Here’s How to Protect Your Server against DDoS Attacks

A Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attack is one of the oldest methods that malicious actors use on their targets online. This type of attack floods victims with requests or traffic, so their infrastructure buckles under the volume. Often, DDoS attacks are distraction tactics. They overwhelm businesses and attract people to one thing as hackers steal valuable information.

As technology progresses, so do the variety of devices that DDoS attackers can use. Webcams, televisions, fridges, coffee machines—attackers can overwhelm anything that connects to the web. Whether you’re using WordPress, Linux, Windows VPS, or another managed cloud solution for your business, protect your network today by knowing how to mitigate attacks against your server. Here are things you could do to start.

Learn to Recognize DDoS Attacks

Install network and serving monitoring tools and become familiar with your typical inbound traffic. It will be easier for you to recognize anomalous volumes of visitors on your website if you do. Monitor closely email accounts or comments sections on websites hosted on your server. If there is a dramatic increase in spam activity, it could be time to put more defenses in place.

Pay attention to your server’s performance as well. If you see certain resources unavailable or routine tasks taking too long, contact your host. Though this could be because of routine maintenance or a service outage, you might also be under attack.

Have Preventive Measures in Place

Fighting complex DDoS attacks needs equally sophisticated mitigation appliances, but you can implement standard measures to prevent regular attempts. First, you could choose a host that can provide dynamic bandwidth provisioning. Some companies provide cloud VPS DDoS protection with their virtual private server plans.

You could also use intrusion detection or prevention systems or a web application firewall for early detection of attacks. You might also add filters that block or drop packets from bogus, spoofed, or blacklisted IPs, infected devices, and the like. 

Using DDoS fail-safes and lowering thresholds for SYN, ICMP, and UDP flood drops also helps. If you have a user locked out of your site because of DDoS traffic blocking, let them reach out so you can address the issue.

Have a Plan for Recovering from DDoS Attacks

You probably have a disaster recovery plan for hardware and power failure, as well as natural disasters. However, these aren’t the only potential sources of data loss. You should have processes and policies for recovering from cyber-attacks as well. Employees should have clear and step-by-step guides to help them through denial of service attacks.

Get On Mitigation Platforms or Install Tools

Businesses need to rely on DDoS mitigation platforms or appliances to prevent attacks. Tools like these would allow legitimate users to access your application or site like nothing is wrong. You don’t want customers to have to wait while you get everything back up and running—that’s how you lose your audience! 

Monitor Other Suspicious Activity during Attacks

Remember that DDoS attacks are often distractions for more serious security breaches. Keep an eye on your server while the DDoS attack is ongoing. Install tools that notify you of substantial downloads, duplication, or deletions. It allows you to mitigate both the attack and the purpose behind it.

Conclusion

A distributed denial of service attack could prevent you from delivering your products and services promptly. However, preparing for these attacks can help you operate even as malicious actors try to bring your servers down. Also, make sure you get a VPS provider who prioritizes their clients’ security and protects them against a range of DDoS attacks.

Team up with I/O Zoom and get the DDoS mitigation and prevention your business needs. We provide up to 10 Gbps cloud VPS DDoS protection with all the plans we offer, covering over 95 percent of common attacks. Let’s talk today—contact us to learn more!