Preparing for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks

In the confidentiality, integrity, and availability metrics of information security, also known as the CIA Triad, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks impact availability. In a broad context, the term 'denial-of-service' has a general definition covering many types of attacks. This analysis focuses on the types of attacks generally referred to as distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks. DDoS attacks are most often used to extort or damage businesses whose websites or online assets are a major source of revenue, are an indicator of brand value, or are critical to operations. Although major DDoS attacks are a rare occurrence for most organizations, they can have devastating effects. Anyone can become a victim at any time, so it's important to implement mitigations and practice DDoS incident response plans prior to a DDoS event.