DDoS Protection
A DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attack is a powerful and standard weapon that affects hundreds of websites by bringing them down. A DDoS attack makes a website unavailable by inundating it with excess traffic and thus crashing it. One of the ways to protect your system is by using DDoS proxy protection to thwart any efforts by hackers to crash your website.
What is DDoS Proxy Protection?
A proxy server is a computer operating as a hub via which internet requests are processed. When you connect via a proxy server, your computer sends out a query to this server, which then sends your request to the internet, and returns the result via the same proxy.
The proxy server is also prone to threats, and to mitigate such attacks, you need DDoS protection for your proxy server. There are two types of proxy server software.
1. Reverse DDoS Proxy Protection
A reverse proxy server acts as an intermediary point that is placed on the edge of a network. It acts as an endpoint, receiving all HTTP requests for connection. The proxy server acts as a guard in network traffic, and also acts as a gateway from your origin server to your users. This way, it takes care of traffic routing and policy management. A reverse proxy DDoS protection policy works by:
- Receiving the users’ connection requests
- Completion of the TCP handshake, which terminates the original connection
- Connection with the origin server, and forwarding the initial request
2. Forward DDoS Proxy Protection
Just like a reverse proxy, a forward DDoS proxy is positioned on the periphery of your network. In contrast, it regulates any outbound traffic, adhering to policies within shared networks. It also masks the clients’ IP addresses and blocks all malicious traffic flowing in.
Forward DDoS| proxies are mostly used by corporates and universities to:
- Block individuals from visiting some websites
- Monitor the employees’ online activities
- Block all potentially dangerous traffic from getting to a server
- Cache all external site contents, improving user experience
Three Methods of DDoS Proxy Protection
There are three standard methods of DDoS protection in use today.
Clean Pipe DDoS Proxy Protection
The essence of the clean pipe method is to allow all incoming traffic to pass through, albeit via a “Clean Pipe,” also called a scrubbing center. Within the clean pipe, malicious traffic is sorted and kept aside from the safe traffic. Only the legit traffic is allowed to pass through to the webserver.
This Clean pipe protection tactic is prevalent and available in most DDoS protection services and ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Before this, the ISP providers prevented DDoS attacks by blackholing, which negated all traffic, including legitimate traffic.
CDN Dilution DDoS Proxy Protection
Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a distributed network system that serves content to its users. The nearest servers to the user are the ones that respond to a request, not the original server. A CDN system protects systems from DDoS attacks in two ways.
The first is that because there are many servers, the bandwidth sum is higher. Larger bandwidth allows the CDN technology to handle volumetric, layer 3 or 4 attacks. Secondly, the original server does not respond to the requests, so it is harder for a DDoS attack to make its way to this server.
UDP/TCP DDoS Proxy Protection
Suppose your website consists of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) or TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) services such as gaming, SSH (Secure Shell) access, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol/email) services. In that case, the open ports are vulnerable to DDoS attacks.
To handle threats, a UDP/TCP-based proxy is installed, and that works the same as a CDN dilution protocol. This method allows for data packets to be sent to the UDP/TCP reverse proxy that filters the malicious packets and traffic.
Conclusion DDoS Proxy Protection
In today’s ever-changing cyberattack environment, it is crucial to be careful of cyberattacks. Since DDoS proxy attacks are ubiquitous, set a high priority in their mitigation. Proactivity in finding the best and most effective approach to DDoS proxy protection is crucial.
Do not wait for an attack to happen so that you plan your response. The attack will set you back thousands, probably millions of dollars depending on the size of your business. In anticipating for a DDoS attack, you hope for the best but expect the worst, and plan accordingly.
