DDoS Attacks Should Worry You More Than They Already Do: Here’s Why

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are becoming increasingly common, with organizations like Wikipedia and Guthub suffering wide-scale outages in the past due to these attacks. Many small business owners think their businesses are too small to be targeted by malicious actors, but this is false. These attackers know many small businesses do not take their security seriously. Even though they know they can do more harm by targeting larger organizations, the data they steal from small businesses can be invaluable.

Whether you are a small or large business, here’s why you should be terrified of DDoS attacks.

They Cause Severe Disruption of Crucial Services

The main goal of a DDoS attack is to take down a service, application, or website by overwhelming it with massive amounts of traffic. Once this happens, the targeted infrastructure becomes unavailable to users because it can no longer handle the huge number of requests and responses it is supposed to.

The result is a disruption of services and, crucially, access to essential information. In some cases, users might not be able to access the online services they use and rely on. In dire instances, they lose access to emergency services, making these attacks more severe than people imagine.

The best way for businesses and organizations of different sizes to avoid these issues and disruptions is to work with cloud providers with DDoS protections built into their servers and services. In addition to these protections, providers like Gcore have distributed servers and utilize CDNs to ensure your core website functionalities remain online even when there is a slight disruption in the infrastructure.

Data Loss and Reputation Damage

Malicious actors know that businesses and organizations will respond to a DDoS attack by trying to slow it down. This means all their focus will be on the attack and not other parts of their infrastructure. It is, therefore, common for attackers to use a DDoS attack as a distraction from the real attack. This typically entails security breaches, data theft, and even the installation of malware.

A business might not realize that this has happened until much later when the effects of these additional attacks become apparent. It is typical for them to attribute the first signs of a breach to the DDoS attack and not consider that they may be signs of additional malicious activity on their infrastructure.

Distributed Denial of Service attacks can harm an organization's reputation. This is typically the case if the outage lasts for a long time, or a business loses a lot of customer data. This is why companies like GitHub and Cloudflare repaired their servers and got their systems back online quickly when they were under attack.

The disruption and data loss can lead to a loss of trust from customers and shareholders, and the company may never recover from this damage.

The Attackers May Extort Your Business

As mentioned, attackers sometimes use DDoS attacks as part of a dual attack. In many cases, they install malware that asks the company to pay a sum to stop the attack. They may also threaten to launch a more severe attack if they are not paid in time. This is how companies have lost millions of dollars to attackers in the past.

Sometimes, they also install ransomware that persists in the company’s systems or servers long after the attack has stopped. The company might miss the malware as it sits on its system waiting for a command or other trigger. The attacker can then trigger a second attack at a later date, starting the cycle all over again.

In the past, companies have scrubbed their systems and restored backups that they knew were clean to avoid this. You can use this option, but you must ensure you have a separate backup system to ensure it is not infected during an attack.

Now, they use robust scanning tools to check for persistent malware. They also use machine learning and artificial intelligence to scan for malicious files and activity and to stop additional attacks before they start or become a huge problem.

Businesses Can Suffer Unrecoverable Financial Losses

Businesses can suffer financial losses in two ways following a successful attack. The first is the direct costs associated with mitigating the attack and putting measures in place to stop future attacks. They might have to hire professionals to handle these issues, and the security issues can cost a lot of money.

They may also suffer financial losses from loss of dales, productivity, and customer churn. Businesses will not be able to sell anything during an attack and as they try to stop it, leading to direct sales losses.

Their employees might also not be able to access the systems they need to complete their work, negatively impacting productivity. Lastly, customers might not want to work with or buy from businesses that lose customer data.

These financial losses can start immediately following the attack and continue for a very long time as the business tries to recover from such an attack.

Organizations May Have Compliance and Regulatory Issues

Attackers typically go for high-level targets, typically organizations that handle sensitive data or that exist in regulated industries. These are organizations that are more likely to pay a ransom if asked to so they do not breach their contracts or become non-compliant.

A successful DDoS attack in these businesses or industries can lead to compliance issues and potential regulatory fines or penalties. This is almost always the case if it results in data breaches or service disruptions that violate industry standards or regulations.

Attacks Can Increase Security Costs

Businesses that have already suffered a DDoS attack might fear another one. This can lead to them investing heavily in security measures to protect themselves and the data they hold. This can be a significant burden, especially for smaller businesses already dealing with the financial implications of a past attack.

While they typically impact larger organizations, anyone who uses the internet and online services can be impacted by DDoS attacks. You should be aware of the potential risks and take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your business.