The goal of DDoS is to make services unresponsive
DDoS is a Distributed Denial of Service attack that often uses excessive traffic or requests to make websites, servers, or network resources unresponsive. It may not necessarily steal data, but it causes service interruptions, operational losses, and customer support pressures.
When a website slows down, don't immediately assume it's under attack
A website can slow down due to database bottlenecks, programming errors, normal traffic peaks, DNS issues, or insufficient host resources. Assess whether traffic is abnormally increased, if the sources are diversified, whether request patterns are repetitive, and at what server resource layer the depletion is occurring.
Different attacks consume different resources
Some attacks consume bandwidth, others max out connection or protocol resources, while some repeatedly request specific webpages, searches, logins, or APIs. Different types require different mitigation approaches and cannot rely solely on increasing server specifications.
Defense should be divided into absorption, restriction, and monitoring
Common strategies include using CDNs or DDoS protection services to absorb traffic, restricting high-cost API and login requests, setting caching and rate limits, protecting DNS, monitoring traffic baselines, and limiting administrative backends and databases to trusted sources.
Small websites should prepare executable response processes
Without a dedicated cybersecurity team, trusted CDNs can be used, basic protection rules can be enabled, the load of dynamic pages can be reduced, backup contact methods can be set, and records of attack times, source characteristics, logs, and host resource graphs can be kept. This data can assist hosting providers or protection services in quickly assessing threats.
Effective DDoS defense is typically a combination of traffic absorption, rate limiting, caching, monitoring, and response processes. First, identify the attack type, then choose the corresponding mitigation measures.