Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have evolved into one of the most common and damaging forms of cyber threats, targeting businesses of all sizes. These attacks aim to overwhelm networks, servers, or applications with massive volumes of traffic, disrupting operations and causing significant financial and reputational losses. Implementing robust defense mechanisms is critical to maintaining service continuity and protecting organizational assets. Below, we detail 10 essential practices to stop DDoS attacks effectively.
1. Deploy Scalable Cloud-Based DDoS Protection
Today, DDoS attacks have become more complicated and powerful, making it hard for traditional on-premises security to stop them. These attacks use vast botnets to flood networks with malicious traffic, making it unavailable for legit users.
To fight these threats, cloud-based DDoS protection has become very important. Services such as AWS Shield, Azure DDoS Protection, and Cloudflare offer strong, scalable defenses that can handle even the largest volumetric attacks. This helps businesses stay online and reduces the downtime.
Why Cloud-Based DDoS Protection?
Unlike on-premises systems, cloud-based solutions use a network of servers around the world to handle and reduce massive attack traffic. They can dynamically scale to match the intensity of an attack, which stops them from running out of resources and keeps services available. This approach makes the system more resilient and avoids the need for costly hardware updates that are common with older systems.
Key Features and Benefits
Industry Insights
A report by Radware says that cloud-based DDoS protection can stop up to 90% of volumetric DDoS attacks. This helps keep websites up and running and lets legit users keep using them. These cloud systems work well because they can handle traffic surges reaching hundreds of gigabits per second.
In 2023, a major financial institution stopped a 1.5 Tbps DDoS attack using a cloud-based system. The service dynamically scaled to absorb the traffic and stopped the attack in just a few minutes. This kept the company’s services running and saved them from losing millions in potential revenue loss.
Using a cloud-based system that can scale when needed helps protect against today’s sophisticated attacks and also prepares companies for future threats.
Gain unparalleled visibility, proactive detection, and automated responses to outsmart attackers. What You’ll Find in This Datasheet:
- Asset Visibility
- Risk Profiling
- Deep Session Inspection
2. Implement Multi-Layered Defense Mechanisms
One layer of protection isn’t enough to stop the advanced tactics used in today’s DDoS attacks. A multi-layered defense strategy uses different tools and techniques at various levels of the network to handle different types of attacks, such as those that flood the network, exploit protocols, or target applications. This strategy makes sure no single point of failure and offers comprehensive security.
Components of Multi-Layered Defense
Perimeter Protection
- Firewalls: Stop unwanted traffic while letting legitimate connections through.
- IPS: Check traffic to find and block known attacks patterns.
- Web Application Firewalls (WAF): Guard against attacks on websites, such as SQL injection and HTTP floods.
Network-Layer Protection
- Anti-DDoS appliances and traffic scrubbing solutions filter malicious traffic before it affects the network.
- These tools handle high-volume attacks targeting bandwidth and network infrastructure.
Application-Layer Protection
- Layer 7 protection tools focus on application-specific threats, such as HTTP GET/POST floods.
- Advanced algorithms detect unusual patterns in requests to ensure application stability.
Why It Works
By addressing threats at multiple levels, this strategy reduces the likelihood of an attack penetrating the defenses. It ensures redundancy, preventing a single compromised layer from jeopardizing the entire system.
3. Enable Automated Traffic Filtering and Rate Limiting
Automated tools for traffic filtering and rate limiting play a crucial role in blocking excessive or malicious requests before they overwhelm the network. By leveraging AI-driven algorithms and predefined thresholds, these tools offer an efficient way to handle malicious traffic with minimal manual intervention.
Best Practices
Set Thresholds: Define limits on the number of requests an IP can make within a specific timeframe to prevent abuse.
Filter Malformed Packets: Use AI-powered filtering systems to block suspicious traffic and malformed packets associated with DDoS attacks.
Load Balancers and WAFs: Deploy these tools to distribute traffic evenly and enforce additional rate control, ensuring continuous service availability.
Supporting Fact
In 2024, many audits highlighted a significant increase in the number of mitigated DDoS attacks compared to the same period in 2023, underscoring the growing need for robust security measures.
4. Leverage Threat Intelligence and Advanced Analytics
Real-time threat intelligence gives useful insights into emerging attack vectors. This helps organizations protect themselves better by identifying unusual activity and predicting potential dangers. When combined with advanced analytics tools, it makes it easier to detect threats early.
Capabilities to Adopt
Threat Intelligence Feeds: Regularly update blocklists with IPs and domains identified as malicious.
Behavioral Analytics: Use traffic pattern analysis to detect anomalies that may indicate the onset of an attack.
Advanced Analytics with AI/ML: Predict attack trends using machine learning models and quickly adapt defenses.
Case Study
In 2024, businesses using real-time threat intelligence successfully, were able to stop a new variant of the Mirai botnet. This botnet targeted more than 400,000 devices around the world, but they prevented major disruption with services.
5. Build Redundant and Distributed Infrastructure
Redundancy and geographic distribution of resources are key to mitigating DDoS attacks. This strategy disperses attack traffic across multiple locations, minimizing the risk of complete service outages.
