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According to industry estimates, nearly 400,000 DDoS attacks are recorded each month worldwide. If you haven’t yet experienced a DDoS attack, unfortunately, chances are you may experience one in the near future.

The good news: a DDoS attack doesn’t have to be catastrophic. It can be mitigated or prevented with the right solution. A solid DDoS protection solution can help monitor your network, detect suspicious traffic and malicious activity, and mitigate DDoS attacks.

DDOS AttackHere are ten important considerations regarding DDoS attacks.**

1. They’re common.

According to FlowTraq, half of all companies today have been victims of DDoS attacks.

2. Just because you’ve been hit once doesn’t mean you won’t be hit again.

Like homes that are broken into multiple times, vulnerable organizations are not immune from multiple DDoS attacks. More than 42% of the organizations monitored by one DDoS protection company were hit more than once, and 2.5% were attacked repeatedly more than 10 times.

3. DDoS attacks don’t just concern large companies.

Companies large and small are vulnerable. In fact, smaller companies may be perceived as having less rigorous defenses and expertise, fewer resources, and less experience guarding against hackers, so they may actually be a more attractive target.

4. Cybercriminals range in age, location, and expertise.

Cybercriminals are equal-opportunity hackers, located next door or across the globe, young or old, educated and uneducated. DDoS attacks are easy to carry out and don’t require specialized training. Attack toolkits are available on the dark web.

5. DDoS attacks seriously impact the bottom line.

DDoS attacks can cripple your bottom line. Attacks result in lost worker output, potential penalties for non-compliance, revenue loss and damage to your company’s reputation. Sometimes attackers demand a ransom payment from site owners, which only adds to financial losses.

6. I have a firewall. Isn’t that enough?

Unfortunately, no. Intrusion prevention systems like firewalls and routers can’t prevent DDoS attacks. Because DDoS attacks can involve forging hundreds of thousands of IP sender addresses, the location of attacking machines cannot be easily identified. To ward off attacks, you need a solution that can react within seconds, not minutes. That’s why FirstLight’s DDoS Solution is a critical defense.

7. Attacks often serve as “smoke screens.”

Most DDoS attacks do not attempt to breach a company’s network, but rather overwhelm it with traffic so it comes to a halt. Increasingly though, these attacks are being used as “smokescreens” to distract from the real intent — data breaches. By distracting the organization with a significant DDoS attack, a hacker may stand a better chance of breaking into your systems and gaining sensitive data undetected.

8. Attacks damage your customer trust.

DDoS attacks don’t just harm organization’s financially — they damage your reputation and undermine customer trust. A DDoS attack is more than just a public embarrassment — it can permanently damage your reputation and your customer relationships.

9. Attacks are always evolving.

As organized attacks become more sophisticated and effective, and networks and server capabilities grow, companies need to become more savvy about how to protect themselves and their assets. Heating and cooling systems, printers, thermostats, videoconferencing, even vending machines are digital gateways. Companies need to stay one step ahead of these cybercriminals as they continue to get smarter and more strategic.

10. You don’t have to be defenseless

Organizations need to determine the risk of a potential attack and identify what needs protecting. Ideally you need a solution that detects anomalies in network patterns in real time and alerts you to unusually high levels of incoming connections from one or more sources.

FirstLight’s new DDoS Protection and Mitigation Solution is the answer to protect and mitigate against DDoS attacks. With FirstLight, you can rest easy knowing your DDoS solution is on alert looking to defend your network and mitigate potential attacks without crippling your critical network traffic.

For more info on FirstLight’s DDoS Protection and Mitigation Solution, contact us today!

**Content used by permission of FlowTraq TM