What is DDoS attack?
An attack on a distributed denial of service (DDoS) is a malicious attempt to interfere with the normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic.
By using multiple compromised computer systems as sources of attack traffic, DDoS attacks achieve efficiency. Computers and other networked resources such as IoT devices can be included in exploited machines. A DDoS attack from a high level is like a traffic jam blocking the road to prevent regular traffic from reaching its desired destination.
How does a DDoS attack work?
In order to carry out an attack, a DDoS attack requires an attacker to gain control of an online machine network. Computers and other machines (such as IoT devices) are malware-infected, each turning into a bot (or zombie). The attacker then controls the bots group remotely, which is called a botnet.
Once a botnet has been set up, the attacker can direct the machines via a remote control method by sending updated instructions to each bot. If the victim’s IP address is targeted by the botnet, each bot will respond by sending requests to the target, which may cause the targeted server or network to overflow, leading to a denial of service to normal traffic. Since each bot is a legitimate Internet device, it can be difficult to separate attack traffic from normal traffic.
List of Cloud-Based DDos Attack Prevention Tools
1. Google Project Shield
Project Shield is a free service using Google technology to protect news sites and free expression against web attacks by DDoS.
Special Feature:
- It’s Free, unlimited protection
- Enabled to provide security with Advanced DDoS protection
- Real-time site analytics
- Easily add new sites and admins
If you are eligible for Google project shield, why don’t you wait? Go-ahead and apply for it.
2. Microsoft Azure
Azure DDoS protection, combined with best practices in the design of applications, offers protection against DDoS attacks.
The DDoS Protection Standard monitors the actual use of traffic and constantly compares it to the DDoS policy thresholds. If the traffic threshold is exceeded, DDoS mitigation is automatically initiated. The mitigation is removed when traffic returns below the threshold.
Special Feature:
- Monitoring and automatic mitigation of network attacks
- Integration for analytics and insights with the Azure Monitor
- Protection of the application layer with Azure Application Gateway Web Application Firewall
- Protection from unforeseen costs of an attack by DDoS
3. Sucuri CMS Protection
Sucuri offers DDOS protection for CMS based websites that includes WordPress, Joomla, Magento, Drupal, Static, Custom PHP, Shopify, etc., The Website Security Platform monitors your website continuously. In case of a security attack, it provides immediate alerts.
Special Feature:
- Global, distributed network with 28 presence points
- Protection against all types of vulnerabilities
- Expertise in restoring more than 1 million companies
4. AWS Shield Managed DDoS protection
AWS Shield is a managed service for the protection of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) that protects AWS applications. AWS Shield provides continuous detection and automatic inline mitigation that minimizes downtime and latency of the application, so AWS support does not need to be used to benefit from DDoS protection. AWS Shield has two levels -Standard and Advanced.
Special Feature:
- Cost Efficient
- Managed Protection And Attack Visibility
- Seamless Integration And Deployment
5. Cloudflare DDoS Protection
Cloudflare’s network capacity is 15x bigger than the largest DDoS attack ever recorded. With 25 Tbps of capacity, it can handle any modern distributed attack, including those targeting DNS infrastructure.
They totally 226,500,000 attacks blocked between August 2015 and November 2016 — 500,000 attacks per day — and not one were successful according to their report.
Special Feature:
- Prevent Customer Data Breach
- Block Malicious Bot Abuse
- Content Delivery Network (CDN)
6. Akamai DDoS Protection
Attacks against DDoS (distributed denial of service) are one of the leading cyber threats facing companies today. Akamai created resource center to provide you with information about DDoS attacks and DDoS protection resources.
Special Feature:
- Cloud-Based Protection for DDoS Attacks
- DDoS Attacks 101
