The annual Black Friday shopping frenzy has always been a golden opportunity for retailers, attracting swarms of eager customers to both physical stores and online platforms. However, as e-commerce and digitalisation continue to rise, this season has also become a tantalising target for cyber criminals. Among the rising threats, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks stand out, escalating by a staggering 109% in 2022, particularly menacing for retailers on Black Friday.
These fast-mutating and increasingly complex DDoS attacks have sinister objectives, aiming to cripple online services, compromise sensitive personal data, pilfer credit card information, deface brands, or worse, act as a deceptive smokescreen for other malicious activities, be it political, financial, or otherwise.
The Black Friday boom is the perfect bait for cyber criminals to strike, with massive discounts and limited-time offers drawing unprecedented online traffic to both virtual and brick-and-mortar stores. As retailers seize this heightened consumer interest, cyber criminals exploit the surge to unleash their DDoS attacks. This malicious deluge overwhelms target servers and networks, leaving legitimate users stranded and retailers vulnerable to grave consequences, including website downtime, lost sales, and the erosion of brand reputation and customer trust.
Choosing the right DDoS protection solution
In the past, countering DDoS attacks meant investing in on-site equipment to filter incoming traffic. However, this approach came with significant costs for equipment procurement and maintenance. Yet, even with fortified defences, an exceptionally robust DDoS attack could saturate upstream network infrastructure, rendering on-site countermeasures futile. As retailers gear-up for the frenzy of Black Friday, the strategic selection of a cloud-based DDoS mitigation service becomes paramount, with several critical factors warranting careful consideration.
1. Scalability: ensuring adaptability
An effective DDoS protection solution must be capable of accommodating a growing business and countering increasingly large attacks. Some attacks have exceeded two terabits per second (Tbps), with no sign of this trend reversing. Therefore, it is important to select a provider that can scale up or down as needed.
2. Flexibility: real-time responsiveness
The ability to devise instant ad hoc policies and patterns is essential for a web property to respond swiftly to emerging threats. Implementing page rules across the entire network in real-time is pivotal for maintaining online operations during an attack.
3. Reliability: on-demand protection
Like a seatbelt, DDoS protection becomes crucial only in critical moments. However, when that time comes, it must be dependable. The reliability of a DDoS solution is a linchpin for any protection strategy’s success. Look for providers such as Daisy who have high uptime rates and 24/7 site reliability engineers who ensure network functionality and promptly identify new threats. A solid strategy should prioritise redundancy, failover mechanisms, and an extensive network of data centres.
4. Network size: analysing patterns and stopping attacks
DDoS attacks exhibit patterns that span the internet as attack vectors and protocols evolve. A robust mitigation provider should have a sizable network with substantial data transfer capacity, enabling rapid analysis and response to threats.
Conclusion
In the ever-evolving realm of cyber security, choosing the right DDoS protection solution is not just a matter of safety – it’s a strategic investment that bolsters a retailer’s resilience, safeguards its reputation, and secures its digital future.
In the face of dynamic and relentless threats, retailers must remain vigilant and proactive. By aligning with trusted providers such as Daisy, retailers can fortify their defences, sustain operational continuity, and ensure a seamless shopping experience for customers during the pivotal Black Friday period and beyond.