The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recently published a guide detailing the suggested steps to mitigate the likelihood and effects of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) incidents.
A typical denial-of-service (DoS) cyberattack is carried out by threat actors, where they overwhelm a system’s network server, rendering it inaccessible to the system’s intended users. The prevalence of DDoS attacks has grown as more IoT devices go online. IoT devices frequently have weak IT security postures, making them easy targets for hackers.
A DDos attack can be defined as multiple attacker machines being utilized in overflowing network traffic. Threat actors frequently use botnets, a collection of hacked devices connected via the internet, to launch sizeable attacks that have the appearance that they came from several networks. An attack of this nature may prevent access to vital healthcare entity services including bed capacity, data exchange, and appointment scheduling. While a DDoS assault is unlikely to compromise the confidentiality or integrity of a system and the data it is connected to, it frequently serves as a front for malware or other severe attacks of a similar nature.
The following key points are addressed in the newly released guide:
- Entities should recognize essential their assets and services, comprehend how users connect to networks, in addition to opting in for a DDoS protection solution prior to the occurrence of a DDoS attack.
- Organizations should opt implement measures designed to mitigate interruption by identifying services that could be exposed to the public internet and the various ways that your user base connects to networks.
- The government agencies involved also suggest many other measures including collaboration with internet service providers (ISPs) as well as cloud service providers, examine system and network design, comprehend dedicated edge network defenses, and create a DDoS response strategy for their organization.
The main indicators of a potential assault include factors such as network latency, sluggish performance, often excessive network traffic, or difficulty accessing websites. To better understand a DDoS attack and block DDoS threat actors, the new guide advises entities to get in touch with the necessary technical experts, such as ISPs. As DDoS attacks frequently carry out their first attack as a diversion to take focus from their intended target, entities must also keep an eye on other network resources.
