23.05.2018
DDoS Attack – Semalt Expert Explains
How To Protect Your Server
Web security has become a critical issue for webmasters in recent years. This is due to the threat of hacking attacks
perpetrated by cyber criminals. One of the primary concerns of every webmaster is Distributed Denial-of-Service
(DDoS).
The Customer Success Manager of Semalt, Andrew Dyhan, gives an insight into the essence of DDoS attack to help
you stop hackers from slowing down a server.
DDoS is a common form of attack faced by webmasters. At the most basic level, the attack is aimed at slowing down
your site, but it carries the potential of crashing your site and rendering it inaccessible to visitors.
In the case of DDoS attacks leveled against a web application, the software gets overloaded by the hackers. As a
result, the application is unable to serve the required web pages properly.
To push a server running an application to crash, a DDoS attack target the following:
Hard disk space
Server memory
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23.05.2018
Database space
CPU usage
Application exception handling system
Network bandwidth
Database connection pool
DDoS attacks against web
applications include:
1. Stalling the application database connection by
creating CPU-intensive queries.
2. Disrupting service to a person or system including blocking a user from accessing the site by invalid login
attempts which result in the suspension of the account.
3. Flooding web applications in an effort to stop normal traf c from getting to the site.
DDoS attacks have become the method of choice for hackers because they are almost impossible to protect against,
cheap to execute and affect many users. Most of the time, all a professional hacker need is enough resources and a
vulnerable target to take a site of ine.
How do these attacks work?
DDoS attacks begin with a single hacker or several hackers setting up a series of bot systems. The hacker commands
individual bots to drive traf c to a particular site consistently and simultaneously which normally puts pressure on
the site's server.
If the bot systems have a large network, the pressure on the server can bring the site down. Although these attacks
do not necessarily expose personal information compared to other hacking techniques, they still have a negative
effect on companies that rely a lot on readership and online sales. DDoS attacks can cost a business more than
$500,000.
These attacks carry the potential of damaging the reputation of a brand and giving the wrong impression to users.
When perpetrated by business rivals, they give your competitors an edge by enabling them to establish a stronger,
reputable business brand compared to your seemingly unreliable brand. In some instances, cyber criminals threaten
webmasters to continue disrupting services until they receive a speci c amount of money.
In addition, data gleaned from a DDoS attack can be utilized by hackers to attack the website in future. Normally,
follow-up attacks are simply opportunistic and occur when attackers realize that the site is highly vulnerable which
makes it an easy target for more complex attacks in future.
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23.05.2018
Though DDoS attacks are hard to prevent, they can
be managed using the SiteLock's security system.
The solutions found on SiteLock's security system
are capable of identifying and keeping out
unnecessary traf c generated by bots from getting
to your site without interfering with normal traf c.
SiteLock's Security system protect businesses from
a wide variety of malicious attacks including
sophisticated types of DDoS attacks using Web
Application Protection, DNS and Infrastructure
protection which are the most important aspects of
DDoS protection.
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