What is a DDoS attack? How to protect yourself from malicious data transfer patterns?

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What is a DDos attack?
DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service and is a method where cybercriminals flood a network with so much malicious traffic that it is unable to function or communicate normally. This causes legitimate website traffic, also known as legitimate packets, to stop. DDoS attacks are a simple, effective, and efficient technique that is fueled by unsecured devices and poor digital habits. On the surface, it may take just a few simple changes to your daily habits to protect your personal devices from DDoS threats.

Contents
What is a DDos attack?
How does a DDos attack work?
How do personal devices become tools for DDoS attacks?
DDos attacks on government websites of the Russian Federation by the Anonymous group
How does a DDos attack work?
Imagine some internet service as a highway, where there are other cars (users) moving in addition to you, but the traffic is essentially smooth and at a reasonable speed. Then, as you approach the entrance ramp, more and more and more cars join you until at some point the traffic slows down to practically zero. This is roughly how you can picture what a DDoS attack looks like.

Internet resources—for example, web servers—have a finite limit on the number of requests they can handle at one time. In addition to the server's bandwidth limit, the channel connecting that server to the Internet will also have a finite bandwidth. When the number of requests exceeds the bandwidth limit of any infrastructure element, service levels are likely to suffer in one of the following ways:

Inquiries will be responded to much slower than usual.
Some – or all – user queries may be ignored entirely.
Usually, the ultimate goal of the attacker is to completely prevent the proper functioning of a given Internet resource – that is, to completely block the service. The attacker may also demand payment to stop the attack. In new zealand telemarketing data individual cases, a DDoS attack may even be an attempt to compromise or damage a competitor's company.

DDoS attack - hacker
How do personal devices become tools for DDoS attacks?
Personal devices become DDoS attack soldiers.

Creating a DDoS attack is relatively simple. All you need are two devices that coordinate to send fake traffic to a server or website. That's it. For example, a laptop and a phone can be programmed to create their own DDoS network . However, even if two devices use all their computing power in an attack, it still won't be enough to take down a website or server. It takes hundreds or thousands of coordinated devices to take down an entire service provider.

To create a network of this scale, criminals create so-called botnets —networks of compromised devices that work together to accomplish a specific task. Botnets don’t always have to be used in DDoS attacks, nor does DDoS need to include a botnet to work, but increasingly, they are being linked. Cybercriminals create botnets through fairly standard methods: tricking people into downloading malicious files and spreading malware .

But malware isn’t their only way to recruit devices. Because many businesses and consumers have poor password habits, malicious actors can scour the Internet for connected devices with known factory credentials or easy-to-guess passwords (such as “password”). Once logged in, cybercriminals can easily infect the device and recruit it into their cyber army.

DDos attacks on government websites of the Russian Federation by the Anonymous group
DDoS attack - hacker
Anonymous is a group of anonymous internet activists. They are associated with many online and offline protests. These protests are most often about freedom of speech. They often protest political corruption and censorship. Anonymous also conducts DDoS attacks (where the attacker disconnects the target from the internet, sometimes permanently) against popular websites such as PayPal and the home page of the United States Department of Justice. Another common target is organizations that appear to restrict free speech.

Anonymous is also often associated with message boards such as 4chan and protests such as the Occupy Movement.

Some individuals have been arrested for their involvement in Anonymous cyberattacks in countries such as the US, UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey. Views on the group's activities and usefulness vary widely. Supporters have called the group "freedom fighters" and digital Robin Hoods, while some have called them "cyber terrorists". In 2012, Time named Anonymous one of the "100 Most Influential People" in the world in 2012.

After Russia decided to invade Ukraine, the anonymous group officially declared cyber war on it . One of its elements is, among other things, coordinated DDoS attacks on Russian government websites.

Within days, the group claimed credit for a series of cyberattacks, including the aforementioned distributed denial of service attacks that brought down government websites and the Russia Today news site. The DDoS attacks continued for a long time , and the official sites of the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense remained unavailable.

The Anonymous group also announced that it had hacked into the Defense Ministry's database, and the group was additionally found to have hacked into Russian state television channels , posting pro-Ukrainian content on them, including patriotic songs and images of the invasion.