Businesses are more reliant than ever on their online presence to conduct operations, engage customers, and provide services. However, the rise in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is making this reliance increasingly risky. Radware’s recent report on a six-day web DDoS attack campaign highlights the growing threat posed by extended DDoS attacks and the increasing sophistication of cybercriminals. This campaign underscores the need for businesses to take proactive steps to protect themselves against long-lasting and high-intensity web attacks.
What is a Web DDoS Attack?
A Web DDoS attack is a type of DDoS attack in which malicious actors target websites and online services with an overwhelming volume of traffic or requests. The aim is to exhaust system resources, causing the targeted website or application to slow down or become completely inaccessible. While many DDoS attacks are brief, lasting only a few minutes or hours, the six-day campaign described in our report represents a more insidious and damaging trend.
Unlike traditional DDoS attacks that often use botnets to overload network-level resources, web DDoS attacks target vulnerabilities in a website's application layer—i.e., Layer 7 in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. These attacks are designed to exploit the way websites process web traffic, using high levels of traffic to make the website slow, unresponsive, or unavailable. With a targeted and sustained campaign, attackers can cause serious disruption to an organization’s online operations.
The Six-Day Web DDoS Campaign
According to Radware’s analysis, this particular attack campaign lasted for six continuous days, which is highly unusual for a DDoS attack. Typically, DDoS campaigns last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. However, attackers behind this six-day attack demonstrated a level of persistence and sophistication that posed a significant challenge to the targeted organization.
During the campaign, attackers used a variety of techniques, including HTTP flooding and other complex methods designed to exploit specific application vulnerabilities. These tactics made the attack more difficult to mitigate, as traditional DDoS protection measures were often insufficient to address the sustained pressure on the web servers.
The six-day nature of the attack meant that the organization was under constant threat, with every day representing mounting potential revenue loss, customer dissatisfaction, and severe disruption of business continuity. The prolonged nature of the attack also put additional strain on IT resources, as the company had to allocate significant time and effort to manage and mitigate the attack.
Why Extended DDoS Campaigns Are a Growing Threat
The six-day web DDoS attack campaign highlights an emerging trend: cybercriminals are shifting towards more extended, persistent attacks that can stretch over days, weeks, or even months. This approach can be far more damaging than brief attacks, as they wear down an organization’s defenses, exhaust its resources, and cause prolonged downtime.
The growing sophistication of these attacks is also noteworthy. Modern DDoS attackers are not relying on simple traffic floods; instead, they are employing advanced tactics that mimic legitimate traffic patterns and target vulnerabilities in application layers. These more nuanced attacks are difficult to detect and mitigate, making them a formidable challenge for organizations trying to protect their online assets.
How to Protect Against Extended Web DDoS Attacks
To defend against extended DDoS campaigns, businesses need to adopt a multi-layered security approach. This includes:
- Advanced DDoS Protection: Solutions that offer real-time detection and mitigation of DDoS traffic are essential. These tools can automatically block malicious requests and prevent the overloading of web servers.
- Web Application Firewalls (WAF): Implementing a WAF can help filter out malicious HTTP requests and block web-based attacks targeting vulnerabilities in the application layer.
- Traffic Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of traffic patterns is key to identifying unusual behavior and mitigating attacks early before they escalate.
- Scalability: Cloud-based infrastructure with auto-scaling capabilities can help absorb high volumes of traffic, ensuring that legitimate users can still access services during an attack.
- Incident Response Plan: Having a comprehensive incident response plan ensures that the organization is prepared to respond quickly and effectively to mitigate damage from a prolonged attack.
Conclusion
As the six-day web DDoS attack campaign demonstrates, organizations can no longer afford to underestimate the risks of extended DDoS attacks. Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly persistent, using sophisticated techniques to target application layers and exploit vulnerabilities in websites and online services.
The key to defending against these types of attacks lies in a proactive, multi-layered approach to cybersecurity. By staying informed and investing in robust protection measures, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to these disruptive and damaging attacks.
To gain a deeper understanding of this six-day web DDoS attack campaign, including its techniques, impact, and recommended protective measures, view the full threat alert from Radware.