One of the most formidable weapons in the twenty-first century arsenal doesn’t require the backing of any government. Nor does it require the acquisition of equipment that is especially difficult to acquire. It only requires skill, money, and the will to use it. What is it? Cyber warfare.
Cyber attacks are increasingly being used as a form of political action and social protest. After France’s huge anti-terrorism rally in January, cyber attacks in that country went through the proverbial roof. Many hacked sites were peppered with pro-Islamic posts, and the Middle East Cyber Army (MECA) claimed to have stolen 320,000 French emails and posted them online. And then there were the DDoS attacks, with as many as 19,000 companies being knocked offline. While the DDoS attacks affected primarily small businesses (outages at some larger organizations were later determined to be the result of a technical error rather than a DDoS attack), size doesn’t automatically provide invulnerability.
And the attacks aren’t always motivated by politics or social issues. Some are motivated by greed. There are numerous cases of “extortion by DDoS,” where hackers will launch an attack and then contact the company, demanding money to make it stop. These hackers tend to be pretty smart about it, too, demanding sums that aren’t so large that the company will balk at paying, and typically just small enough that’s it worth their while to make the attack stop.
Other DDoS attacks are motivated by retaliation. Whether it’s a disgruntled employee or an unhappy customer, a DDoS attack is one of the few ways an individual can hit a big company where it hurts. Moreover, there doesn’t even have to be a reason. Some DDoS attacks are carried out by hackers who just want to see if they can pull it off.
When you consider the various reasons behind DDoS attacks and combine that with the ease of implementation, it’s easy to see why they’re such a cause for concern among companies of all sizes. Unfortunately, some of the methods companies use to protect themselves miss the mark. Smaller companies may not have the funds to hire the dedicated talent. Larger companies, while they may not lack funds, often lack focus. The person, or department, entrusted to maintain DDoS security picks up one project here and another one there, and the next thing you know, they’re a month behind on the latest methods hackers are using.
As companies develop defenses against DDoS attacks, the perpetrators come up with new ways of attacking. That’s why it’s critical that the people responsible for protecting your systems be focused on cyber security every day, and that they be constantly plugged in to the latest news and developments.
If you have any doubt that you can accomplish that internally, it would be a good idea to consider outsourcing the job. There are dedicated service providers that can do that for you. Protecting you from DDoS attacks is their main business, rather than just another “housekeeping” task. And, if you do get attacked, they’ll work side-by-side with you to get your business back up and running. In the end, whether you do it yourself or hire outside experts, make cyber security one of your foremost priorities. An investment in cyber security now could turn out to be the best kind of money you ever spend.
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