Example of a DoS Attack: GitHub DDoS Attack (2018)
Find an example of a real-world, documented DoS attack that has occurred in the last two years. Describe the attack, being sure to include any damage or impact this DoS attack had on the company/organization
Summarize the efforts used and solutions found to combat DoS attacks.
Example of a DoS Attack: GitHub DDoS Attack (2018)
One notable example of a DoS attack that occurred in the last two years is the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against GitHub in 2018. GitHub, a popular web-based code hosting platform, experienced one of the largest DDoS attacks in history, impacting its services and causing disruptions for several days.
The attack, which took place in February 2018, targeted the GitHub platform with a massive volume of traffic directed towards its servers. The DDoS attack was carried out using a technique called memcached amplification, where attackers exploited misconfigured memcached servers to amplify the volume of traffic sent to the target. This resulted in an overwhelming amount of traffic flooding GitHub’s servers, leading to service interruptions and slowdowns.
The impact of the attack was significant. GitHub experienced intermittent outages, making it difficult for developers and users to access and collaborate on code repositories. The attack disrupted the availability and reliability of GitHub’s services, affecting millions of users worldwide. Additionally, the attack caused a surge in internet traffic, potentially impacting other online services as well.
Efforts and Solutions to Combat DoS Attacks:
To combat and mitigate the impact of DoS attacks, organizations employ various strategies and solutions. Some of the common efforts used to address DoS attacks include:
Traffic Filtering and Rate Limiting: Organizations implement traffic filtering mechanisms to identify and block malicious traffic associated with DoS attacks. Rate limiting techniques are used to restrict the amount of incoming traffic from specific sources, preventing overwhelming server loads.
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): CDNs are used to distribute website content across multiple servers and data centers. By employing CDNs, organizations can handle increased traffic and distribute it geographically, reducing the impact of DDoS attacks.
Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS): IPS solutions monitor network traffic, detect suspicious patterns or anomalies, and automatically take action to block or mitigate potential DoS attacks. They can identify and filter out malicious traffic before it reaches critical infrastructure.
Cloud-based DDoS Protection Services: Many organizations leverage cloud-based DDoS protection services provided by specialized vendors. These services utilize advanced detection algorithms and large-scale infrastructure to absorb and filter out malicious traffic, ensuring the availability of services during an attack.
In the case of the GitHub DDoS attack, the company quickly responded by collaborating with their infrastructure partners and leveraging their extensive DDoS mitigation capabilities. They implemented various countermeasures, such as rerouting traffic, increasing their server capacity, and collaborating with ISPs to block or filter out malicious traffic. These efforts enabled GitHub to gradually mitigate the attack and restore service availability over time.
It is important to note that combating DoS attacks requires a multi-layered approach, combining proactive measures, network monitoring, rapid incident response, and continuous improvement of security infrastructure. Organizations must remain vigilant, regularly update their security measures, and stay informed about emerging attack techniques to effectively combat DoS attacks.