What is a DDoS attack? Core concepts and typical features

in today's rapid development of digitalization, cyber security threats emerge in an endless stream, among which DDOS attacks are one of the most destructive types of network attacks. It can paralyze the target server in a short period of time, causing huge losses to enterprises and individuals. Many people have only heard of the name of DDOS attacks, but they have little understanding of their specific principles, characteristics and countermeasures. This article will start with the core concept, dismantle the typical characteristics of DDOS attacks, analyze common attack methods, and share basic prevention strategies to help readers fully understand this network threat.

What is the core concept of DDOS attack?

to understand the DDOS attack, we must first start with its definition and essence, and clarify the difference between it and ordinary network attacks.

1 basic definition of DDOS attack

DDOS attack full name Distributed Denial-of-service, refers to the attacker to control a large number of infected hosts, also known as broilers, while sending a large number of invalid requests to the target server, exhausting the target's bandwidth, memory, CPU and other resources, ultimately resulting in the target can not provide services to normal users. Unlike a single Distributed Denial-of-service, DDOS attacks can launch larger and more destructive attacks with the help of a distributed network.

2, the core logic of DDOS attack

The core logic of

DDOS attack is resource exhaustion, the processing power and internet bandwidth of the target system are limited, the attacker sends requests far exceeding the target carrying capacity, so that the target server exhausts all resources when processing invalid requests, so that it cannot respond to the legitimate requests of normal users. This kind of attack does not need to invade the inside of the target system, and can achieve the purpose of attack only by consuming resources, which is highly concealed.

What are the typical characteristics of DDOS attacks?

recognition of DDOS attacks is the premise of prevention, and mastering its typical characteristics can help us detect anomalies in the early stage of the attack.

1, abnormal surge in traffic

The most obvious feature of

DDOS attack is that the target network traffic surges abnormally in a short period of time, which may soar from a few Mbps to tens or even hundreds of Gbps, and most of these traffic come from different Internet Protocol Addresses, which are widely distributed and difficult to block through a single IP interception. Normal traffic growth is flat and regular, while the traffic growth caused by DDOS attacks is sudden and irregular.

2, the service response is abnormally slow

when a DDOS attack occurs, the resources of the target server are occupied by a large number of invalid requests, and the requests of normal users will be delayed or even directly discarded, which is manifested as slow website loading, APP failure to log in, and server connection timeout. If there is a large area of service response abnormalities, and the possibility of system maintenance and hardware failure is ruled out, it is necessary to be vigilant whether a DDOS attack has occurred.

What are the common attack methods of DDOS attacks?

DDOS attack means a variety of different types of attacks against the target of different resources to launch attacks, understanding these means can help us to prevent targeted.

1, bandwidth consuming DDOS attack

this type of DDOS attack is mainly aimed at the target's internet bandwidth. The attacker fills the target's internet bandwidth by sending a large number of large-size data packets, so that normal requests cannot enter the target server. Common UDP flood attacks and ICMP flood attacks are characterized by large traffic and wide attack range, which can quickly exhaust the target's bandwidth resources.

2, resource-consuming DDOS attacks

this kind of DDOS attack against the target server CPU, memory and other computing resources, the attacker sends a request to the target server for complex calculations or processing, such as TCP connection flood attack, the attacker continues to establish a TCP connection with the target, but does not complete the subsequent handshake process, so that the target server to maintain a large number of semi-connected state, exhausted CPU and memory resources.

4. What are the basic prevention methods of DDOS attacks?

facing the threat of DDOS attack, mastering the basic prevention methods can effectively reduce the loss caused by the attack and ensure the normal operation of network services.

1, improve network resource redundancy

enterprises can improve the redundancy of network resources and expand the carrying capacity of the system by increasing the bandwidth and configuring the load balance of multiple servers, so that the traffic of DDOS attacks is difficult to exhaust all resources in a short time. At the same time, using the high-defense IP service of Cloud as a Service provider, with the help of the massive bandwidth and protection capabilities of the cloud platform, can effectively resist large-scale DDOS attacks.

2, deployment of flow cleaning equipment

traffic cleaning equipment can detect and filter the traffic entering the network in real time, identify the abnormal traffic of DDOS attack and intercept it, allowing only normal users to request to enter the target server. Enterprises can deploy professional traffic cleaning equipment at the network entrance, or use the traffic cleaning service provided by Cloud as a Service provider to reduce the entry of abnormal traffic from the source.

To sum up, DDOS attacks are resource-depleting attacks launched by distributed networks, with typical characteristics such as traffic surge and slow service response. Common attack methods include bandwidth-consuming and resource-consuming. By improving network resource redundancy and deploying traffic cleaning equipment, the harm caused by DDOS attacks can be effectively reduced. A comprehensive understanding of DDOS attacks and daily protection can build a solid security barrier for the stable operation of network services.