Cybersecurity 101: Distributed Denial-of-Service vs Denial-of-Service (DDoS and DoS)

In today’s digital world, online threats are a big problem for people and businesses. Two common ones are called DoS and DDoS attacks. They can mess up online services and make websites unavailable. This blog will explain what they are, give examples, and talk about ways to stay safe.

What's DoS Attack?

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack occurs when someone attempts to disrupt a website or online service by inundating it with excessive fake traffic. This flood of traffic overwhelms the targeted server, making it difficult or impossible for legitimate users to access the site. In a DoS attack, typically a single source, such as a computer or internet connection, is responsible for flooding the targeted server, service, or network with an overwhelming volume of traffic or requests.

Real Life Scenario: Online Ticket Sales (DoS)

Imagine a popular concert or event where tickets are sold online. A malicious individual, let’s call them Alex, wants to disrupt the ticket sales to prevent genuine fans from purchasing tickets. Alex decides to launch a DoS attack on the ticketing website during the peak sales period.

To carry out the attack, Alex uses a specialized tool to send a massive volume of requests to the ticketing website’s server. These requests flood the server, overwhelming its capacity to process legitimate transactions. As a result, the website becomes slow and unresponsive for genuine users trying to purchase tickets.

The consequences of the DoS attack are twofold: frustrated fans are unable to access the ticketing website to buy tickets, and the event organizers experience financial losses due to decreased ticket sales during the attack.

In this scenario, the DoS attack disrupts the online ticket sales process, causing inconvenience to users and financial harm to the event organizers.

What's DDoS Attack?

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are indeed like DoS attacks, but they’re on a larger scale. Instead of just one person, many attackers team up to flood a website or service with fake traffic. They do this by using a network of compromised computers, often referred to as botnets. These botnets can consist of thousands or even millions of devices that have been infected with malicious software without their owners’ knowledge. By coordinating their efforts, the attackers amplify the volume of traffic directed at the target, making it even more challenging to defend against and mitigate the attack.

Real Life Scenario: DDoS Attack on Online Store

Imagine an online store getting ready for a big sale day, like Black Friday. But trouble brews when a group of sneaky hackers decides to mess things up. They team up and use a bunch of hijacked devices, like smart gadgets and routers, to bombard the store’s website with tons of fake traffic. This floods the store’s servers, making it impossible for real customers to shop.

As the online store’s big day kicks off, the hackers launch their attack. The flood of fake traffic slows down the website to a crawl or even crashes it completely. People trying to score deals are left frustrated and unable to buy anything.

Behind the scenes, the store’s tech team rushes to stop the attack, but it’s tough. They try to fix things, but it takes hours to get the website back to normal. By then, the damage is done. Customers are upset, and the store loses a lot of money.

Afterward, investigations reveal how the hackers used a clever trick with hijacked devices. The store learns from this and beefs up its security to prevent future attacks.

In short, the DDoS attack messes up the online store’s big sale day, causing chaos and losses for everyone involved.

How Do DoS and DDoS Attacks Differ?

DoS attacks come from a single source, whereas DDoS attacks involve multiple sources.
DDoS attacks generate a higher volume of traffic, making them more disruptive compared to DoS attacks.
DDoS attacks are more complex to execute due to the coordination required among multiple attackers.
The impact of DDoS attacks is often more significant, as they can render targeted services or systems completely unavailable.

Preventing and Protecting Against DoS and DDoS Attacks

Strengthen Your Network Security:
- Use firewalls and security systems to watch over incoming traffic and block anything suspicious.
- Keep everything up-to-date with the latest security patches to fix any weaknesses.
Spread Out Your Resources:
- Make sure your website or service isn’t reliant on just one server. Use multiple servers and services to spread out the load.
- Have backup plans in place so if one server goes down, another can take over without any interruption.
Control Incoming Traffic:
- Set limits on how much traffic your servers can handle at once to stop sudden surges that could be signs of an attack.
- Keep an eye out for any unusual patterns in your traffic that might indicate an ongoing attack.
Consider Cloud-Based Protection:
- Look into services that specialize in protecting against DDoS attacks. They can handle big attacks before they even get to your servers.
- Use tools that analyze incoming traffic and filter out any bad stuff before it reaches your network.
Be Prepared for an Attack:
- Have a plan in place for what to do if your website or service comes under attack.
- Make sure everyone knows what to do and who to contact, including your internet service provider and law enforcement if needed.