It is difficult to imagine how people used to live without the delivery of groceries, electronics, clothing and other goods to their homes. Now you can even travel online – you just need to put on virtual reality glasses, and you are already enjoying the breathtaking views of another country. In addition, the global web provides work for millions of people every day: new professions and services appear in the world.
But every good always has a reverse side of the coin. Today, unscrupulous users are gathering in criminal teams to bring down the work of the largest Internet resources of the country and the world. Surely each of us has heard of cyberattacks. What is it and how are they dangerous – let’s try to understand our material.
Why a DDoS Attack Can Affect Everyone
Many probably remember how last month they could not get into the personal account of “Gosuslug”. Access problems arose due to an unprecedented cyberattack: thousands of pseudo-users simultaneously accessed the site, which created an enormous load on a socially significant resource. As a result, real people had to wait a long time in order to normally interact with the State Services website.
The principle of a DDoS attack is to disable a website. As a result, users are denied access to the services and pages they need. In 2021, experts recorded a significant increase in the power and frequency of DDoS attacks. The main reason lies in the development of the Internet of Things or IoT. These are smart watches, speakers, robotic vacuum cleaners and other devices with access to the global network. They are easy to hack and form a botnet – a whole army of infected gadgets to generate malicious traffic.
In the event that the company’s electronic resource is not prepared for a sudden influx, the site stops working. It happens that such hacker attacks end quickly, and access is restored within 30 minutes. But it often happens that a stream of malicious requests lasts for several hours or even days.
This unfavorable scenario turns into a real test for any business. Buyers cannot order goods and services online and go to competitors. An unavailable corporate resource leads to the shutdown of entire departments, which entails huge losses. More often than not, cyber attackers demand a serious cash ransom in return for stopping the attack. Often the financial losses of the company amount to millions of rubles.
Why attackers decide to attack a business
There are many reasons for an attack, but the most popular ones are competition, protest, or an attempt to get hold of confidential company information. Moreover, the resource does not have to be promoted and popular. Even if the project has just started work and has not yet managed to gain an audience of ill-wishers, there is always a chance to become an accidental victim of testing a new DDoS attack.
The organization of such sabotage does not cost a lot of money. On the Internet, you can order such a “service” for only 750 rubles per hour. The creators of malicious networks have long turned their brainchildren into business. The attackers realized that they didn’t have to launch their own DDoS attacks. It is much easier to make a lot of money by giving the same opportunities to others.
Despite the proliferation of DDoS attacks, these services are illegal in most countries. It is often difficult to find, investigate and punish cybercrime perpetrators and customers. Although there are occasional headlines in the news about arresting hackers, it is best to prepare for a possible attack ahead of time and defend your project. The reality is that an Internet resource, like a home, requires the installation of a secure door from burglars. After all, the temptation to enter an unlocked house is always higher.
How to protect your site from hackers
Often, leaders try to organize their own defense against cyberattacks. As a result, its implementation falls on the shoulders of system administrators. Incompetent specialists try to do the impossible, while simultaneously monitoring, analyzing traffic, writing scripts and updating all protection components. Ideally, if a separate staff is hired to work with the cybersecurity of the company.
It is very important here to constantly analyze your strengths to make sure that the security measures still provide the required level of protection. Fraudsters regularly evolve and their malware power grows.
The most important thing in the work of Internet resources is their constant availability for users and data protection. Website development requires a lot of investment, both in terms of architecture and security. A specialized provider can become a lifesaver here. Such a company can provide the site with continuous DDoS protection.
What are the advantages of this method of protection
The service will help to revise human resources, reduce equipment costs and return the administrator to day-to-day work.
The DDoS-Guard team is ready to take over all the work to protect against DDoS attacks 24/7. A staff of the best network engineers, developers and data analysts work with services that are in demand from thousands of web resources. As a result, online business owners are confident that everything will continue to work as expected, even in the event of a large-scale attack.
In 2021, the company underwent a number of important technological updates:
– The new anti-bots protection service now detects and allows blocking malicious background load on the web server and attempts to get user content (parsing / scraping);
– automatic connection through the GRE / IPIP tunnel to the traffic processing center closest to the client;
– new configurations of secure dedicated servers with automatic connection 24/7/365. At an affordable price, the models in the line have become more powerful and meet the highest performance requirements;
Trust the professionals and sleep well
In addition to developing new solutions, the company regularly participates in activities to develop the professional community and train young professionals. In Russia, the need for qualified engineers and developers is becoming more and more urgent every year. Often, talented IT specialists leave the country in search of interesting projects and generous financial offers abroad.
The popularity of information technology is attracting a younger generation, and this is a great opportunity to strengthen local communities. For example, the Rostov region has long been a center of attraction for IT professionals. Events are regularly held here for the exchange of unique knowledge in various modern formats – from stand-ups to hackathons, hours of software development marathons. In the outgoing 2021, the DDoS-Guard team presented several projects for the hackathon participants at the Don State Technical University.
The company does not forget about experienced employees who are interested in improving their qualifications. In the summer of 2021, cyberattack protection specialists attended a large-scale conference of developers of high-load systems, and in the fall they underwent training in setting up telecommunications equipment. The team closely monitors trends and is timely included in the update process. This is the only way the technologies used can remain relevant and effective.
Conferences and practical courses are a great place to meet like-minded people who usually only communicate online. The live communication format plays an important role in establishing interaction with colleagues from other companies. And informal events strengthen cohesion within the team. IT specialists participate in quizzes, bowling, attend movie nights.
The DDoS-Guard team encourages readers to take time for a good rest, especially during the winter holidays, and accumulate creative energy to implement the most daring ideas.
Becoming invulnerable to viruses is perhaps the most important wish in the coming year. And making your Internet resource invulnerable to DDoS attacks is a goal for everyone who does not want to waste resources due to scammers. Having thought out a security strategy in advance, you will take care not only of your business, but also of yourself personally.
Photo: DDoS-Guard Press Service
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