Denial of service attack
There are different types of denial of service (DoS) attacks, but they all work by overloading the system with requests. These requests are small data packets that you send every time you access a website. It basically says “hello” to the website to establish a connection.
Denial of service simplified
A DoS attack happens when someone sends thousands of such requests in a short period of time. Anyone can do this by simply rigging a computer (or several) to continuously send “hello’s” until they overload the servers. If this happens, the website will shut down and become inaccessible to its visitors.
A TDoS works the same way. The only difference is that attackers target voice service systems of enterprises, the government, emergency services, call centers, and others.
Tips to prevent denial of service
Employ technology
Employing technology that’s built to sustain DoS attacks can help prevent DoS attacks.
Use specialized services
Using anti-DDoS services is a great way to manage DoS risks.
Build firewalls or go cloud
Building network firewalls or going “full cloud” can help prevent DoS attacks.
Cooperate with service providers
Cooperating with service providers to counter such attacks will go a long way.
Denial of service crime stats
According to the FBI Internet Crime Reports, here's how devastating denial of service attacks were from 2015 to 2022:
Average losses and victim count
year over year
Denial of service attack cases have reached record numbers with 2K yearly victims (around 6 victims per day) in 2020.
Victims have reported the highest average financial loss to denial of service attacks in 2022 ($30.1K per victim).
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the number of denial of service cases grew by 49%, but the average financial loss fell by 95% (from $5.6K to $254) per victim compared to 2019.
Despite the increasing awareness of online crimes, daily financial losses to denial of service attacks have grown around six times from 2015 ($7.6K per day) to 2022 ($46.8K per day).
