Cloudflare has successfully defended against the largest DDoS attack ever recorded.
The massive attack came from a Mirai botnet that had control of over 13,000 compromised devices.
Smart devices that once seemed harmless and disconnected from the digital ecosystem are now potential entry points for cybercriminals due to the rise of the Internet of Things.
Millions of devices can be infected and made part of the botnet. The initial compromise of the device usually starts from phishing emails, malicious software downloads, or security vulnerabilities in outdated firmware.
The implications are huge, not only for individual privacy and security but also for national infrastructure and economic stability.
5.6 terabits per second
The huge DDoS attack that Cloudflare were able to mitigate peaked at 5.6 terabits per second.
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to incapacitate a network, server, or website by overwhelming it with enormous amounts of traffic at one time.
The attack targeted an internet service provider in order to bring its services offline last October. The botnet lasted for 80 seconds but had completely no impact on the target. No security alerts were generated as it was simultaneously detected and mitigated.
Sluggish website performance, intermittent online outages, and a sudden, unexplained surge in traffic from unfamiliar sources can all be warning signs of a DDoS attack.
If your website or server becomes completely inaccessible or your systems are overloaded without a clear reason, a DDoS attack might be the culprit. By constantly monitoring your network traffic and setting alarms for unusual activity, you can increase your chances of detecting an attack early and taking action to minimize the damage.
Organizations must make sure to keep up with the latest trends and best practices in cybersecurity to prevent similar DDoS attacks from impacting their systems, clients, customers and staff.
