DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service, is fast becoming a cybersecurity issue every organization has had to or will have to deal with. Malicious actors are getting more robust, and if you and your organization don't keep up with cybersecurity trends, it's only a matter of time before they catch up with you.
Fortunately, MDR is something that can be used as a shield against DDoS attacks. MDR is a service that provides a suite of security solutions, including Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and other tools. These tools are operated by cybersecurity experts to monitor, detect, analyse, and respond to security events. MDR services can initially help detect and limit DDoS attacks and provide effective DDoS protection. It’s the guard dog of your online service that watches everything from traffic patterns to visit locations and server resource use 24/7, 365 days a year. Supplied by third-party companies, there is no investment in a security team, no provisioning of extra resources, and less hassle.
What are DDoS and MDR?
DDoS is a type of Denial of Service attack. The main difference is that DDos is split (or distributed) across a network of other compromised devices. Evidence shows that DDoS attacks can sometimes be a precursor or distraction from a primary attack, using the focus shift to sneak malware into your network undetected.
Having your network offline for a while may not be a big deal for your organization, but some organizations may lose a fortune if their network goes down for even a few seconds.
In cases like these, you can lean on MDR. It's a security service that provides real-time monitoring, threat detection, and incident response. Third-party security companies usually provide MDR services to help organizations protect their networks and systems from cyber threats. In the context of DDoS protection, MDR services can help organizations detect and limit DDoS attacks before they cause significant disruption.
DDoS protection challenges
Sophisticated DDoS attacks and lack of granular control has made DDoS attack a significant threat to organizations of all sizes. Although SMBs are the most affected organizations by DDoS attacks. Below are some challenges of DDoS protection which need to be addressed to achieve DDoS security:
- Complexity: Threat actors use advanced techniques and tactics to launch DDoS attacks. IoT devices and new attack vectors are being used and becoming more sophisticated. The Mirai Botnet attack in 2016 is a great example here.
- Resources & Cost: DDoS attacks are costly to defend. You need extra resources and a healthy budget for tools, infrastructure upgrades, and hiring an experienced security workforce. This is hard for some organizations, such as SMBs, as SMBs are already in a struggling phase of business.
- Detection Difficulties: DDoS traffic is hard to detect and distinguish from normal traffic. DDoS attack pattern differs from most other attacks; organizations can't stop their servers from receiving requests, so it becomes difficult to differentiate which request is legitimate and which one is generated by a botnet controlled by DDoS commanding and control centre.
- Performance Issues: implementing a DDoS solution is more complex than implementing other security solutions. It can impact network performance, and organizations may have to opt for a trade-off between protection and performance.
Furthermore, challenges are not limited to only above mentioned. Other challenges may include filtering DDoS false positives, Scalability issues, attacks from multiple locations, etc. DDoS protection challenges vary from industry to industry on technical and infrastructure grounds as well.
MDR and DDoS protection
MDR services may not be able to provide absolute DDoS mitigation. However, such services can support organizations in protecting themselves from DDoS attacks in several ways. Firstly, MDR services can support in DDoS attack detection challenge by monitoring networks for unusual traffic patterns. This can be done in real-time, meaning organizations can respond to DDoS attacks quickly, reducing the impact.
Once a DDoS attack has been detected, MDR services can assist in limiting the impact of the attack by redirecting traffic away from the target using techniques such as traffic filtering and traffic shaping. Traffic filtering involves blocking traffic determined to be part of the attack, while traffic shaping involves prioritizing and throttling traffic to reduce the attack's impact. Moreover, the XDR component of the MDR is an effective security solution to prevent DDoS attacks. It provides complete network visibility, endpoint protection, threat intelligence, and incident response, which can also be used to detect and limit DDoS attacks' impact promptly.
MDR services also provide a host of other benefits for organizations, including
- Providing access to network scrubbing centres: A network of servers designed to absorb and filter malicious traffic that can be beneficial in the case of DDoS prevention
- Providing intelligence on the latest attack trends and tactics: Allowing organizations to pre-empt better changing DDoS attack vectors
- Removing the burden of management and response from internal IT teams: Outsourcing management is a cost-effective DDoS solution for SMBs with a limited budget
- Lessen the Burden and complexity of the network: Implementing a DDoS protection solution entirely in your network increases the complexity and affects performance. MDR service providers are beneficial to keep your network simple and provide adequate DDoS protection without compromising performance. Along with other benefits, MDR service can also be tuned specifically to detect the Indicator of compromise (IoC) and Indicators of attack (IoA) for DDoS attacks to better protect the availability of the services.
It is also worth noting that DDoS attacks can have legal implications, particularly related to service availability. An MDR service provider can help comply with relevant laws and regulations and guide best practices for responding to DDoS attacks.
Takeaway
DDoS attacks are a significant threat to the stability and availability of your service—not something anybody wants. MDR services can aid organizations in DDoS protection by providing real-time monitoring, threat detection, incident response, and post-attack analysis, MDR services provide organizations with the tools and expertise they need to defend against DDoS attacks and maintain the availability of their online services. By redirecting traffic to scrubbing centres and sinkholes, organizations can reduce the impact of DDoS attacks and ensure that their services remain available to their users.
Organizations must protect themselves from DDoS attacks in today's connected world. Your organization must utilize MDR services and their comprehensive solution to help you detect and mitigate DDoS attacks, reducing the attack's impact and ensuring the availability of your online services. You'd also be helping everyone else; MDR services collect information on attacks and attempted intrusions to analyse threat actors' tactics, helping to provide a better future strategy for you and your industry.