What is ddos ​​attack in simple terms

Volume-based attacks: These attacks aim to overload the network’s bandwidth by sending massive amounts of traffic to the victim’s server or network. Typically, botnets are used for this, composed of thousands of infected devices. 
Example: UDP Flood. UDP flood is one of the simplest and most common DDoS attacks. In this attack, a large number of UDP packets are sent to random ports on the server, forcing the server to spend resources on checking and sending ICMP error messages when ports are closed. 

Application-layer attacks: These attacks are targeted at specific web applications that require significant resources to process requests. They are particularly dangerous as they can bypass security systems by masquerading as legitimate traffic. 
Example: HTTP Flood. This type of attack involves an attacker or botnet sending a large number of HTTP requests to a website, overloading the server and making it unavailable to real users. 

Protocol attacks: These attacks exploit vulnerabilities in communication protocols, forcing the server to perform unnecessary operations and hindering legitimate requests from being processed. 
Example: SYN Flood. A SYN flood attack targets the TCP connection mechanism by initiating but not completing connections, which eventually overloads the server. 

Monitoring and early detection: Setting up monitoring systems to detect abnormal activity in the early stages, allowing response before a full-scale attack begins. 
Example solution: Arbor Sightline by Netscout: A platform for monitoring and analyzing network traffic that allows for detecting and preventing DDoS attacks. 

Filtering and blocking: Network filters block IP addresses from which suspicious requests originate. 
Example solution: Arbor Edge Defense (AED) by Netscout: a solution that operates at the network boundary and provides filtering of malicious traffic. 

Load balancing: Utilizing load balancers to distribute incoming traffic among multiple servers to maintain operational capacity. 
Example solution: Ribbon SBC 2000: A session border controller that provides DDoS protection and application-level load balancing. This solution is suitable for medium-sized enterprises and large branches, ensuring security and compatibility with other network infrastructures. 

Traffic scrubbing: A filtering method that isolates malicious traffic generated during DDoS attacks from legitimate requests. Systems like NETSCOUT Arbor analyze all incoming traffic in real time to detect and remove malicious requests. 
How it works: The system routes all traffic through “scrubbers” – filtering centers that recognize patterns characteristic of malicious requests. Legitimate traffic is directed to the server, while suspicious packets are dropped or sent for further analysis, reducing load on target servers and preventing overload. 
Advantages: This approach blocks even large-scale attacks, preserving service availability. Traffic scrubbing solutions, such as Arbor by NETSCOUT, can be flexibly configured to adapt to new types of threats and changing traffic parameters. 

Specialized DDoS protection solutions: These systems, such as solutions by NETSCOUT, are designed to analyze and filter traffic, detect anomalies, and respond instantly to threats in real time. They include built-in features for traffic management, network behavior analysis, and control of suspicious IP addresses. 
How it works: The DDoS protection system, like NETSCOUT Arbor Edge Defense, typically includes multiple levels of traffic analysis and filtering. It detects suspicious patterns, such as a sudden surge in requests, high connection frequency from a single IP, or abnormal request types. After detection, the threat is blocked, and the system continues to monitor traffic to respond to any changes instantly. 
Advantages: Specialized solutions protect both network and application-level infrastructure. They integrate with existing cybersecurity technologies and offer flexible settings to adapt to various threat types and usage scenarios. 

Proactive threat approach: Proactive DDoS defense involves continuous security testing, vulnerability detection, and timely updates to all security components. This approach includes periodic security audits and DDoS simulation to assess the system's ability to withstand threats. Implementing solutions like NETSCOUT Arbor Sightline enables continuous network monitoring and rapid anomaly detection, enhancing proactive threat management. 
How it works: Specialists conduct regular tests using tools such as penetration testing (pentesting) and traffic audits to identify potential vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. Additionally, alert mechanisms are configured to detect suspicious changes in traffic, allowing for a timely response before a full-scale attack. 
Advantages: This approach reduces the likelihood of successful attacks by identifying issues early. Keeping all security components current, including software and filtering rules, minimizes the risk of disruptions and maintains a high level of protection. 

Backup communication channels and servers: Having backup resources enables traffic redirection and service restoration during an attack without interrupting user service. Backup channels and servers provide an additional layer of defense and allow for quick switching to alternative resources if the main ones are attacked. 
How it works: In the event of overload on the main channel, traffic is automatically redirected to backup channels or servers. This process can be implemented using automatic switching systems or manually when anomalies are detected in traffic. Backup resources can be located in various geographic locations to reduce the risk of a single point of failure. 
Advantages: This strategy quickly restores service availability during overloads, maintaining a high level of service. Backup channels and servers also help distribute the load, preventing the entire system from collapsing during an attack. 

Cloud solutions: Cloud services provide flexibility and scalability for DDoS protection as they can dynamically redistribute traffic and engage additional resources during overloads. Many cloud providers, including NETSCOUT, offer built-in DDoS protection mechanisms that help minimize load on local resources. 
How it works: Cloud platforms distribute traffic among their servers, allowing load distribution from DDoS attacks to various geographically distributed data centers. This reduces the load on the company's infrastructure and ensures stability even with significant traffic increases. 
Advantages: Cloud solutions enhance DDoS resilience due to scalability and distributed structure. Using cloud services reduces the cost of maintaining physical infrastructure and provides additional resources during an attack. 

Boundary filtering: AED tracks all incoming and outgoing traffic, automatically filtering malicious requests and blocking suspicious IP addresses. 

Integration with NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence: AED receives updates from NETSCOUT’s global threat intelligence network, enabling rapid responses to emerging threats. 

Multi-layered protection: This system combines filtering and threat analysis on multiple levels, making it effective against both simple and multi-stage DDoS attacks. 
Advantages: AED reduces server load and protects critical systems by blocking malicious traffic at the network boundary. Its flexible settings and integration with NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence allow it to adapt to changing threat conditions. 

Intelligent traffic management: TMS identifies suspicious traffic patterns and automatically redirects malicious requests to remote scrubbers for cleaning ("clean traffic" technology). 

Flexible filtering configuration: Allows the setup of rules to protect against specific attacks, such as SYN floods and application-level attacks. 

Support for integration with Arbor Sightline: TMS receives monitoring data from Arbor Sightline, enhancing its ability to detect and block threats. 
Advantages: Arbor TMS effectively protects critical services and applications, filtering DDoS traffic without interrupting legitimate connections. Combined with Arbor Sightline, TMS provides comprehensive protection, managing traffic and mitigating threats in real time. 

Response speed: NETSCOUT utilizes high-speed detection and filtering technologies, allowing for instant threat detection and blocking, ensuring minimal delays. 

Adaptability to various types of attacks: NETSCOUT Arbor solutions automatically adapt to new types of threats, making them effective against both simple and complex attacks. 

Integration with existing systems: NETSCOUT solutions integrate easily with existing security systems, providing a comprehensive network protection approach and enhancing coordination with other infrastructure elements.