DoS and DDoS attacks
A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming it with a flood of internet traffic. This traffic flood is typically generated from a single source. These attacks can inflict significant damages by rendering targeted services unavailable, causing financial losses, disrupting business operations, and potentially leading to data breaches.
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an extension of a DoS attack, where the malicious traffic comes from multiple compromised computers, forming a botnet. This coordinated effort to overwhelm a target makes DDoS attacks more potent than traditional DoS attacks.
How to prevent DoS and DDoS attacks?
- Network Monitoring:
- Regularly monitor network traffic for unusual patterns;
- Detect and analyze sudden spikes in traffic that may indicate a DoS or DDoS attack.
- Load Balancers:
- Distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers using load balancers;
- Helps prevent overwhelming a single server and ensures service availability.
- Rate Limiting:
- Implement rate-limiting mechanisms to restrict the number of requests a user or IP address can make within a specified time frame;
- Reduces the impact of flooding attacks.
One of the notable Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in recent years was the "Dyn Cyberattack" that occurred in October 2016.
This attack was a significant DDoS assault that utilized the Mirai botnet to flood Dyn, a major DNS service provider, with malicious traffic. This resulted in widespread outages for popular websites and online services, including Twitter, GitHub, and Netflix. The attack underscored the vulnerability of critical internet infrastructure and emphasized the need for improved security measures to mitigate the impact of large-scale DDoS attacks on essential online services.
Everything was clear?
Course Content
Cyber Security Fundamentals
1. Introduction to Cyber Security
Cyber Security Fundamentals
DoS and DDoS attacks
A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming it with a flood of internet traffic. This traffic flood is typically generated from a single source. These attacks can inflict significant damages by rendering targeted services unavailable, causing financial losses, disrupting business operations, and potentially leading to data breaches.
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an extension of a DoS attack, where the malicious traffic comes from multiple compromised computers, forming a botnet. This coordinated effort to overwhelm a target makes DDoS attacks more potent than traditional DoS attacks.
How to prevent DoS and DDoS attacks?
- Network Monitoring:
- Regularly monitor network traffic for unusual patterns;
- Detect and analyze sudden spikes in traffic that may indicate a DoS or DDoS attack.
- Load Balancers:
- Distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers using load balancers;
- Helps prevent overwhelming a single server and ensures service availability.
- Rate Limiting:
- Implement rate-limiting mechanisms to restrict the number of requests a user or IP address can make within a specified time frame;
- Reduces the impact of flooding attacks.
One of the notable Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in recent years was the "Dyn Cyberattack" that occurred in October 2016.
This attack was a significant DDoS assault that utilized the Mirai botnet to flood Dyn, a major DNS service provider, with malicious traffic. This resulted in widespread outages for popular websites and online services, including Twitter, GitHub, and Netflix. The attack underscored the vulnerability of critical internet infrastructure and emphasized the need for improved security measures to mitigate the impact of large-scale DDoS attacks on essential online services.
Everything was clear?
