DDoS cyberattacks uses compromised systems to flood a target system, network, or website with an overwhelming amount of traffic, causing it to become slow or unavailable to legit users.
3 Factors impacting the surge of DDoS Attacks are
- Rise of State Actors
- Application Layer Attacks
- Attacks becoming more Complex
Complexity of Web DDoS Attacks
- A Web DDoS attack is a more complex sort of HTTP DDoS Flood strike that is difficult to identify and mitigate without interfering with normal traffic.
- According to Stormwall DDoS Report 2023, the DDoS attacks spiked 47% in the Q1 of 2023.
- It revealed a new level of expertise, frequency, and effect that enterprises must deal with.
- This escalating threat is apparent by the increasing prevalence of web DDoS attacks, that has become an imminent threat across businesses.
Source: Stormwall
What are the types of DDoS Attacks?
Volumetric Attacks –
These flood the target with a massive amount of data packets, consuming bandwidth & network resources.
Protocol Attacks –
These exploit weaknesses in network protocols or services, causing them to use excessive resources.
Application Layer Attacks –
These target the application layer of a system. They overwhelm it with requests and make it difficult to distinguish between legit and malicious traffic.
Why are DDoS Attacks difficult to Mitigate?
There are quite a lot of reasons and we shall see a few of them below:
Distributed Nature
DDoS attacks are distributed. It means the traffic comes from multiple sources. Cybercriminals may compromise thousands or even millions of devices. Thus, making it challenging to pinpoint the source and block it then and there.
Traffic Variability
DDoS attacks differ in traffic patterns. It makes it tedious to identify between legit and malicious traffic. Cybercriminals might change their tactics during an attack, making it harder to mitigate.
Botnets
Cybercriminals often use botnets. Botnets are networks of compromised devices, to carry out DDoS attacks. These devices could be located in different regions, making it harder to block them all.
Amplification Techniques
Few DDoS attacks use amplification techniques where a small request generates a large response from the target, amplifying the impact of the attack.
IP Spoofing
Cybercriminals could also spoof IP addresses. It appears as if the traffic is coming from multiple legit sources, further complicating mitigation efforts.
Resource Exhaustion
DDoS attacks aim to exhaust the target’s resources like bandwidth, CPU & memory. Mitigating these attacks involves diverting traffic, filtering malicious requests, and absorbing excess traffic.
Advanced Tools & Techniques
Cybercriminals seem to develop new tools and techniques to evade detection and mitigation. This is the ultimate game-changer and a constant challenge for businesses to keep up.
False Positives
Businesses implementing countermeasures against DDoS attacks could sometimes face false positives. They end up blocking legit users or traffic. It could negatively impact the user experience.
Wrap Up
The convergence of the above factors has resulted in web DDoS attacks as the primary vector for modern DDoS threats. These attacks use the application-layer HTTP or HTTPS protocols to overwhelm servers by delivering a flood of requests toward online apps.
Because most web communication is encrypted, detecting malicious intent becomes difficult, making these attacks a tad difficult to tackle & mitigate.
To mitigate web DDoS attacks, organizations must deploy robust security solutions that includes traffic filtering, content delivery networks (CDNs), DDoS mitigation solutions.
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Swathi
Author
Working IT professional and a Cyber Security enthusiast. Passionate to write about Cyber Security topics and Solutions. I share my insights as I study articles and trending topics in the field of Cyber Security.
