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3 DDoS Mitigation Techniques Anyone Can Implement
- Authors
- Name
- Alex Lee
- @alexjoelee
DDoS attacks are a growing problem for businesses and organizations that rely on their online services to operate. These malicious attacks can cause serious disruption, costing time and money in the process. Fortunately, there are several strategies and techniques that anyone can implement to protect their networks from these types of threats. In this article, we will explore three key DDoS mitigation techniques – implementing a web application firewall, rate limiting and class of service, using a content delivery network, and further advanced solutions for enterprises – that can help you protect your online services from malicious attackers. 
What is a DDoS attack?
A DDoS attack is a type of cyberattack that uses distributed systems to send malicious traffic to a target server or website. The goal of such an attack is to overwhelm the target with too much traffic, often resulting in a denial of service. These attacks can be used to target websites, servers, networks, or other online services.
DDoS attacks are commonly launched through botnets, which are networks of infected computers that can be remotely controlled by an attacker. The bots are used to send large amounts of data and requests to the target's server in order to overload it and cause it to crash. This prevents legitimate users from accessing the online service, as well as causing disruption and damage to the target's infrastructure.
It is important for organizations and businesses operating online services to understand the risks posed by these malicious attacks and take steps towards mitigating them. Implementing various strategies such as utilizing a web application firewall, rate limiting and class of service, using a content delivery network (CDN), or using another DDoS scrubbing service can help protect against DDoS threats and ensure that your services remain available even in the face of malicious attackers.
Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
The internet is a dangerous place, and organizations must take steps to protect their online services from malicious DDoS attacks. One of the best ways to do this is by implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF). A WAF is an application-level firewall designed to filter out malicious traffic and provide protection against common web-based attacks such as SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and other malicious activity.
When it comes to protecting against DDoS attacks, not all WAFs are equal. To ensure that your organization has the highest level of protection possible, you should select a WAF that offers features specifically designed for DDoS attack mitigation. These include rate limiting, which can detect suspicious patterns in incoming requests and restrict access accordingly; class of service policing, which can be used to prioritize legitimate traffic over malicious requests; and IP blacklisting/whitelisting, which allows administrators to selectively allow or deny access on a per-IP basis.
Once you've selected the right WAF for your needs, it's important to set up and configure it correctly. This includes configuring the ruleset so that it matches your organization's security requirements, ensuring that all applicable patches are applied regularly, monitoring logs for any suspicious activity, testing regularly with third-party solutions such as load testing tools or simulated DDoS attacks, and adjusting configurations when necessary.
Organizations also need to consider whether they want to use DIY solutions or cloud-based options when setting up their WAFs. DIY solutions offer more flexibility but require technical expertise in order to configure them properly, while cloud-based solutions may be easier to set up but come with additional costs associated with licensing fees and maintenance contracts.
Regardless of the type of solution you choose for your WAF setup, its effectiveness against different types of DDoS attacks will vary depending on how well it's configured and maintained. It's important to keep in mind that no system is 100% secure from all threats, so regular testing should be conducted in order to ensure that your organization remains protected from malicious activity. With the right setup and configuration measures in place however, implementing a Web Application Firewall is one of the most effective ways organizations can protect themselves from DDoS threats. 
Implement Rate Limiting or Class of Service
When it comes to safeguarding online services from malicious DDoS attacks, rate limiting and class of service (CoS/QoS) are two effective solutions. Rate limiting works by setting a limit on the amount of traffic an IP address can send within a specified time frame. If the established threshold is exceeded, access to that particular IP address can be blocked for a given period or indefinitely. This type of defense helps protect against distributed brute force attacks as well as large-scale DDoS attacks. Meanwhile, CoS is used to prioritize certain types of network traffic over others for improved bandwidth performance and quicker response times for essential applications. Organizations should collaborate with their network service provider to ensure CoS is configured and optimized properly for their needs.
Overall, rate limiting and class of service are both important tools organizations should consider when architecting their networks. These techniques will not only help stop attackers from overwhelming your systems but also guarantee that your key services remain accessible even in the midst of an attack.
Using a content delivery network to mitigate attacks
One of the most effective ways of mitigating DDoS attacks is by utilizing a content delivery network (CDN).
CDNs comprise of distributed servers situated worldwide that store copies of websites and supply them promptly and reliably when requested. This allows for increased performance and availability, as well as providing added security benefits. Specifically speaking, CDNs contribute to DDoS attack mitigation in two ways: they can spot malicious requests quickly and filter them out before they reach your website; while simultaneously offloading traffic onto their own secure network - thus reducing the load on your servers and helping thwart successful DDoS attacks.
Not only do CDNs offer great protection against malicious attackers, but they are also cost-effective solutions for organizations looking for reliable defense. They also provide scalability advantages, allowing businesses to manage large spikes in web traffic without having to incur additional expenses or risk downtime due to an attack. Moreover, CDNs offer further security perks such as cross-site scripting protection and SQL injection prevention - making them even more appealing options for those seeking dependable safeguards against malicious actors.
In conclusion, using a content delivery network is an ideal way to shield online services from damaging DDoS attacks. Not only do they deliver fast identification and filtering of harmful requests but also transfer traffic onto their secure networks - ensuring top performance even when under attack. Additionally, CDNs are cost-effective solutions that provide scalability benefits while offering extra security features too - making them the perfect choice for any organization needing robust protection from malicious attackers.
Layer 3 Solutions and Enterprise
Enterprise-level DDoS protection requires much more than the basics discussed above. Many DDoS protection solutions operate at Layer 4 (TCP) of the OSI stack and above. This allows the solution to analyze application-level traffic, and offer advanced security features. Layer 3 solutions are tailored to provide enhanced defense against the largest types of attacks. Protection at this layer is as much about bandwidth as it is about complexity. These solutions leverage sophisticated algorithms to detect malicious traffic and filter out unwanted requests before they can reach servers. This way, only legitimate requests pass through while malicious threats are blocked at the network level. Even the largest attacks can be "sinkholed" into the void, thanks to specialized hardware running in DDoS scrubbing centers.
Additionally, these solutions offer scalability that exceeds traditional methods such as rate limiting or CoS/QoS, making them an attractive option for organizations looking for reliable protection from large-scale, even nation-state, DDoS attacks.
Although setup may require additional time and resources upfront, businesses gain peace of mind knowing their online services will remain available even in the face of malicious assaults. With DDoS protection in place, your network will perform better and be safer from unexpected downtime due to a denial of service.