Online and network security is a big issue in the business world – as it is for personal users – and with ever more sophisticated hacking techniques it is essential that yours is kept up to date. No matter what size your company is you will be a target for unscrupulous persons intent on accessing information stored and transmitted on your system, and while no security system can claim 100% protection you need to make sure yours is of the highest order. One of the main problems in terms of security is the possibility of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, which can be damaging in the extreme.
What exactly is a DDoS attack? You will most likely have heard the term, so here is a brief explanation. A DDoS attack is where a hacker – or multiple hackers – targets your system by sending great amounts of malicious packets to your system, thereby overloading the system and causing a loss of service. There are various types of DDoS attacks, which use different methods. Traffic Attacks are where the hackers send many packets of packets accompanied by malware, which causes the legitimate packets to be lost in the process.
Similarly, Bandwidth Attacks aim to overload the network with colossal amounts of junk data, which takes over the allocated bandwidth and may cause complete loss of service. Also, there are Application Attacks, which specifically overload the layers of applications, leaving the system unusable. It is too easy to dismiss the possibility of DDoS attacks with the ‘it wouldn’t happen to me’ attitude, but in fact everyone is susceptible, and all businesses are potential targets. A successful DDoS attack can render your system useless to you but accessible by those who instigated the attack, allowing them to gain access to whatever data may be on you system that might be of use to them.
The data you store is pretty much all potentially sensitive; names, addresses and bank details of your employees, pay levels, contract details and agreements with customers and so on; even the details of emails may be of use to those with ill intentions. This is why your network security needs to be reviewed thoroughly on a regular basis, and it’s also why you should not rely on off the shelf anti-malware packages for your security. Instead, consider a managed network security package, where a professional company dedicated to the cause will handle your security for you to the very highest standards and at excellent rates.
Marketing Manager, Allot Communications.