A DDoS attack, that won’t happen to my company, will it?

Research recently revealed that DDoS attacks have increased recently. Also, the attacks are getting heavier, says the National Cyber Security Center in a NIS article. This center, which is part of the Ministry of Justice and Security, calls on companies and organizations to take another look at their Internet security and take action. Not a unique incident and in itself nothing new under the sun. Still, it is a topic we would like to address. Contrary to popular belief, the risk of a DDoS attack does not lurk only with the “big boys.”

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service

With a DDoS attack, very many computers, often from different locations around the world, connect to a single server. The server is the target: the people behind the computers are trying to make this server slow, or at worst unreachable. In the process, the hackers flood a server with Web traffic. Server inaccessibility can cost your organization a lot of money; that’s why optimal security is so important.

SMB often targeted by DDoS ‘attack’

In 2019, 63 percent of businesses worldwide have been targeted at least once by a DDoS attack. In this regard, SMBs are the favorite target of cybercriminals; as many as 66 percent of these companies experienced a DDoS attack in 2019. This is according to a Cybersecurity Study by the U.S. research firm Ponemon Institute. SMEs are in high demand because:

• They do not have the right resources;
• Security methods are very complex for these companies;
• There is insufficient budget for proper implementation.

Wrong cut

A DDoS attack can lead to financial losses. Previous research by Kaspersky Lab shows that a DDoS attack is the fourth most expensive type of security breach. Costs range from an average of €40,000 for SMEs to as much as €367,000 for large companies.

The risk of a DDoS attack lurks not only with the “big boys”

As specialists in converting websites, we love optimizing a website to achieve maximum results. But we won’t get into that until the foundation is solid. Security is definitely part of that. Therefore, we always advise our clients not to skimp on this.

The most important thing when your website goes down: don’t panic!

Yet it appears that few employees of large SMEs are concerned about their digital security. Is this even justified? The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Safe Online 2020 survey shows that one in five businesses is hit by a cyberattack each year. It also said that companies, in general, hardly take any action to counter a DDoS attack. Consider antivirus software, updates and backups.

Roadmap to a DDoS attack

The most important thing when your organization’s website goes down is: don’t panic. Instead, take the following steps:

Step 1: Define what the scope and impact of the incident is.

Step 2: Determine what alternative communication channels should be used. Is there a separate status page that is also available during downtime?

Step 3: Who owns the communication process during downtime? Determine who will keep visitors informed and report progress.

Step 4: What do you want to share about the attack? Create some templates that you can use quickly when there is downtime.

Protect your organization from DDoS attacks

Fortunately, it is quite possible to protect your organization from DDoS attacks. Want to know how to improve your company’s security and how best to deal with DDoS attacks? If so, please contact us.