When Your Website Goes Down - It's Often Not an Accident
If your business relies on its online presence to operate - whether through e-commerce, client portals, or customer communication - a sudden website crash or network slowdown can feel catastrophic. Often, these disruptions aren't accidental. One of the most common culprits is a DDoS attack: Distributed Denial of Service.
According to Cloudflare, these attacks are up 358% year over year. We have fended off many of these attacks recently, and I thought this was a good topic to blog about.
What Is a DDoS Attack?
At its core, a DDoS attack is an effort to make a website, online service, or network unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic - malicious, coordinated traffic from a large number of sources all at once. Imagine your company's website as a hotel lobby. If hundreds of people suddenly rush in - not to check in, but just to stand around blocking every door - no real guests can get to the front desk. That's essentially what a DDoS attack does to your digital infrastructure.
These attacks are often launched through a network of compromised computers and devices known as a botnet - hijacked laptops, smart home devices, and more - commanded remotely to send millions of requests to a single target.
Who's Behind These Attacks - and Why?
Hacktivism
Some DDoS attacks are acts of digital protest. Activist groups disrupt a company or government's online presence to make a political statement - a government website taken offline during civil unrest, or an oil company targeted by environmental activists. The goal is visibility and headlines, not necessarily long-term damage.
Corporate Sabotage - Cyber Terrorism
In cutthroat industries, unethical competitors may resort to DDoS attacks at just the right moment - your product launch, a major sales event. Even a few hours offline can mean lost revenue, a damaged reputation, and customer frustration. This kind of sabotage is hard to trace and even harder to prove.
Ransom DDoS (RDoS)
One of the fastest-growing motivations is extortion. Cybercriminals launch an attack then demand payment to stop - or threaten a future attack unless a ransom is paid upfront, usually in cryptocurrency with a short deadline. Paying doesn't guarantee the problem goes away; it often just invites further extortion.
Distraction for a Deeper Attack
Sometimes a DDoS attack isn't the main event - it's a smokescreen. While your IT team scrambles to deal with overwhelming traffic, attackers slip in unnoticed to steal data, plant malware, or breach internal systems. The DDoS is just the smoke. You should be worried about the fire behind it.
Script Kiddies
Not all attacks come from sophisticated criminal networks. Sometimes they're carried out by amateur hackers using pre-made tools out of boredom or ego. Less targeted and less damaging - but still disruptive enough to send your audience elsewhere.
Why Are Some Organisations More Vulnerable?
A DDoS attack is a stress test for your digital infrastructure. SMEs are often more vulnerable because they rely on entry-level infrastructure that can't handle sudden traffic spikes, lack traffic filtering tools like firewalls, CDNs, or DDoS mitigation services, and haven't planned or rehearsed cyber incident responses. Large enterprises aren't immune either - even brief downtime for a high-profile brand can cost millions.
What's the Bottom Line?
DDoS attacks don't happen in a vacuum. They're caused by real people, driven by real motives - activism, competition, greed, or mischief. As a business leader, understanding the why behind these attacks is just as important as knowing how they happen. By staying informed and proactive, you can work with your technology partners to build a stronger, more resilient tech stack - one that's prepared for the unexpected.
In a world where disruption can come from anywhere, preparation isn't just protection - it's good leadership.