Alert! These Attacks Can Bring Your Business to a Standstill: DoS & DDoS Explained

The Invisible Threat That Can Stop Your Business Cold

Imagine you’re at your favorite coffee shop. You place your order, but just as the barista starts on it, a massive crowd suddenly rushes in, each person loudly demanding coffee at the same time. The barista is overwhelmed, orders are piling up, and no one is getting their coffee—including you. Now, imagine that happening to your business’s website or online services. This is exactly what a Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack feels like, except instead of coffee, it’s your customers and clients trying to access your services.

These types of attacks are more common than many businesses realize, and they can take down your website, disrupt operations, and even damage your reputation. By understanding how these attacks work and knowing the best defenses, you can keep your digital doors open to legitimate customers and ensure your business runs smoothly. Let’s take a closer look at DoS and DDoS attacks, the effects they can have on your business, and how you can protect yourself from these disruptive threats.

DoS and DDoS Attacks: When Too Much Traffic Becomes a Problem

For many businesses, a website is crucial to success. It’s like a storefront in a busy downtown area — acting as both a window and door for existing and potential clients. A smoothly operational website is vital in today’s economy, and that’s where Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks can cause serious disruption.

How DoS and DDoS Attacks Work

Think of a DoS attack like a lone protester blocking the entrance to your store — one device flooding your server with requests until it can’t handle legitimate visitors. Now imagine that lone protester turning into a flash mob, with thousands of compromised devices (a “botnet”—a network of malware-infected devices) overwhelming your server from locations around the globe – that’s a DDoS attack. In both cases, the goal is the same: to make your website or service unavailable to real users, effectively shutting down your online storefront.

Real-World Example: The Dyn Attack

A large-scale DDoS attack on DNS provider Dyn in 2016 caused massive internet outages, disrupting websites like PayPal, Netflix, and Amazon. The attackers used a botnet called Mirai, comprised of thousands of internet-connected devices like smart TVs and printers, to flood Dyn’s servers with internet traffic. This deluge overwhelmed their infrastructure, making their services unavailable to large portions of the United States and Europe. This case demonstrates the power of DDoS to disrupt even the most robust infrastructures.

DDoS Attack Impact on Business

Whether the attack comes from a single device or a global botnet, DoS and DDoS attacks can cripple your online presence, leading to lost revenue and customer dissatisfaction. When customers can’t access your website or services, they may lose trust and take their business elsewhere. For e-commerce platforms, the financial impact of even a short-lived attack can be significant.

Industries Most Targeted by DDoS Attacks

Certain industries are frequent targets of DDoS attacks due to their reliance on digital operations and the value of their data. Here are a few sectors that face higher exposure:

• Finance and Technology: These organizations experience nearly half of all DDoS attacks. With critical online services and sensitive data at stake, these sectors are prime targets.
• Healthcare: This industry is increasingly targeted, as attackers know even a brief disruption can impact patient care and data security. In 2023 over 14% of DDoS attacks targeted this sector.
• Government and Public Services:  DDoS attacks can interrupt essential public services and affect national security efforts.
• Retail and Transportation: Attacks disrupt online sales and services, leading to lost revenue and a damaged customer experience.
• Entertainment and Gaming: These platforms and streaming services are common DDoS targets, often hit during peak usage times, resulting in frustrated users and reputation damage.
• Education and Research: Heavy reliance on online resources, makes this sector vulnerable to DDoS attacks that disrupt access for students, faculty, and researchers.

For businesses in these sectors, the risk of disruption from a DDoS attack is especially high. Ensuring strong, proactive DDoS defenses can help keep services online and maintain customer trust.

Signs of a DDoS Attack

Knowing the signs of a DDoS attack can help you react quickly and mitigate damage. Here are some key indicators to watch for:

• Sudden Slowdown in Website Performance: If your website or application becomes sluggish or takes unusually long to load, it could indicate an abnormal spike in traffic.
• Increased Load Times or Timeouts: Visitors may experience delays, error messages, or timeouts when trying to access your site.
• Unexplained Spikes in Traffic: A large and unexpected increase in traffic, especially from unknown sources or unusual locations, is often a sign of a DDoS attack.
• Inability to Access Website or Services: If your website becomes completely unavailable or intermittently offline, it could be the result of a targeted attack.
• Increased Network Latency: If your network connection is noticeably slower than usual, it may be due to excessive incoming requests consuming bandwidth.

By recognizing these signs early, businesses can take quick action, such as engaging their IT team or managed service provider to investigate and mitigate the attack before it causes severe disruption.

Defense Against DoS and DDoS Attacks

To protect against DoS and DDoS attacks, businesses need proactive, multi-layered defenses. Partnering with a Managed IT Service Provider (MSP) gives you access to comprehensive solutions that reduce the risk and impact of these attacks:

• Traffic Filtering and Firewalls
  Managed IT providers set up advanced firewalls and traffic filters that detect and block suspicious traffic patterns, keeping malicious requests from overwhelming your servers.
• 24/7 Monitoring and Threat Detection
  A managed IT service provides continuous monitoring to spot unusual traffic spikes, allowing them to quickly identify and block potential attacks before they disrupt your services.
• Incident Response and Rapid Mitigation
  Managed IT providers have incident response teams ready to act fast in a DDoS event, analyzing the attack and deploying solutions to minimize impact in real time.
• Cloud-Based DDoS Protection
  Many providers offer cloud-based DDoS protection that redirects traffic through secure centers, filtering out malicious requests before they reach your site.

Protect Your Business from Service Disruptions

Online availability is essential for business success. That's why DoS and DDoS attacks are so troublesome. They impact your services, customer trust, revenue, and your brand’s reputation. You can keep your business running smoothly by learning to recognize the signs of an attack and having a defense strategy in place.

A managed IT service provider takes the guesswork out of the equation. An IT partner like allCare IT can do the heavy lifting for you! Don’t wait for an attack to reveal gaps in your security. Contact us today to learn how we can help safeguard your online presence, keep your digital doors open, and ensure your business remains resilient against cyber threats.