Continuity Centers

DDoS attacks just another threat to BC/DR strategies

Organizations have to contend with all types of incidents that test their business continuity and disaster recovery strategies. In addition to the typical Mother Nature-related events, firms have to deal with Distributed Denial-of-Service threats that result in similar outcomes of power outages and storms.

TechTarget recently detailed the importance of thorough DDoS defenses to avoid downtime caused by these incidents. The news source noted traditional defenses – networks, load balancers, routers and firewalls – are not always effective at combating DDoS events. Unfortunately, smaller organizations with limited resources may not have any other options available.

"Investing in services from trusted vendors can help these small companies shore up critical infrastructure from minimizing the harmful effects of DDoS events."

Investing in services from trusted vendors can help these small companies shore up critical infrastructure from minimizing the harmful effects of DDoS events. If more firms take this approach, it will buck the trend in 2014 in which a SANS survey in 2014 discovered 63 percent of respondents did not devote any funding toward DDoS defenses or IT partners, TechTarget reported.

The costs of successful DDoS attacks are immense
The SANS study indicated organizations experienced an average DDoS attack time of 8.7 hours in 2014. A Prolexic report found the average duration of these threats was much higher, lasting 17 hours, the news source reported.

TechTarget cited two other industry reports highlighting the losses associated with operational downtime to gauge the financial impact of these threats. Analysis by the Ponemon Institute suggested data center outages cost businesses an average of $474,000 per hour, while Gartner noted such incidents are lower at $336,000 per hour.

Regardless, these potential losses are too great for organizations to endure. Mitigating DDoS attacks in any capacity, while employing comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery strategies, can amount to significant savings for the company.

DDoS can cost firms more than just money
A Kaspersky Lab report was much in line with other studies regarding the financial losses of DDoS attacks. The organization suggested these threats can cost companies more than $400,000. More than 60 percent of affected businesses lose access to critical data during these incidents, while 38 percent are unable to employ core functions necessary for their brands.

DDoS threats also result in other negative outcomes for companies. Kaspersky found one-third of organizations have lost corporate contracts and business opportunities because of these events. Nearly 30 percent of firms have dealt with negative credit ratings following these incidents, while 26 percent have had to pay increased insurance premiums.

Eugene Vigovsky, head of DDoS protection at Kaspersky, asserted successful attacks can lead to severe consequences for the affected company.

"That's why companies today must consider DDoS protection as an integral part of their overall IT security policy. It's just as important as protecting against malware, targeted attacks, data leak and the like," Vigovsky added.

The right business continuity and disaster recovery partner can make a world of difference for companies avoiding extended periods of downtime. The right business continuity and disaster recovery partner can make a world of difference for companies avoiding extended periods of downtime.

Let the pros worry about downtime
Whether companies face downtime stemming from storms, power outages or DDoS attacks, firms must possess the right business continuity and disaster recovery strategy to restore operational efficiency as quickly as possible. Organizations that need some assistance in this area should not hesitate to contact a trusted BC and DR partner to shore up vulnerabilities and make sure all employees are ready to respond following disruptions.

Businesses with such service providers in their corner no longer have to fret over whether their critical infrastructure can withstand storms, outages and DDoS attacks, receiving 24/7 troubleshooting for any and all incidents. Instead, companies can focus on more core areas of their operations, leaving the professionals to do what they do best.

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