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Understanding Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks

The recent DDoS attack on Karnataka’s Kaveri 2.0 portal has raised serious concerns about cybersecurity threats in India. With increasing digitization, government services and financial systems are becoming prime targets for cybercriminals. A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack is one such threat that disrupts the availability of online services, affecting both businesses and governments.


What is a DDoS Attack?

A DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack is a malicious attempt to overload a website, network, or online service, making it slow or entirely inaccessible to users. This is achieved by flooding the target with excessive traffic from multiple sources simultaneously.


Key Features of a DDoS Attack

  1. Part of Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks

    • DDoS is a subset of DoS attacks, where an attacker disrupts network services.

    • Unlike traditional DoS attacks, DDoS uses multiple devices to launch an attack.

  2. Multiple Attack Sources

    • DDoS attacks are orchestrated from a network of compromised devices (botnets).

    • The sheer volume of requests overwhelms the target system, causing a slowdown or crash.

  3. Use of Botnets

    • Botnets are networks of hijacked internet-connected devices, controlled remotely by hackers.

    • These devices unknowingly participate in attacks, making it difficult to trace the real attacker.


Impact of DDoS Attacks

  1. Disruption of Critical Services

    • Affects government portals, banking systems, and e-commerce platforms.

    • Causes delays in transactions and service delivery.

  2. Financial Losses

    • Businesses may face huge revenue losses due to service outages.

    • Extra resources are required to mitigate the attack and restore operations.

  3. Cybersecurity Risks

    • DDoS attacks can be used as a diversion for other cybercrimes, like data breaches and malware attacks.

    • Sensitive government and financial data may become vulnerable.


Prevention and Mitigation Strategies

  1. Traffic Filtering & Firewalls

    • Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) can detect and block malicious traffic.

  2. Load Balancing

    • Distributing traffic across multiple servers can help absorb the impact of an attack.

  3. Early Detection

    • AI-based monitoring tools can detect unusual traffic spikes and trigger automated defenses.

  4. Cybersecurity Framework

    • India’s National Cyber Security Strategy must be strengthened to tackle increasing cyber threats.

    • Critical infrastructure and government portals need robust cyber resilience measures.


UPSC Prelims Question

Q: With reference to Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, consider the following statements:

  1. A DDoS attack is a cyberattack that aims to improve the speed of a website by distributing its network load.

  2. Botnets are networks of hijacked devices that can be used to launch DDoS attacks.

  3. DDoS attacks originate from a single source, making them easy to trace.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 2 and 3 only


UPSC Mains Question

Q. Cybersecurity threats such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks pose significant risks to digital infrastructure. Discuss the impact of DDoS attacks on India’s cybersecurity landscape and suggest measures to enhance cyber resilience. 


(GS Paper 3 – Security)


 
 
 

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