high-profile cyberattacks in recent months. The group has targeted companies such as Microsoft, Nvidia, and Okta.
• Lapsus$ has not released any specific demands in exchange for stopping the attack against Blizzard Entertainment. However, the group has a history of demanding ransom payments from its victims.
• Blizzard Entertainment has not yet commented on the attack or its impact. However, the company has said that it is working to restore service to its online gaming platforms.

The DDOS attack against Blizzard Entertainment is a reminder of the importance of cybersecurity for online gaming platforms. Companies that operate these platforms need to take steps to protect themselves from cyberattacks, such as implementing DDOS mitigation measures and monitoring their networks for suspicious activity.

Notable DDOS Attacks So Far in 2023

Here are some notable DDoS attacks that occurred in 2023:

• February 2023: A DDoS attack targeted the Israeli government and telecommunications providers, knocking several government websites offline and disrupting phone and internet services. The attack was believed to be carried out by pro-Palestinian hacktivists.
• March 2023: A DDoS attack targeted the website of the European Union's vaccination rollout program, making it inaccessible for several hours. The attack was believed to be carried out by anti-vaccine activists.
• April 2023: A DDoS attack targeted the website of the US Department of Justice, making it inaccessible for several hours. The attack was believed to be carried out by hacktivists protesting the Justice Department's handling of the January 6th Capitol riot.
• May 2023: A DDoS attack targeted the website of the Ukrainian government, knocking it offline for several hours. The attack was believed to be carried out by Russian hackers in retaliation for the Ukrainian government's support of NATO.
• June 2023: A DDoS attack targeted the website of the Chinese government, making it inaccessible for several hours. The attack was believed to be carried out by pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.

These are just a few of the notable DDoS attacks that occurred in 2023. DDoS attacks are becoming increasingly common and sophisticated, and they pose a serious threat to businesses and governments around the world.

Here are some additional details about each of the attacks listed above:

• The February 2023 attack on Israeli government websites was carried out using a technique called a reflection attack. This type of attack involves sending malicious traffic to a third-party server, which then bounces the traffic back to the target server. The attack was so large that it overwhelmed the target servers and caused them to crash.
• The March 2023 attack on the EU vaccination rollout program was also carried out using a reflection attack. The attack targeted the Domain Name System (DNS) servers that are used to resolve domain names to IP addresses. By flooding the DNS servers with malicious traffic, the attackers were able to disrupt the ability of users to access the vaccination program website.
• The April 2023 attack on the US Department of Justice website was carried out using a volumetric attack. This type of attack involves sending large amounts of junk traffic to the target server. The attack was so large that it overwhelmed the target server and caused it to crash.
• The May 2023 attack on the Ukrainian government website was carried out using a combination of reflection and volumetric attacks. The attackers used reflection attacks to amplify the amount of traffic that was sent to the target server. They also used volumetric attacks to overwhelm the target server with junk traffic.
• The June 2023 attack on the Chinese government website was carried out using a technique called a slow HTTP attack. This type of attack involves sending small amounts of malicious traffic to the target server over a long period of time. The attack is designed to overwhelm the target server's resources and make it difficult for it to respond to legitimate requests.

These are just a few examples of the types of DDoS attacks that are being used by attackers in 2023.

How to Avoid DDOS Attack

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attack on a computer or network designed to overwhelm it with traffic, ultimately making it inaccessible to its intended users. As such, it is important to take steps to protect your computer or network from such an attack. This article will discuss the steps you can take to avoid a DDoS attack and the best practices to be followed.

Understanding the Basics of a DDoS Attack

Before you can learn how to avoid a DDoS attack, you must first understand what a DDoS attack is. A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a network or computer by flooding it with traffic from multiple sources. The attack can be performed from a single computer, a group of computers, or even from the entire internet. The goal of the attack is to overwhelm the network or computer with traffic so that it is unable to process legitimate requests.

Strategies to Avoid DDoS Attacks

There are several strategies you can use to avoid DDoS attacks. The most effective strategy is to ensure that your system is properly protected against DDoS attacks by implementing a DDoS protection plan. This plan should include:

Firewall: A firewall is a system that blocks traffic from entering or leaving your network. It is important to ensure that your firewall is up-to-date and properly configured to detect and block malicious traffic.

Network Monitoring: Monitoring your network is important to ensure that malicious traffic is blocked before it can reach your system. You should also monitor your system logs regularly to detect any suspicious activities.

Load Balancing: You should use a load balancer to distribute the traffic among multiple servers, which will help protect your system from being overwhelmed by a single attack.

Anti-DDoS Software: Anti-DDoS software can help detect and block malicious traffic by analyzing the incoming traffic and blocking any traffic that appears suspicious.

Limit Access: Limiting access to your system can help protect against DDoS attacks as only authorized users will be able to access the system.

Conclusion

DDoS attacks can have a significant impact on your system's performance and availability. It is important to protect your system from such attacks by implementing an appropriate DDoS protection plan. The strategies mentioned above are the best practices to follow to protect your company from DDOS attacks.

What is "On-Premise DDOS Protection?"

On-premise DDoS protection is a type of security system that is implemented at the network edge of the business. It provides extensive, multi-layer defense against DDoS attacks, enabling complete and sophisticated visibility into security events. It is designed to protect against small, sub-saturating DDoS attacks, and can identify and mitigate large-scale volumetric attacks in the cloud. However, this type of protection does have a key drawback, which is its limitation in blocking large DDoS attacks that are larger than the internet pipe. To ensure protection at all levels, businesses should consider combining an on-premises appliance-based solution with a cloud-based solution.

The following DDOS solutions have on-premises applications, according to various sources:

• Radware: Radware provides a range of DDoS protection solutions for enterprises, service providers and data centers. Their solutions provide multi-level protection against DDoS attacks, including inline and out-of-path solutions.
• Corero: Corero provides always-on DDoS protection solutions for enterprise, hosting and service providers. Its solutions protect on-premise, cloud, virtual, and hybrid environments.
• Cloudflare: Cloudflare provides a range of products designed to protect against DDoS attacks, including their Enterprise DDoS Protection, which is designed to protect servers, websites, and applications from large-scale attacks.
• A10 Networks: A10 Networks provides a range of DDoS protection solutions for enterprises, data centers, and service providers. Their solutions offer multi-level protection, such as inline and out-of-path solutions.
• F5 Networks: F5 Networks provides a range of DDoS protection solutions designed to protect against volumetric, application, and protocol-based attacks.

Some Notable DDOS Attacks in 2022

In June 2022, Cloudflare reported a massive DDoS attack that peaked at 26 million requests per second (RPS). This attack was delivered via a small but powerful botnet they've named “Mantis.” The network of 5,067 attacker-controlled devices, which relies on the use of both servers and virtual machines, was able to deliver a maximum of 5,200 requests per second per machine (node). Additionally, Imperva reported an even larger PPS attack on another client that surpassed the January record — the newest attack peaked at 580 million PPS.