The hacker group Anonymous is preparing cyber-attacks on corporate sponsors of the World Cup in Brazil to protest against the lavish spending on the soccer games in a country struggling to provide basics according to Reuters.

DDoS hide the worst

Frédéric Lavend’Homme Security Business Consultant at Dimension Data (photo) comments “The privileged attack vector could be DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service). A DDoS is a low-cost attack aiming at bringing a website down by simultaneously requesting access from thousands of computers in order to jam the host server. This outbreak would result in bandwidth saturation and resource starvation of the targeted web sites. In the well-known CIA security triangle (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability), DDoS attacks target the Availability.

This is preventing legitimate users from accessing the services provided by a targeted network device. DDoS Attacks could extend to streaming providers, major entertainment physical and digital outlets, cloud or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers, which targets rely upon.” DDoS activity is also typically used to hide other attacks against publicly accessible webservers through website defacement, data exfiltration or server compromising.

Big impact

Even though DDoS attacks have been around for several years, many organisations continue to ignore the potential impact of such threats. The vast majority of organisations hope that their existing network security equipment such as firewalls and IPSs (or even switches and routers) will block DDoS attacks. This is a dangerous mind-set to have. Any company dependent on Internet traffic to generate sales, services its customers, or maintains confidentiality is a candidate for deploying protection against DDoS attacks for their network systems.

In order to defend itself against DDoS attacks effectively, an organisation should be aware of who its enemies are, what motivates them, and what tools they use. They need to deploy DDoS protection on multiple layers – bandwidth protection at their ISP, as well as application protection on-site. A combination of comprehensive knowledge, adequate DDoS protection systems, and a healthy sense of caution provide an organisation with the best insurance against a DDoS attack.

Dimension Data is organising an interactive 360° Security Demo Morning on 15 October 2014 which will cover the subjects of Web Application Security, Enterprise Mobility, Internal User Protection, Data Centre Security and DDoS Protection. This event will illustrate these concepts with LIVE DEMOS. Save the date – 15 October 2014.