What is DoS attack? Characteristics and ways to prevent DoS

What is DoS? DoS (Denial of Service) is a type of network attack that is carried out by sending many requests to the target, which makes it impossible for the system to process in time. This will cause request processing to be delayed or interrupted.

There is a difference in the manifestation of DoS from the perspective of users and businesses. For users, the hacked website stops displaying content even though the Internet connection is still stable. For website owners, the network system stops responding to access requests, and the ability to control network processes is partially or completely turned off.

What is DoS target? DoS often focuses on server systems of organizations in financial industry, e-commerce industry, transportation industry and even government agencies. Hackers use this attack for a variety of purposes:

• Ransom Demand: Hackers attack to threaten and force businesses to pay ransom to restore normal operations.
• Competing with Competitors: Causing interruption to e-commerce websites, online trading platforms and sales websites, which cause serious impacts on business.
• Cyber Warfare: Government organizations use DoS to overload their opponents online systems, which affects their national economics and reliability.
• Distraction: DoS distracts and creates opportunities for hackers to perform malicious actions, which affects operational processes and data.

In addition, there are many cases in which somebody out of curiosity and passion for new technologies, conducts attacks without the intention of causing harm. They use virtual tools to make the attack. Furthermore, this is also a way for experts in the field of networking can test new techniques or tools.

How does DoS work? The principle of this attack is using fake traffic to make an online system or service overloaded and cause the process to slow down, clog, and even lead to a crash. The operating process includes the following steps:

• Step 1: Choosing a Target: Hackers choose a target, usually a server or online service such as a website, application or network.
• Step 2: Generate Enhanced Traffic: Hackers use infected computers or botnets to generate fake traffic to target.
• Step 3: Broadcast Attack: In traditional DoS, the hacker sends fake traffic to the target continuously. As for the latter, traffic is often distributed from many different sources, which makes it more difficult to identify and block the source of the attack.
• Step 4: System Overload: Fake traffic is sent to the target at extremely high speed, makes the system unable to process it in time and leads to overload that makes services unavailable.
• Step 5: Continuous Attack Situation: The overload continues for a long period of time and can last from a few seconds to many days. Once the attack is over, online services may recover but will cause serious damage to the reputation and ability to operate of organization.

According to VentureBeat, a top technology news website headquartered in San Francisco, California, some new DoS trends appearing in 2023 are:

• Botnet attacks are becoming more popular and sophisticated: Botnet attacks are becoming more popular, more powerful and sophisticated, and can pose a major threat to organizations and individuals worldwide.
• Ransom DoS attacks: DoS can be used to demand ransom, often in the form of cryptocurrency. This raises concerns for individuals or virtual currency exchanges.
• Increase in the number and complexity of attacks: DoS and botnet attacks have become increasingly complex and powerful, which makes containment and prevention more difficult.
• The impact of the Internet of Things (IoT): The rise of unsecured IoT devices makes it easy for hackers to control and use them. This makes DoS attacks easier to perform.

VNIS prevents new DoS attacks based on many advanced security features

VNIS blocks the new attack trends of DoS and botnets by providing a robust and optimized cybersecurity system for detecting and responding to these attacks. Below are the outstanding features of VNIS:

• Bandwidth Up to 2600 Tbps: VNIS is capable of handling bandwidth up to 2600 Tbps. This ensures that the system is always ready to deal with big and powerful DDoS attacks.
• Multi-CDN With More Than 2300 Points of Presence (PoPs): VNIS uses multi-CDN with more than 2300 points of presence (PoPs) worldwide. This not only delivers content efficiently but also creates a reliable traffic distribution network to minimize the impact of an attack on the system.
• Cloud WAF With More Than 2,000 Security Rules: VNIS Cloud Web Application Firewall (WAF) has more than 2,000 security and anti-attack rules according to OWASP Top 10 international standards. This ensures the safety of business applications.
• Smart Load Balancing: VNIS uses a smart load balancing system to ensure optimal application performance. This maintains the application operations while processing the attack.
• Team of Cyber Security Experts: VNIS has a team of cyber security experts in Vietnam and abroad. They always monitor and reflex quickly on new and complex attacks.

If you want a comprehensive security solution, please contact VNIS at Hotline: (028) 7306 8789 or email contact@vnetwork.vn or sales@vnetwork.vn.