The threat is real... and mounting
One of the most common ways to bring down a business network is a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. DDoS attacks can take websites and servers down either by slamming the site with data, or by flooding an application server with requests that appear valid but are not.
The Internet of Things has opened up more attack pathways to business networks. Smart businesses now understand that overall network protection is no longer just about protecting the front gate, but reaching beyond local attacks to the original source of these opportunistic take-downs.
"In 2017 alone 41% percent of medium sized organisations experienced DDoS attacks that cost them valuable time and money. Increasingly attacks are becoming smaller and attackers more effective. Australia is now one of the top 10 most attacked countries in the world."
- Netscout Arbor's 13th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report
New modes
of attack
Although it led to tighter controls and better DDoS detection, an attack in 2016 against the website of Brian Krebs (IT journalist) highlighted some interesting, and quite concerning, new trends. As well as using some traditional attack pathways, the attackers enlisted a vast array of unexpected IoT devices during the take-down - including security cameras.
Exponential IoT pathways
The number of unsecured Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to the Internet continues to increase exponentially. As the number of IoT devices increases, so do security vulnerabilities. Attackers are constantly finding new pathways to detect, infect and compromise IoT devices, even those thought to be secured behind corporate firewalls.
DDoS terrorists and malware mercenaries
Attacks are now part of the armory of DDoS and Malware 'arms dealers'. These dealers and their economy are now so sophisticated that they often field test their product without DDoS capabilities (but with all the hooks in place), so they can improve and perfect their wares, and then on-sell to the highest bidder. DDoS expertise is effectively fuelling the cyber terrorism industry.
But do you really have to worry
about DDoS Protection?
You may question if a DDoS attack would really affect your business. Could there really be impacts on you?
If your business depends on critical applications (any channels used to generate contracts, sell goods or any other service directly impacting the bottom line) there really could... And since an attack can take down systems and leave customers without critical applications, it may also contribute to:
- Failure of phone, email and customer service systems
- Failure to deliver SLAs to clients
- Reputation damage
- Loss of business
Not many providers can boast DDoS protection as standard with their business Internet. We do. And because Vocus DDoS protection occurs at the network level, traffic related downtime is one less thing for you to worry about. DDoS mitigation infrastructure in all of our International PoPs, means that DDoS traffic is dropped before it traverses our International Backhaul network and makes its way to you. We also maintain infrastructure in our Australian and New Zealand PoPs to mitigate any local DDoS attacks. Some businesses argue the value of this. They learn the hard way that if the network goes down, fast, unlimited business Internet is like a Ferrari without petrol.
Read more about Vocus DDoS Protection in our product overview brochure - Download Here
The Vocus DDoS Solution
As one of ANZ’s most significant Internet transit providers, Vocus understands the impact of DDoS attacks. We continue to expand our DDoS detection and mitigation infrastructure through our investment in the Vocus Threat Detection System (TDS) and Threat Prevention System (TPS).
Threats are identified by the TDS as the attack enters our network – typically before they even reach Australia, immediately notifying the Vocus Network Operations Centre (NOC). The TPS is designed to automatically respond to emerging threats, providing tools for our NOC to respond to alert situations. Furthermore, DDoS traffic can be optionally scrubbed to present clean traffic to your network.
Read more about DDoS
DDoS attacks in Australia
Australia has become a major target for the kinds of attack in recent years, with the biggest DDoS incidents to date recorded in February this year. DDoS traffic surged to 335Gbps and 29.4 million packets per second (Mpps) on February 27, which was 10 times higher than the average for the rest of that month. That was followed up by 7200 DDoS incidents recorded in April. Data has shown that DDoS traffic rises about 25 per cent every year in Australia, and in 2017, there were an average of 12,000 attacks per month — or 400 per day. By 2020, at the current rate that DDoS incidents are rising, we can expect to experience around 30,000 attacks per month.
The threat is real
Ever tried to purchase a ticket to a concert or sporting event, only for the website to crash? At most, it’s annoying and you’ve got to wait until it comes back online. The same principle has a dark side, and is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), something cyber criminals are deliberately using it to target businesses. The premise is simple: flood a website or business network with an enormous volume of requests with the intention to overwhelm and bring down the target. Even the Australian Government has even fallen victim to this, with the 2016 Census becoming compromised by a DDoS attack.
Beating the Traffic
It's Friday night of the long weekend, you leave work at 5:30 on the dot, rush home, and pack your kids and bags into the car. It takes about five minutes before you hit the 6:30pm gridlock. Not only is the narrow road one of the most driven routes in the area but there's been an accident on the adjacent street and traffic is streaming into every junction possible. No one is going anywhere. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are the traffic jam of the network. Except instead of being caught in peak hour, imagine someone has organised for all their friends to flood the roads at the one time.
Want More? Here's how we can help...
We are a leading provider of Data Networks, Internet connectivity, Unified Communications solutions and much more.
You can read about some of our customers and how we've helped them in our Case Studies section. If you want to find out how we can help you, give us a call on 1300 88 99 88.
