Articles about DDoS attacks are very common online. What is the purpose and consequences of such an attack?
Our experts explain that DDoS is a case of Dos means Denial of Service, when a site is attacked not from one source, but from many sources at the same time.
This is a network attack by which attackers try to overload the site so that it begins to slow down or becomes inaccessible to users. The purpose of the attack is to make the site unable to respond to new customer requests – from now on the site is forced to “refuse service”. DDoS are cases when a site is attacked not from one device, but from a large number of devices. A large number of devices creates a load on the server and there is a higher probability of making the site inaccessible. The severity of the attack is measured in time frames.
The longer the attack, the more dangerous it is. According to generalized data posted on the Internet, ordering a targeted DDoS attack can cost as little as $ 10 per hour. This low cost is due to the fact that during quarantine, the demand for work at home has grown and become a new standard, and the number of hackers who are greedy for profit has also increased, and the cost has decreased.
How does a DDoS attack occur and who are its participants? Any devices that connect to the Internet and can send requests can take part in the attack: smartphones, smart watches, home appliances, hosting servers. But to find and organize a large number of willing devices to take part in the attack is very difficult. That’s why hackers turn ordinary users’ computers into “zombies” and control them from afar. Usually it is done by means of viruses. Such viruses require nothing from an user and do not give out themselves. Therefore, the owner of the device may not even suspect that he is involved in the attack. The viruses can be built into a Windows activator, pirated games, or programs from torrents or unofficial firmware for smartphones.
Who may need a DDoS attack and what are its consequences? It can be unfair competition, when two stores with the same products decided to disable the competitors’ website in order to receive all orders. For example, it can be programmer who has started his career and has decided to test his knowledge in practice, as a result loss of important documents and user files.
In combination with attacks, hackers can find vulnerabilities in the system and obtain confidential information, secret letters or important documents, which can be sold on the “black market”. Hackers may even demand ransom for the information while the security service tries to eliminate the effects of DDoS attacks. For some companies, the consequences of DDoS attacks can be catastrophic, especially if the business is based on online sales, such companies can easily calculate losses when the service is unavailable. For example: online stores, ticket sales services, banks and services that provide financial services or money on credit online.
An example of such situation is an article recently posted on the website of the Security Service of Ukraine. In the Lviv region were blocked, illegal activities of a group of people who carried out DDoS attacks on information resources. The attackers developed and used malicious software to attack users’ computers. Hackers posted information that was stolen from Internet users during unauthorized interference with computers and mobile devices and posted it on the Telegram messenger through closed channels.
We wish you security online and not to get on thieves of the information.