The term DDoS refers to a distributed denial-of service attack. It’s an internet attack in which a big number of false visitors are sent to your website. The idea is to make it so slow that it is unavailable to real visitors.
Have you ever gone to a store with a hundred other people at the same time? When the staff is overworked, you will have to wait a long time to be serviced, and they may run out of stock. Everyone has had a difficult time.
A DDoS assault works in the same way. At any given time, your website can only manage a certain number of visits. It will become as unresponsive as that shop if there are too many visitors.
What is a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack?
DDoS attackers send or request data from a WordPress hosting server using compromised computers and devices. The goal of these queries is to cause the targeted server to slow down and eventually crash.
A botnet is a collection of infected machines that create a network. Each infected machine behaves as a bot and targets the system or server in question.
DDoS Attacks Are Increasing in Frequency
Every year, the number of DDoS attacks rises.
According to a report by F5 Labs, DDoS attacks surged by 55 percent between January 2020 and March 2021, and cybersecurity firm Netscout logged more than 10 million DDoS attacks in 2020.
That is concerning if you have a WordPress website.
Why such a large increase? Partly due to the availability of more resources. Their attacks have greater bandwidth accessible, and more devices can be turned into bots.
Older PCs with unpatched OS systems, hacked smartphones, and the expanding amount of “internet of things” gadgets like smart TVs, refrigerators, and light bulbs all fall into this category.
Another reason is that DDoS attacks are quite simple to execute. You may learn how to make botnets from YouTube videos, and malware tools are readily available. There are also persons who sell out their DDoS talents to paying consumers.
DDoS attacks can endure for hours, days, weeks, or even months. That is frequently enough time to completely ruin a website’s or application’s online presence.
Popular platforms are more prone to be attacked, and WordPress is by far the most popular. That’s why, before it’s too late, you should maintain your WordPress site secure and take precautions to fight against DDoS attacks.
Why Would Someone Terrorize My Website?
You may believe that because your website is small and you are a lovely person, you are immune from assault. Someone will almost certainly assault your website.
It’s possible they’re doing it to extort money. They may call you and offer to cease the assault if you pay them.
It could be for political reasons. You could be singled out merely because of where your company is located. It could also be triggered by some of your material.
It could be a business-related issue. Maybe your rivals are attempting to get an advantage. A angry customer, for example, may wish to hurt you.
It could also be done just out of boredom. Botnets may be used by someone with technological expertise who has nothing better to do with their time.
DDoS Attacks and Their Types
These DDoS attackers can crash your website using a variety of tactics. You might be able to better guard your WordPress website if you can figure out what strategy they’re utilizing.
The most common sort of DDoS attack is volumetric DDoS. They send a lot of bogus traffic to your site in order to fill up the available bandwidth. When your bandwidth is used up, your website will crash or display an error.
Application DDoS attacks target a single program rather than the entire website. The application is kept so busy that it can’t handle genuine visitor requests, and the server eventually crashes.
Protocol Instead of attacking the entire website, DDoS attacks target the networking devices. They use connection tables to assault firewalls and routers. The server will crash if there are more packets than it can process.
How to Protect Yourself From DDoS Attacks
You might be wondering how a WordPress-powered small business website can fight or prevent DDoS attacks given its low resources.
Before you are attacked, now is the moment to act. Activating a website application firewall is the simplest method to get started.
The firewall examines all of your traffic before it reaches your website, allowing only authentic visitors to pass. It employs sophisticated algorithms to detect and prevent all potentially harmful requests.
It’s the equivalent of hiring a bouncer. The firewall application is robust enough to withstand an onslaught without being knocked over, and it will deal with any dangers before they reach the front entrance of your website.
Sucuri is the greatest WordPress security plugin and website firewall, thus we recommend it. It operates at the DNS level, which means it can detect a DDoS attack before it reaches your website.
Cloudflare is another option, though you’ll only get limited DDoS protection if you choose its free plan.
If your website is already being attacked, you should disable WordPress APIs that could be used to launch a DDoS attack.
We hope that this essay has given you a better understanding of DDoS attacks.