Strategies for Resilience
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Distribute traffic across multiple servers, reducing the impact on any single location.
Geographic Redundancy: Host resources in multiple data centers worldwide to absorb attack traffic effectively.
Failover Systems: Automatically reroute traffic to alternative servers or networks when one becomes overwhelmed.
Pro Tip
Platforms like Akamai, Fidelis Network® and Cloudflare excel at mitigating volumetric attacks by intelligently analyzing traffic and ensuring uninterrupted service.
6. Regularly Test and Update DDoS Defense Plans
An untested or outdated defense plan is a major vulnerability. Regularly testing and updating these plans ensures your organization is prepared for evolving threats.
Steps to Take
Simulated DDoS Drills: Conduct regular drills to evaluate response readiness and identify gaps in defenses.
Incident Response Training: Train response teams in early detection, escalation protocols, and mitigation strategies.
Defense Updates: Continuously update tools and protocols to counter new attack vectors.
Insight
As per a report, 43% of CISOs who reported a breach experienced unplanned downtime as a result, highlighting the critical need for effective incident response strategies. This underscores the importance of having a tested and updated defense plan to minimize downtime during cyber incidents.
7. Secure IoT Devices and Endpoints
IoT devices are often exploited as entry points for botnets in large-scale DDoS attacks. Securing these devices can significantly reduce their risk of being used in malicious campaigns.
Key Actions
Enforce Strong Password Policies: Ensure all IoT devices use complex, unique passwords.
Regular Updates and Patches: Keep device firmware up to date to close security vulnerabilities.
Network Segmentation: Isolate IoT devices in dedicated networks to limit lateral movement if compromised.
Insight
In 2024, threat actors increased efforts to compromise IoT devices and incorporate them into their botnets, contributing to the rise in DDoS attacks. This trend underscores the critical need for robust security measures to protect IoT devices from exploitation in such attacks.
8. Use IP Blacklisting and Geo-Blocking
Blocking traffic from malicious IPs or high-risk regions is an effective way to reduce DDoS attack traffic. However, these measures should be part of a broader security strategy.
Best Practices
Updated Blacklists: Maintain real-time blacklists of known malicious IP addresses.
Geo-Blocking: Restrict access from regions irrelevant to your business or known for high attack volumes.
Threat Intelligence Integration: Use threat intelligence feeds to enhance the accuracy of blocking mechanisms.
Warning
While geo-blocking is useful, sophisticated botnets using proxies or VPNs can bypass these restrictions, necessitating additional security layers.
9. Enable DNS Security
DNS servers are frequent targets of DDoS attacks, as disrupting them can bring down entire services. Strengthening DNS security ensures resilience against such tactics.
DNS Defense Strategies
Redundant DNS Servers: Deploy multiple servers across regions to ensure availability during an attack.
Traffic Monitoring: Continuously monitor DNS queries for unusual activity or patterns indicative of an attack.
DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions): Validate DNS responses to prevent spoofing and tampering.
Key Benefit
Robust DNS security measures significantly reduce the risk of domain resolution failures, ensuring uninterrupted access to online services.
10. Partner with Anti-DDoS Service Providers
Anti-DDoS service providers have advanced systems, expertise, and real-time response capabilities. This helps them large-scale attacks effectively.
What They Provide
Traffic Scrubbing Centers: Filter and remove malicious traffic before it reach your network.
24/7 Monitoring: Continuous monitoring and real-time responses to emerging threats.
Advanced Forensics: Detailed analysis post-attack to improve defenses against future incidents.
The Role of Fidelis Elevate® in DDoS Mitigation
When facing the relentless surge of modern DDoS attacks, Fidelis Elevate® steps in as your ultimate line of defense. This cutting-edge eXtended Detection and Response (XDR) platform combines advanced technologies with proactive strategies to stop DDoS threats in their tracks—quickly, efficiently, and with minimal disruption.
- Unmatched Visibility: Maps and profiles all assets—on-premises, cloud, and hybrid—using patented Deep Session Inspection to detect hidden threats in encrypted and nested traffic.
- Proactive Threat Detection: Correlates weak signals into high-confidence detections using contextual data from across your network, ensuring faster and more accurate responses to DDoS campaigns.
- Automated Response: Implements dynamic traffic filtering, rate limiting, and deception technology to misdirect attackers and secure critical systems.
- Post-Attack Forensics: Delivers detailed insights into attack vectors and impacted assets, helping you strengthen your defenses for the future.
- Seamless Integration: Works with leading SIEM, SOAR, and third-party tools to unify and enhance your security stack.
Fidelis Elevate® doesn’t just stop attacks—it redefines how organizations stay resilient in the face of DDoS threats, ensuring uninterrupted business operations and peace of mind.
Conclusion
Defending against DDoS attacks involves using a mix of technical measures, constant monitoring, and a skilled security team. By following the 10 best practices mentioned above, companies can greatly lower the chances of service disruption and financial damage. Also, using advanced tools like Fidelis Elevate® offers a strong, all-in-one solution to stop DDoS threats, ensuring business runs smoothly, and improves overall cybersecurity.
