Head of Suntera Forensics, Peter Allwright, plays a pivotal role in helping organisations navigate the complexities of detecting, investigating, and preventing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks — read the full article to explore these strategies.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have become a pervasive threat, often crippling websites, applications, and entire networks.
These attacks, which flood targets with overwhelming amounts of traffic, are disruptive in themselves, but can also serve as a cover for more insidious cyber activities.
Investigating - and preventing - DDoS attacks is becoming an increasingly important cyber security issue for organisations but can be a complex task that requires a strategic approach, specialist tools, and a deep understanding of network behaviour.
Understanding DDoS Attacks
A DDoS attack involves multiple compromised systems, often distributed globally, sending vast amounts of traffic to a single target. The goals can vary from extortion and competitive sabotage to political motivations and activism.
There are several types of DDoS attacks:
1. Volume-Based Attacks: These flood the target with high traffic volumes, overwhelming its bandwidth.
2. Protocol Attacks: These consume server resources or network equipment, exploiting weaknesses in the target’s protocols.
3. Application Layer Attacks: These target specific applications to exhaust resources.
Investigating DDoS Attacks
DDoS attacks are complex and can differ – but there are some common steps that can be taken to investigate them:
1. Initial Detection
The first step in investigating a DDoS attack is detection. This involves monitoring network traffic for unusual patterns or spikes. Tools like intrusion detection systems (IDS) and security information and event management (SIEM) systems can alert administrators to potential attacks.
2. Traffic Analysis
Once an attack is detected, the next step is to analyse the traffic. This involves identifying the type of DDoS attack, the vectors used, and the scale of the attack. Key metrics to examine include:
• Source IP addresses: Identifying the traffic's origin can help understand the scope of the attack and its potential impact.
• Traffic patterns: Examining protocols and traffic flows can provide insights into the attack's nature.
• Duration and timing: Understanding when and for how long the attack occurs can help correlate with other events.
3. Mitigation Measures
During the investigation, immediate steps must be taken to mitigate the attack's impact. This can include:
• Rate limiting: essentially restricting traffic to maintain service availability.
• Traffic filtering: Blocking malicious IP addresses or using geo-blocking to restrict traffic from certain regions.
• Redirection: Using content delivery networks (CDNs) or scrubbing centres to absorb, filter and redirect traffic elsewhere.
4. Identifying the Attackers
Attributing a DDoS attack to specific individuals or groups is challenging due to the use of botnets and spoofed IP addresses. However, some methods can aid in identifying the attackers:
• Botnet analysis: Investigating the botnet infrastructure, such as command and control (C&C) servers, can provide clues.
• Malware forensics: Analysing malware used to control the botnets can reveal information about the attackers.
• Collaborative efforts: Working with ISPs, cybersecurity firms, and international law enforcement can help trace the origins of the attack.
5. Post-Attack Analysis
After the immediate threat is mitigated, a thorough post-attack analysis is essential. This involves:
• Log review: Analysing server and network logs to understand the full impact and identify any security gaps.
• Forensic examination: Conducting a detailed forensic analysis of affected systems to detect any secondary attacks or breaches.
• Reporting and documentation: Creating comprehensive reports detailing the attack vectors, mitigation steps taken, and recommendations for future prevention.
Challenges
Investigating DDoS attacks is certainly not without its challenges, and there are typically three main ones:
• Anonymity and spoofing: Attackers often use techniques to hide their identities, such as IP spoofing and anonymisation services.
• Scale and complexity: Large-scale DDoS attacks involve numerous compromised devices, making it difficult to pinpoint the source.
• Evolving tactics: Attackers continually evolve their tactics, employing new methods and tools to bypass defences.
Best Practice for Defence
To enhance resilience against DDoS attacks, organisations should adopt the following best practices:
• Robust network architecture: Implementing redundant and scalable network architectures can help absorb attack traffic.
• Regular security assessments: Conduct periodic security and stress tests to identify vulnerabilities.
• Advanced threat intelligence: Leveraging threat intelligence to stay informed about emerging threats and attack methods.
• Employee training: Educating staff on recognising and responding to potential DDoS attacks.
• Incident response planning: Developing and rehearsing comprehensive incident response plans to ensure swift and effective action during an attack.
Conclusion
DDoS attacks are sophisticated and investigating them requires a multifaceted approach, combining immediate mitigation efforts with in-depth analysis and long-term strategies.
By understanding the nature of these attacks and implementing robust defensive measures, however, organisations can better protect themselves against their disruptive impact and maintain the integrity of their digital operations.
How Suntera Forensics Can Help
If you would like specialist forensic investigators to understand a DDoS attack, investigate a current or completed DDoS attack, or help with remedying your environment post DDoS attacks, contact our head of Suntera Forensics, Peter Allwright, to discuss your specific needs. You can contact Peter on the contact details below or visit our Forensics overview page for more information.
Key Contact:
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Peter Allwright
HEAD OF SUNTERA FORENSICS
