{"id":13582,"date":"2016-12-06T08:06:55","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T08:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/?p=13582"},"modified":"2016-12-06T08:06:55","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T08:06:55","slug":"ddos-defence-is-your-network-protected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/2016\/12\/06\/ddos-defence-is-your-network-protected\/","title":{"rendered":"DDoS defence: Is your network protected?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks<\/a><\/span>\u00a0are growing in both size and sophistication. Recently in September, a pair of high-profile DDoS attacks reached more than 600 Gbps and 1 Tbps, respectively, ranking among\u00a0the largest DDoS attacks on record<\/span><\/a>. And their ferocity is only expected to trend upward.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one is immune\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

DDoS attacks don\u2019t discriminate<\/a><\/span>. Mom-and-pop shops, enterprises, service providers and businesses of all types and sizes can find themselves in a threat actor\u2019s DDoS crosshairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0an A10 Networks IDG Connect report<\/span><\/a>, everyone is a target, but some types of businesses come under fire more frequently. Entertainment and gambling are targeted the most, with 33% of DDoS attacks aimed at that industry, followed by advertising media and Web content (28%), and traditional and online retail (22%).<\/span><\/p>\n

The DDoS effect\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

And while the financial impact of a DDoS attacks varies, the hard truth is: DDoS attacks are costing companies money. Lots of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent\u00a0Ponemon Institute study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0revealed that between 2011 and 2016, the costs associated with a DDoS attack swelled by 31%, with some larger attacks exceeding $2 million due to lost revenue, business disruption and other hard costs. Brand and reputation damage, however, are largely immeasurable, but can also have a catastrophic lasting effect not easily broken down into dollars and cents.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, the number of DDoS attacks increased 75% year-over-year, according to the Verisign DDoS Trends Report for the second quarter of 2016<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The IDG Connect report found the average company suffers 15 DDoS attacks per year (some averaging as many as 25 DDoS attacks annually), and the average attack causes at least 17 hours of disruption, whether that\u2019s downtime, latency, denied customer access or crashes. That\u2019s 255 hours of disruption a year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Can your business afford that?<\/span><\/p>\n

Preventative measures\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

To be properly prepared, businesses must brace for the worst-case scenario. But how do you prevent something that you don\u2019t know when or if it\u2019s coming? Here are four steps to help ensure your network can stare down and stand up to a DDoS attack:<\/span><\/p>\n