What if your favourite application or website stops working suddenly? Even if you keep refreshing it, it won’t load. It can be due to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. A DoS attack occurs when an attacker attempts to shut down an online service or website by flooding it with traffic. These types of cyberattacks are common in the digital space and might affect businesses, schools, hospitals or governments.
In this blog, we’ll discuss DoS attacks, types and prevention methods and how cyber insurance will help.
Types of DDoS and DoS cyber attacks
There are two main types of cyberattacks: DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) and DoS (Denial-of-Service). While both types of cyberattack aim to make services or websites unavailable, they can differ in how they attack.
1. DoS attack
- A smartphone or computer sends massive requests to a server until it becomes slow.
- It is easy to block and trace the DoS attack.
2. DDoS attack
- Computers attack the target at once
- It is difficult to stop the attack as it comes from multiple sources at the same time.
Here are the types of DoS and DDoS cyberattacks:
- Application layer attacks: This targets specific websites or applications and aims to crash them without the need for much traffic.
- Volume-based attacks: A huge amount of website traffic is sent, which overloads the bandwidth.
- Protocol attacks: It exploits weaknesses in server protocols, such as IP/TCP, to exhaust resources.
Impact of DoS cyberattacks on businesses
DDoS and DoS cyberattacks might lead to serious harm to small or large organisations. Several businesses in India, especially in e-commerce, education and fintech, have suffered because of cyberattacks. Some of the effects of cyberattacks are:
- Loss of sales: E-commerce websites might lose thousands or lakhs in revenue if the website is down even for a few minutes.
- Website downtime: An application or website might become unreachable, which leads to client frustration.
- Increased IT expenses: It takes extra money and time to strengthen defences and fix the damage.
- Brand reputation damage: Clients might lose trust in a company, which might hamper its services.
- Compliance and legal problems: If the attack affects customer data, it might lead to legal issues under cyber laws.
- Risk of further cyberattacks: DoS cyber attacks might be used as a distraction, while cyber hackers will steal data or plant malware.
How to prevent a DDoS attack?
It is difficult to avoid a cyberattack completely, but there are a few steps businesses must take to minimise the risk. Some tips to prevent DDoS cyberattacks are:
- Have a response plan: You should know what needs to be done when a cyberattack takes place – what systems you should shut down or who to contact.
- Choose a trusted hosting provider: A good hosting service provider offers robust DDoS protection.
- Update all software: Ensure to keep everything updated, as old software might have security holes.
- Apply rate limiting: You must limit the number of requests from a single IP address.
- Work with a cybersecurity professional: Consider hiring experts to set up and monitor the systems for advanced protection.
- Use a content delivery network: A content delivery network aids in dealing with high traffic by spreading the load across multiple servers.
- Use intrusion and firewall detection systems: These tools might block suspicious traffic before it reaches your servers.
How does cyber insurance help you with DDoS attacks?
Like we insure our homes and cars, businesses must insure themselves against cyberattacks. This is where cyber insurance comes in. Here is how cyber insurance helps:
- Covers legal expenses: If legal action is taken due to customer data being affected, cyber insurance will assist in covering court penalties and fees.
- Offers business interruption coverage: Compensation is provided for lost income during downtime due to a DoS cyber attack.
- Helps in reputation management: Some policies also include support for marketing and PR after a cyberattack to regain trust.
- Pays for technical assistance: Assists in paying experts to fix any damage caused due to the cyberattack.
- Covers financial loss: If you lose money or your website is down, cyber insurance will cover those financial losses.
What to look for in case of DoS coverage?
Not all cyber insurance policies are the same. If you wish to protect your business from DoS and DDoS cyberattacks, ensure that your policy includes certain features, such as:
- First-party vs third-party coverage: First-party cyber insurance covers the company’s losses, and third-party coverage covers claims by partners, vendors or customers.
- Data restoration assistance: Search for cyber insurance plans that provide 24/7 access to cybersecurity experts.
- DDoS protection: Confirm that business interruptions related to DDoS are covered in cyber insurance.
- Low deductibles: Select a cyber insurance plan where you don’t need to pay a large amount from your pocket during a cyber insurance claim.
- Loss of income coverage: Ensure that you get paid from cyber insurance when your business suffers from any downtime.
Conclusion
DDoS and DoS cyberattacks are not only technical issues, but they are major business concerns. If you run a small or large business online, there is no doubt that cyber threats are increasing. These cyberattacks might cause financial loss, downtime or long-term damage to your brand. With smart planning, a good liability insurance policy and technical protection, you may reduce the cyberattack risk and bounce back.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. It is advised to verify the currency and relevance of the data and information before taking any major steps. Please read the sales brochure / policy wordings carefully for detailed information about on risk factors, terms, conditions and exclusions. ICICI Lombard is not liable for any inaccuracies or consequences resulting from the use of this outdated information.