What to do if your application is the target of a ddos attack ?

 

If you discover that your application is under a DDoS attack, taking swift and effective action is crucial to mitigate the impact and ensure the continued availability of your services. Here are steps you can take:

1. Incident Response Plan Activation:

   • Activate your incident response plan immediately. Having a predefined plan in place helps streamline the response process.
   • (If you have not tested your systems/applications for Ddos attacks then most probably you do not have any such plan. so this solution in that case is not feasible. 
   • This is again a reason to do Ddos testing and have such plan in place.
   • Learn here how to start with Ddos testing. LINK )
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2. Traffic Monitoring:

   • Use network monitoring tools to assess the incoming traffic. Identify the nature and characteristics of the attack, such as the attack vectors and the type of DDoS attack.
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3. Isolate Affected Systems:

   • If possible, isolate the affected systems or applications to prevent the attack from spreading to other parts of your infrastructure.
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4. Cloud-Based DDoS Protection:

   • Consider redirecting your traffic through a cloud-based DDoS protection service. These services can absorb and filter out malicious traffic, allowing only legitimate traffic to reach your servers.
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5. Scale Resources:

   • If using cloud services, scale your resources to handle the increased traffic. This might involve adding more servers or bandwidth to distribute the load effectively. If you have done non-functional testing then this would be a well tested scale up scenario and should help. If you have not done non-functional testing and want to start with it read more information here- Link
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6. Filter Malicious Traffic:

   • Implement traffic filtering rules on your firewalls or load balancers to block or limit traffic from suspicious IP addresses or those exhibiting characteristics of the DDoS attack.
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7. Contact Your ISP:

   • Notify your Internet Service Provider (ISP) about the ongoing DDoS attack. Some ISPs offer DDoS protection services or can assist in mitigating the attack.
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8. Update Security Policies:

   • Adjust your security policies to strengthen protection against known attack vectors. This might involve updating firewall rules, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and other security configurations.
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9. Communication:

   • Communicate transparently with your users and stakeholders. Provide updates on the situation, the steps you are taking to address the attack, and any potential impact on services.
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10. Law Enforcement Reporting:

    • Report the DDoS attack to relevant law enforcement agencies. They may be able to assist in investigating the source of the attack.
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11. Analyze and Learn:

    • After mitigating the DDoS attack, conduct a thorough analysis. Understand the attack vectors, weaknesses in your infrastructure, and areas for improvement. Use this information to enhance your DDoS prevention and response strategies. Do formal planning of ddos tests and include non-functional testing into your testing scope. Scalability of a system is very important that you test and know what you can do and what impact of such choices could have if such a situation arises. www.Techsage.eu is one of the company providing non-functional testing of complete end to end application. Their automated plug & Play platform IotApiLab can be used for Performance stress load testing distributed systems. https://iotapilab.web.app 
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12. DDoS Mitigation Service Evaluation:

    • Consider investing in professional DDoS mitigation services for future protection. These services specialize in identifying and mitigating DDoS attacks, offering an additional layer of security.
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13. Regular Testing and Preparedness:

    • Conduct regular DDoS testing to ensure your infrastructure can withstand various types of attacks. Regular testing helps in identifying vulnerabilities and refining your incident response plan.
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14. Collaboration with Peers:

    • Collaborate with other organizations or industry peers to share information about DDoS threats and mitigation strategies. Collective intelligence can enhance the resilience of the entire community against such attacks.

Remember, a swift and well-coordinated response is key to minimizing the impact of a DDoS attack. Regularly updating and testing your security measures will contribute to a more robust defense against future threats.

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