A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a cyber threat that overwhelms a server with traffic from multiple compromised systems, rendering websites slow or completely inaccessible. This blog explains how DDoS attacks work, outlines early warning signs such as unusual traffic spikes or service disruptions, and emphasises the importance of robust DDoS protection strategies. It also provides six key defences, including WAFs, CDNs, and real-time monitoring, to help businesses maintain uptime and secure digital assets.

Websites have become the backbone of modern businesses, and the rise in cyberattacks poses a serious threat to operational continuity and customer trust.

A major disruptive threat for businesses worldwide has been DDoS attacks, which are specifically targeted attacks where multiple compromised systems bombard a single server with illegitimate requests.

This guide explains how a DDoS attack works, the symptoms to watch for, and the best DDoS prevention techniques to help you keep your website protected.

How DDoS Attacks Work

The goal of the DDoS attack is to flood the target with traffic originating from multiple sources. Such systems typically start in a botnet, which is simply a collection of compromised computers under the remote control of a single attacker.

During an attack, DDoS protection enables you to filter and absorb unwanted traffic while allowing legitimate visitors to access your website.

DDoS attacks fall into three major categories:

  • Volumetric attacks flood bandwidth using massive data volumes
  • Protocol attacks exploit server weaknesses in protocols like TCP or DNS
  • Application-layer attacks mimic real user behaviour to target specific functions like login pages

In 2020, Amazon Web Services mitigated a 2.3 Tbps DDoS attack, which is the largest recorded, highlighting the scale of this growing threat to website security.

Also Read: How to Protect Your Website? Ensuring Website Security

6 Ways to Protect Your Website from DDoS Attacks 

A proactive approach to website security can help prevent severe disruptions.

Here are six actionable measures:

1.  Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF)

A WAF can view incoming HTTP requests and either permit or deny those from untrusted sources to reach your application. Having a WAF protects your network against attack vectors, such as attempts at SQL injection and vectors from various botnets that could be part of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. 

2.  Leverage a CDN (Content Delivery Network)

From content management to distribution, CDNs distribute your website content across nodes on a global scale. When traffic hits your site, the load is absorbed by the CDN’s network, thereby preventing direct overload on your primary server. Additionally, it reduces the page load time for users worldwide. 

3.  Implement Rate Limiting and Traffic Filtering

Rate limiting limits the number of requests that a single IP address can send to your server in a specific time period. Geo-filtering or blocking a few IP addresses could be used to isolate attacks or patterns and prevent a full-scale assault on all your resources.

4.  Choose a Secure Hosting Provider

Your host should provide infrastructure-level security, including traffic scrubbing, real-time threat monitoring, and network-level firewalls. Look for a package that includes features such as automatic IP blacklisting and bandwidth scaling so that you can withstand DDoS volume spikes.

5.  Real-time Monitoring of Traffic Patterns

Utilise a solution like Datadog, Cloudflare Analytics, or the built-in dashboards provided by your service providers to identify irregularities. Watch for strange spikes in traffic, abnormal IP distribution, or an explosion of request failures – all symptoms of a potential attack in the making.

6.  Create a DDoS Response Plan

Assign responsible contacts for the response. Have a documented process for isolating impacted services, failover to backup servers, and communicating with stakeholders. It enables your team to respond quickly in the event of a live attack.

Pro Tip: Configure your DNS with lower TTL (Time-To-Live) values during high-risk periods. This allows for faster propagation if you have to redirect traffic to a failover IP or reroute through another provider. Pair this with DNS providers that offer Anycast routing for better redundancy.

Warning Signs of a DDoS Attack 

Early detection is essential for minimising damage from a DDoS attack. Watch for these red flags:

  • Unexpected Traffic Surges: A sudden spike in visits from unfamiliar IP addresses or countries that don’t align with your usual traffic patterns
  • Noticeable Drop in Performance: Pages loading unusually slowly or becoming completely inaccessible, even with minimal user activity
  • Unusual Server Log Activity: A sharp increase in request volume, particularly repeated hits to the same endpoint or resource
  • Regional Access Issues: Certain geographic areas or service zones are experiencing outages, which is often a sign of geographically targeted attacks
Also Read: What Is A DDoS Attack And How To Protect Your Website From It

Final Words

DDoS attacks are no longer rare or limited to high-profile targets. They are capable of affecting all websites, resulting in long periods of downtime, loss of revenue, and damage to a business’s reputation.

The secret to resilience is being prepared ahead of time to defend the layers of technology that make a difference.

Examine your present configuration: do your hosting and security systems support real-time mitigations, load sharing, and notifications? If the answer is ‘no’, you should reevaluate your infrastructure.

Try secure hosting with Crazy Domains, which comes with integrated DDoS protection to ensure that your digital performance is never interrupted. We don’t just host your site; we help you defend it.

Get started today!