Protecting the E-Commerce Website against DDoS Attacks

Protecting the E-Commerce Website against DDoS Attacks

Kannan Balasubramanian
Copyright: © 2016 |Pages: 30
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0273-9.ch008
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Abstract

A DDoS attack attempts to reduce the ability of a site to service clients, be they physical users or logical entities such as other computer systems. This can be achieved by either overloading the ability of the target network or server to handle incoming traffic or by sending network packets that cause target systems and networks to behave unpredictably. E-commerce sites are popular targets for attack for a number of reasons. The complexity of the site can reduce security coverage through human error, design fault, or immature technology implementations. E-commerce sites have a large presence and are easy to access. Defending a site against DDoS requires security teams to adopt a consistent and focused approach. In particular, staying aware of current security issues and new attack methods is of particular importance. Ensuring a reasonable security profile is an ongoing and dynamic process requiring continual refinement and consideration.
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What Is A Ddos Attack?

To understand a DDoS attack and its consequences, we first need to grasp the fundamentals of DoS attacks (Ghosh, 2001; Russell, 2001). The progression from understanding DoS to DDoS is quite elementary, though the distinction between the two is important. Given its name, it should not come as a surprise that a DoS attack is aimed squarely at ensuring that the service a computing infrastructure usually delivers is negatively affected in some way. This type of attack does not involve breaking into the target system. Usually a successful DoS attack reduces the quality of the service delivered by some measurable degree, often to the point where the target infrastructure of the DoS attack cannot deliver a service at all. A common perception is that the target of a DoS attack is a server, though this is not always the case. The fundamental objective of a DoS attack is to degrade service, whether it be hosted by a single server or delivered by an entire network infrastructure.

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