DDoS Protection Strategies
Defend your online presence against distributed denial of service attacks
The DDoS Threat Reality
DDoS attacks have increased by 200% year-over-year, with the average attack costing businesses $218,000 in downtime and recovery. Modern attacks can exceed 2.3 Tbps, capable of overwhelming unprotected infrastructure in seconds.
Understanding DDoS Attacks
Types of DDoS Attacks
Volume-Based Attacks
Flood your bandwidth with massive traffic (UDP floods, ICMP floods, amplification attacks)
Protocol Attacks
Exploit protocol weaknesses to exhaust server resources (SYN floods, Ping of Death)
Application Layer Attacks
Target specific web applications and services (HTTP floods, Slowloris)
Protection Strategies
1. Network-Level Protection
Essential Network Defenses
- •Rate Limiting: Control incoming request rates per IP
- •IP Blacklisting: Block known malicious sources
- •Geo-blocking: Restrict traffic from high-risk regions
- •Anycast Network: Distribute traffic across multiple servers
2. Cloud-Based DDoS Protection
Modern DDoS protection leverages global networks to absorb and filter attacks:
Cloudflare
100+ Tbps network capacity
Free tier available
Akamai
Enterprise-grade protection
4+ Tbps scrubbing capacity
AWS Shield
Integrated with AWS services
Advanced tier with DDoS response team
Sucuri
Website-focused protection
Includes WAF and CDN
3. Infrastructure Hardening
Server & Network Configuration
Optimize TCP/IP Stack
Tune kernel parameters for SYN flood resistance
Enable SYN Cookies
Prevent SYN flood resource exhaustion
Configure Connection Limits
Set per-IP connection and rate limits
Implement Caching
Reduce server load with aggressive caching
Detection & Response
Early Warning Signs
Monitor These Indicators
- • Sudden spike in traffic from specific regions
- • Increased bandwidth consumption
- • Slow page load times or timeouts
- • High CPU/memory usage on servers
- • Unusual patterns in access logs
- • Customer complaints about accessibility
Response Plan
- 1.Activate DDoS Protection:
Enable your DDoS mitigation service immediately
- 2.Analyze Attack Pattern:
Identify attack type and source to optimize defenses
- 3.Scale Resources:
Add server capacity if needed to handle legitimate traffic
- 4.Communicate:
Keep customers informed about the situation and resolution
- 5.Document & Learn:
Record attack details for future prevention
Advanced Protection Techniques
Challenge-Response Systems
Distinguish legitimate users from bots during attacks:
- • CAPTCHA Challenges: Require human verification during suspicious activity
- • JavaScript Challenges: Validate browser capabilities
- • Waiting Room: Queue visitors when under attack
- • Proof of Work: Computational challenges for access
Multi-Layered Defense
Defense in Depth Strategy
DDoS Protection Checklist
Shield Your Business from DDoS Attacks
Don't wait until an attack happens. Implement professional DDoS protection to ensure your website stays online when it matters most.