DDoS Attacks: Top 6 Cost-Effective DDoS Solutions by CDN
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What is a DDoS attack? Exploring six effective solutions. Why CDN is a recognized website security measure? How does CDN defend against DDoS attacks? Find out below!
What Is DDoS Attack?
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurs when an attacker utilizes numerous “botnet” devices on a network (such as personal computers, mobile phones, tablet computers, or various IoT devices) to send a massive volume of traffic or requests to a target. This overwhelms the target system and leads to service instability or interruption.
How to Use Botnets to Initiate DDoS Attacks
Attackers utilize malicious software or exploit security vulnerabilities to gain control over various IoT devices. Once infected, these devices become part of a botnet, which then infects additional devices to create more botnets. When instructed remotely by the attacker, these botnets initiate DDoS attacks. Attackers leverage the vast number of botnets to amplify the scale of the attack, generating a significant volume of malicious traffic or false requests that disrupt the target system’s service. Moreover, infected devices are difficult to identify as these botnets typically remain in normal operation until they receive the attack command.
◼️ Recommend: Exploring Botnets: Mechanisms, Varieties & Defense Strategies
Can anyone launch DDoS attack?
With the continuous advancement of the internet, it has become effortless to find DDoS-for-Hire services or tutorials for conducting DDoS attacks online. Consequently, DDoS attacks have become increasingly prevalent. Nowadays, individuals with minimal or no knowledge can easily initiate a DDoS attack.
In 2020, high school students in the U.S. planned a DDoS attack to skip classes, resulting in the disruption of not only the school’s computer-based teaching platform but also local area networks. Following the incident, the perpetrators confessed to using DDoS tools obtained from the internet. The availability of such information and online DDoS programs has made it possible for even high school students to download such software and orchestrate DDoS attacks, leading to the shutdown of school and local networks.
◼️ Recommend: What is DDoS Attack? Definition, Attack Types, and OSI Model
CDN: Your Defense Against DDoS Attacks!
1. Independent CDN Resource: Reduce Risks with Traffic Distribution
ApeiroCDN implements traffic distribution, mainly divided into China and non-China regions. Users from different regions are directed to different IPs, and their traffic passes through distinct networks. Therefore, even in the event of a DDoS attack, only certain networks may be impacted, reducing the likelihood of service disruption. For instance, if the primary source of the DDoS attack is from China, users from the Philippines (non-China) will not be affected by this DDoS attack. Similarly, if the attack originates from non-China regions, ApeiroCDN’s employment of independent networks and IPs ensures that users in non-China regions will generally remain unaffected.
2. Block L3/L4 DDoS Attacks by Only Permitting TCP Traffic
By default, ApeiroCDN blocks all UDP traffic and permits only TCP traffic from specific services to pass. As a result, DDoS attacks that exhaust bandwidth at Layer 3 or Layer 4 can be promptly mitigated without affecting the origin servers and services.
◼️ Recommend: WAF (Web Application Firewall) vs. Firewall: Explained
3. CDN Blocks DDoS Attacks by Concealing Origin Servers
After the customer has resolved the domain to ApeiroCDN, the network traffic will only direct to ApeiroCDN, which conceals the origin servers from the net. With ApeiroCDN blocking DDoS attacks in the front line, the origin servers will not be affected.
4. Configure WAF (Web Application Firewall) Directly on the CDN Management Platform
Within ApeiroCDN, users have the flexibility to configure WAF rules based on their specific requirements. This allows them to control and permit only desired traffic (based on regions or requests) while blocking abnormal traffic. Consequently, the likelihood of abnormal traffic penetrating the backend origin servers during a DDoS attack is significantly reduced. For instance, if your website suddenly experiences a high volume of connections from a specific IP, such as 1.2.3.4 (1,000 requests within a minute), you can set up WAF rules on the ApeiroCDN platform to block all connections from IP 1.2.3.4. Once the configuration is applied, any requests from IP 1.2.3.4 to your website are immediately blocked.
⬛ Recommend: CDN Tutorial: Reverse Proxy Server Principles & Advantages
5. Automatic Switch to Tb+ Scrubbing Center in 30 Sec for Abnormal Traffic
ApeiroCDN is equipped with a DDoS protection. Once abnormal traffic is detected (Layer 3 or Layer 4 attack), your services are automatically redirected to the scrubbing center for mitigation within 30 seconds. The scrubbing center processes the traffic and sends back the cleansed traffic to your origin servers. This ensures that your services can continue running smoothly without being affected by the ongoing DDoS attack. The scrubbing center has the capacity to mitigate up to 1 TB of traffic per second.
6. 24/7 Monitoring Center: Real-time Attack Response
ApeiroCDN features a 24/7 monitoring center, staffed by expert professionals, ensuring year-round vigilance over your services. In case of abnormal connection records, particularly Layer 7 attacks, instant notifications alert administrators. Upon confirmation of suspicious connections, quick assistance is offered to configure WAF rules for blocking or rerouting services to the scrubbing center, ensuring service stability.
⬛ Recommend 1: 5 CDN Bulk Domain Management Strategies for DDoS Defense
⬛ Recommend 2: Identifying L7 DDoS Attacks(part1): Monitoring and Analyzing
⬛ Recommend 3: WAF Guide: Attack, Defense, and Deployment Strategies
⬛ Recommend 4: CDN Services: Inside the 24/7 DDoS Security Center
⬛ Recommend 5: Exploring Botnets: Mechanisms, Varieties & Defense Strategies
⬛ Recommend 6: CDN Architecture: Exploring Different Architectures and Benefits
⬛ Recommend 7: Choose a CDN Vendor: The Best Technical Questions to Ask
⬛ Recommend 8: Apeiro8’s Bespoke CDN Services: Where Speed Meets Security
