DDoS attack

What it means

A DDoS attack, distributed denial of service, is an attempt to knock a website, server or network offline by flooding it with a huge volume of requests from thousands of devices at once. The server cannot keep up, and genuine visitors cannot get through.

Attackers use botnets for this, networks of compromised computers, cameras or routers whose owners do not know they are involved. An attack can now be bought as a service for a few euro, so it is not just a problem for large companies but also for online shops in peak season or competitors in a dispute.

DDoS does not steal data but causes an outage. Sometimes it is a smokescreen that distracts IT from another attack, or a tool for extortion, with the attacker demanding a ransom to stop.

How it works in practice

Defence starts with the provider. A CDN and protection at the hosting provider can filter suspicious traffic before it reaches the server. When choosing hosting for an online shop, it is worth asking whether DDoS protection is included and up to what capacity.

For companies whose revenue depends on their website, we recommend including an outage in the business continuity plan: who decides, how customers are informed and whether there is a fallback for taking orders, such as by phone.

For the books and insurance, the loss has to be quantifiable, meaning lost sales and recovery costs. Some cyber insurance policies also cover business interruption caused by an attack, but only if the company can prove the extent and had basic measures in place.

What to watch out for

A common mistake is assuming the company is too small to be targeted. Automated attacks do not pick by size, and an outage at Christmas or on Black Friday costs an online shop more than a year of protection.

We advise against paying when threatened with a DDoS attack. Paying does not guarantee the attacks will stop, and the company becomes a known target. Instead, contact the provider, switch on protection and report the attack.