As trends go, 2016 had quite a few positive and negative ones in IT. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks were among the most prevalent. We expect that progression to continue through the New Year. Some specifics will change as prevention strategies improve, but attackers will simply learn to target newer, weaker areas. But what are the specific movements we anticipate in DDoS attacks in 2017?
What is the difference between DoS and DDoS?
First, we need to understand how Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks differ. Denial of service attacks do precisely what their name implies. The goal is to make a server, website, or other Internet-connected resource unavailable to end users. Attackers generally do this by flooding the target with so many requests that it overloads. A DDoS, by contrast, is a particular kind of DoS. The attacks come from many hijacked or malicious machines, not from a single computer, connection, or IP address. Because so many locations attack at once, a DDoS can be much harder to stop than a DoS attack.
Common DDoS attack types include:
- Traffic. In a traffic attack, the miscreants flood the target system with spurious requests. The goal is to cause a breakdown or block legitimate requests from getting through. Attackers may combine this with malware intrusion.
- Bandwidth. Bandwidth attacks are also a form of overload, usually via massive amounts of junk data.
- Application layer. On the other hand, application layer attacks overwhelm one resource-intensive function of a website to disable the entire system.
What can we expect from DDoS attacks in 2017?
The IT industry has gotten much better at minimizing and even preventing DDoS attacks, but they won’t disappear. Instead, we foresee a shift to more vulnerable targets. IoT, or the “Internet of things,” means Internet-capable household items. IoT has grown over the past few years and is now ripe for DDoS attacks in the coming year. This is because IoT items generally have weaker defenses and play a more precarious role in users’ lives. Imagine a DDoS attack that locked drivers out of their vehicles, or worse still, locked passengers in. Similarly, cloud-based systems are just as susceptible to DDoS attacks. Attackers haven’t targeted them as widely so far, but expect a major shift in this direction. Their security protocols are often weaker than other networks’, so they make easier targets.
As ransomware responses grow more effective, we forecast that DDoS will take its place as a means of extortion. It’s not hard to imagine a business giving in to a financial demand. After all, paying could restore access to the website, proprietary information, data, or client information. DDoS-for-hire services will also grow in the next 12 months because buy-in costs so little. Sellers market these services as “stressors” that test a network’s vulnerability to attack. The risk is that the buyer has no affiliation with the network and instead acts for a more malevolent purpose. Other predictions? We expect more attacks against governmental systems, municipal networks, and NGOs, and far larger DDoS attacks than ever before.
Speak with a Volico professional to see what preventative measures your IT department should be taking against DDoS attacks in 2017
It shouldn’t be a surprise that DDoS attacks will mutate and grow moving forward. Any business should set up a contingency plan ahead of time with a reputable company like Volico. With backups of your entire system, you can switch to the alternate system during an attack, then handle it. Meanwhile, your clients can still reach your site, and your employees can still reach the data they need.
Ready to See How Volico Data Center Can Help You?
Got questions? Want to talk specifics? That’s what we’re here for.
Have one of our friendly experts contact you to begin the conversation. Discover how Volico can help you with your Managed Security needs.
• Call: (305) 735-8098
• Chat with a member of our team to discuss which solution best fits your needs.
