Like all types of cybercrime, DDoS is on the rise, and in all likelihood will continue to rise from one year to the next. Not only that, but the impact of DDoS attacks are also rising in severity and complexity as more and more advanced methods are used by the criminals to carry them out.
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, website, or network by overwhelming it with a flood of Internet traffic. And recent experiences have shown that Healthcare is frequently a target for such attacks.
DDoS attacks frequently come from multiple sources to make their identification more difficult. It can also hinder the victim organization’s attempts to stop the DDoS.
In lay terms it’s like an unexpected traffic jam clogging up the highway, preventing regular traffic from arriving at its destination.
DDoS normally present themselves, as you would expect, by a slowing or crashing of a company’s network or website. Which costs you time, reputation and money and potentially drives your customers to competitors websites.
The Fortified Health Report of 2020 notes that DDoS attacks can be used to disguise other network attacks that are planned to take place concurrently i.e., ransomware attacks, and the technology and capability behind DDoS is increasing rapidly and all organizations need to be prepared to meet the challenge.
HR companies remain a really attractive targets to cyber criminals. The HR department of any organisation holds vast amounts sensitive personal data and financial information that may be of value to criminals. There’s personally identifiable information such as home addresses, bank details, dates of birth and National Insurance numbers that criminals can collect and use for their nefarious activities.
Even if a DDoS attack is not a feint designed to hide another type of incursion into your network, you have to answer one simple question.
What would I do if I could no longer use my network?
The correct answer is don’t wait to find out – do what you can do now to make a successful attack less likely in the first place.
DDoS attacks are notoriously difficult to prevent. The attackers don’t necessarily need internal access to the network as the attack is from the outside. They are increasing in complexity and sophistication meaning that defense against these dark arts needs continual review. But the key points for protection to remember are
The impact of a successful attack against your website or network can be catastrophic and lead to website downtime, loss of business and loss of reputation. In the worst cases it can lead to the closure of the business altogether. But all is not lost.
Here at the centre, we would advise you to the following things now:
If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber-attack (in progress), please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 immediately. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please report online to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. You can report cybercrime online at any time using the online reporting tool, which will guide you through simple questions to identify what has happened. Action Fraud advisors can also provide the help, support, and advice you need.
Alternatively, you can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (textphone 0300 123 2050).
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