Technology

Staying ahead of the DDoS evolution

Clogging access to websites and enterprise networks, Distributed Denial of Service attacks can be messy for customers, suppliers and users alike.

27 August 2021

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that bring online systems to their knees are almost as old as the internet as we know it. In these attacks, bad actors render websites or systems unavailable by flooding them with traffic, preventing legitimate visitors from gaining access. However, over time, they’ve evolved from nuisance attacks into bigger and more destructive ones that are increasingly looking to cash in. And today, as companies across the board are going increasingly digital, widening their supply chains, and supporting remote workforces, the dangers are even greater.

According to Anna Collard, SVP, Content Strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, DDoS attacks are some of the most powerful and effective digital weapons. “A good analogy for a DDoS attack is when you imagine you need to get somewhere, but the road you want to take is completely congested with traffic. The same can happen on the internet, and sometimes maliciously so. One such example was the famous Mirai Dyn Attack in 2016, which brought down what felt like half the internet when Dyn, a major domain name service provider, was assaulted by a one terabit per second traffic flood, resulting in high profile websites such as GitHub, HBO, Twitter, Reddit, PayPal, Netflix and Airbnb being inaccessible.”

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