Published November 23, 2022
Author: Ash Khan

Microsoft has announced that a new SKU for Azure’s DDoS Protection solution, which it claims is particularly targeted at SMBs, is now available in public preview. Microsoft provides a lower-cost solution for small businesses to combat DDoS campaigns.

The latest SKU, dubbed “IP Protection,” is designed to guard against L3/L4 DDoS assaults with “always-on monitoring and adaptive tuning.”

Microsoft stated IP Security combines with other Azure services such as Azure Firewall Manager, Microsoft Sentinel, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud to deliver real-time warnings and metrics to enable protection for a single public IP address.

What exactly is a DDoS attack?

DDoS is distributed denial of service. When a threat actor uses resources from several, remote locations to target an organization’s online activities, this is referred to as a DDoS attack. DDoS campaigns often focus on producing attacks that modify the default, operation of network equipment and services like routers, naming services, or caching services.

Advanced DDoS attacks do not have to rely on default settings or open relays. They take advantage of regular behavior and the way the protocols that run on today’s devices were meant to run in the first place. A DDoS attacker, like a social engineer, manipulates the regular workings of the network services we all rely on and trust.

How is DDoS attack executed?

As part of a DDoS attack, attackers exploit network device and server behavior, often targeting networking gear. As a result, attackers target edge network equipment rather than individual servers. A DDoS attack overloads the network’s pipe or the devices that deliver that capacity.

How DDoS attack affect businesses?

When a DDoS assault occurs, the targeted organization suffers a devastating disruption in one or more of its services as a result of the attack flooding its resources with HTTP requests and traffic, denying legitimate users access. DDoS campaigns, along with social engineering, ransomware, and supply chain attacks, are recognized as one of the top four cybersecurity concerns of our time.

A serious DDoS might completely shut down your website, preventing users from accessing your content and you may require website repair. In addition, for businesses that generate revenue from their websites, even a couple hours of downtime can be devastating.

Azure’s new DDoS product 

The IP Protection tier is significantly less expensive if you have fewer than 15 public IP resources to protect. You can try out the new solution by going to the Azure Preview Portal. Microsoft Office 365 parent company promises that a release to the regular Azure Portal won’t be far behind.

According to security service website analysis, there has been a 90% spike in DDoS assaults since Q3 2021. The telecommunications industry accounted for 43.2% of all events, a sevenfold increase from the previous year.

How to Prevent DDoS attacks?

According to research, the average cost of an infrastructure failure to a business is $100,000 (£75,000) per hour.

Here are some tips to follow

Make a DDoS assault response strategy

Every company should have a business continuity strategy in place, which should include a DDoS attack response plan. If a DDoS assault is effective, your strategy should outline how you expect to keep your firm running. It should also include a plan for an incident response team to manage, alert key stakeholders, and guarantee organizational communication.

Use DDoS attack mitigation software

Provide multi-level DDoS protection techniques for your network, apps, and infrastructure. This might include firewalls, the fastest most secure VPN, vulnerability assessment checker, content filtering, and vulnerability assessment services to monitor activities and identify traffic irregularities consistent with DDoS assault indications.

Check that your systems are up to date

Outdated systems frequently have the most vulnerabilities that attackers and hackers may exploit. You should also use a secure website checker to ensure that your website protection is up to date.

Inspect cloud-based solutions

For small and medium-sized organizations, cloud storage and backup solutions may be extremely efficient and cost-effective. They also provide extra degrees of security, which can help protect your assets and network against DDoS assaults. Vulnerability assessment tools, network redundancy, and server backup cloud storage choices are also available. The cloud also has greater bandwidth capacity, making it less likely to fail in the face of a DDoS attack.

With cyberattacks on the rise and hackers growing savvier in their techniques, there has never been a better moment to examine your company’s cybersecurity strategy and take critical actions to secure your assets and data.