How DDoS Attacks Are Different for Service Providers
Service Providers – Enabling Services
Digitalization has resulted in service providers taking on many new roles: consulting, communications, storage, processing, hosting, broadband and streaming, but ultimately service providers must focus on enabling services.
Service providers are evolving by shifting to cloud environments and transforming wireless networks to 5G, implementing edge computing and using virtualized, distributed networks.
As a result, new cybersecurity vulnerabilities have emerged that target service providers at a time when the world is becoming increasingly insecure.
Why DDoS Attacks Are Different for Service Providers
Most of us believe that to be a hacker, you need to acquire particular skills and abilities.
In reality, almost anyone can initiate a cyberattack; even a largescale DDoS attack using botnets can be done easily. All you need is a target and financial capabilities
The business of DDoS-as-a service is blooming. New groups like “Fancy Lazarus” allow anyone to perform devastating attacks. DDoS subscriptions range from just a few dollars per month to thousands of dollars. It’s no surprise Radware’s research team could see DDoS extortions as a persistent part of the DDoS threat landscape in all verticals (Ransom DDoS Update: The Hunt for Unprotected Assets,” June 11, 2021).
Most enterprises do not have largescale distributed networks, and they are focused on their limited applications and services. On the other hand, service providers operate a more diverse ecosystem, largescale infrastructure, and they also have to take care of their customers’ networks and services. Attackers must invest a lot of processing power and sophistication to affect service providers; therefore, they are more exposed to large globally distributed attacks that can overwhelm their fixed infrastructure.
Be Prepared for Anything!
Protecting service providers’ largescale networks is different. Most service providers will implement a DDoS protection solution only after verifying it has industry-leading detection and mitigation, flexible deployment options, orchestration ability at distributed largescale networks, and adequate support and SLA. Service providers usually lack the ability to mitigate large, distributed attacks that can overwhelm their infrastructure.
Service providers are using an on-premise DDoS mitigation solution. The deployment usually consists of a small capacity inline DDOS mitigation appliance as the first line of defense and as a second line of defense an out-of-path local scrubbing center to mitigate larger-scale attacks. Sadly, this is not enough. According to Radware’s Q2 Quarterly DDoS attack report, DDoS attacks volumes are increasing in size. Furthermore, according to Radware’s research team, service providers are targeted by largescale RDDoS attacks that they are not prepared for (Ransom DDoS Update: The Hunt for Unprotected Assets, June 11, 2021).
Large globally distributed attacks target DNS services and can overwhelm any internet uplinks. Once the uplink is saturated, customers and partners are left without available service. The result is bad PR, broken trust and a direct and indirect unnecessary cost (professional services, customers refund, etc.).
The service providers who could contain these largescale attacks were protected with a cloud DDoS protection service leveraging high volume mitigation capacity with a global presence to support their existing on-premise protection. The attack is fully mitigated once diverting the traffic to the Cloud DDoS protection service with no service impact.
Those without cloud DDoS protection suffered from access and services outages until invoking costly emergency operational services.
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Service providers are not immune
No network size is immune to a cyberattack, and if your applications and network are not adequately protected, cybercriminals will be able to disrupt access and cause significant damage to your reputation.
Be sure your on-premise DDoS protection service can leverage a global cloud scrubbing center to withstand even the largest volumetric attacks.
When working with hybrid protection, you are protecting your network from any possible threats. Cloud DDOS protection services must integrate with on-premise solutions. Having a single vendor solution can enhance the mitigation and simplify the support or emergency professional services assistance.
