What is a Volumetric Attack?

A volumetric attack is commonly associated with a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault aimed at overwhelming a server or network’s capacity, leading to slowdowns or failures. These attacks flood a targeted server with an immense volume of traffic, causing network congestion, packet loss, and service disruptions. They are typically quantified by the rate of bits per second (bps), packets per second (pps), or connections per second (cps). Volumetric attacks primarily impact Layers 3 and 4 of the OSI model, which defines how technology services communicate. The sheer volume of traffic often makes it challenging for the server, network device, or security defenses to differentiate between legitimate requests and malicious traffic. As the server struggles to handle and respond to each incoming request, critical resources such as bandwidth, processing power, and memory are depleted. Eventually, the system slows down or crashes, denying service to genuine users. Volumetric cyberattacks are estimated to constitute over 75% of DDoS attacks.

How does a volumetric DDoS attack work?

Volumetric attacks are typically carried out by attackers who commandeer a large network of bots, also known as a botnet, or exploit reflection protocols that are amplified and spread throughout the internet. Botnets consist of computers, IoT devices, and other machines infected with malware, enabling attackers to remotely control them. By issuing commands to thousands or even millions of compromised devices, attackers can compel them to simultaneously direct requests and traffic to a specific server.

What are the different types of volumetric attacks?

Various types of DDoS attacks rely on volume, including:

ICMP floods: These floods inundate a server or network device with ICMP pings or echo-request packets, overwhelming its capacity to respond and rendering it unavailable to legitimate traffic.

DNS reflection floods: Leveraging the Domain Name System (DNS) and open DNS resolvers, these attacks target internet-facing services like websites or DNS authoritative systems, constituting 15%–25% of all DDoS attack vectors monitored.

UDP floods: Large amounts of UDP traffic from spoofed IP addresses are directed to random ports on a targeted system, overwhelming its bandwidth and capacity to process legitimate traffic.

TCP out-of-state floods (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK, etc.): Generated from compromised hosts, these attacks can severely impact legitimate network services by flooding them with high rates of connection requests from spoofed packets, making up 15%–25% of mitigated DDoS attacks.

Reflection amplification attacks: Hackers use spoofed IP addresses to send requests to servers that respond with data far exceeding the initial request, inundating the target with massive packets. This method constitutes 40%–50% of all volumetric attacks, allowing attackers to mount large-scale attacks with minimal effort.

What are the dangers of a volumetric attack?

The primary effect of a volumetric attack is to induce congestion, thereby diminishing the performance of internet connections, servers, and protocols, potentially leading to outages. Nevertheless, attackers might exploit volumetric attacks as a diversion for more advanced exploits, termed “smoke screen” attacks. While security teams focus on mitigating the volumetric attack, attackers may initiate supplementary attacks (multi-vector), enabling them to covertly breach network defenses, pilfer data, transfer funds, access high-value accounts, or perpetrate further exploitation.

How can a volumetric attack be mitigated?

Employing a multilayered security approach is crucial for effectively mitigating volumetric DDoS attacks. Security teams can implement various strategies, including:

• Flow telemetry analysis: By combining flow telemetry analysis with behavioral analysis, security teams can detect anomalies in network traffic indicative of a DDoS attack. Establishing a baseline of normal traffic behavior enables the identification of potentially suspicious activity.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): Implementing a WAF allows for the filtering, monitoring, and blocking of malicious traffic associated with volumetric DDoS attacks.
• Rate limiting: Enforcing limits on the number of requests a server can handle within a specific timeframe helps prevent overwhelming influxes of traffic.
• DDoS mitigation services: Leveraging DDoS mitigation services from reputable cybersecurity providers is highly effective. These services swiftly detect and block DDoS attacks, filtering out malicious traffic and safeguarding targeted assets. Techniques may include DDoS scrubbing, cloud-based DNS protection, or CDN-based web protection.
• Positive security model: Implementing proactive measures is essential for successful volumetric DDoS mitigation. for instance, achieves significant success by blocking 65%–80% of such attacks instantly and consistently. Profiling internet traffic and allowing only trusted sources and permitted protocols form the foundation of a positive security model. Scalable cloud network firewalls are one method for configuring proactive defenses.

FAQ’s

How do volumetric DDoS attacks work?

Volumetric DDoS attacks flood servers or networks with massive traffic, causing congestion and slowdowns. Attackers control botnets or exploit reflection protocols to direct traffic to specific targets.

What types of volumetric attacks exist?

Various types include ICMP floods, DNS reflection floods, UDP floods, TCP out-of-state floods, and reflection amplification attacks.

What are the risks of a volumetric attack?

These attacks disrupt internet connections and services, potentially leading to outages. They can also serve as distractions for more advanced exploits, allowing attackers to breach network defenses and steal data.

How can volumetric attacks be mitigated?

Effective strategies include flow telemetry analysis, Web Application Firewalls (WAF), rate limiting, DDoS mitigation services, and positive security models. These methods help detect and block malicious traffic, protecting against volumetric attacks.

Conclusion

Volumetric DDoS attacks present serious risks to online services and networks, overwhelming infrastructure and causing disruptions. To effectively counter these threats, organizations must adopt proactive measures like flow telemetry analysis, Web Application Firewalls, and DDoS mitigation services. By implementing these strategies, businesses can detect, filter, and block malicious traffic, safeguarding their assets and maintaining operational integrity in the face of volumetric DDoS attacks.