Cloud Meets On-Premise: A Winning Strategy for Web DDoS Defense

In today's digital landscape, organizations face an ever-growing challenge: protecting their web applications from increasingly sophisticated attacks. One particular threat that has been gaining traction is the volumetric DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack targeting web applications, often referred to as Web DDoS. These attacks are not only growing in size but also becoming more difficult to detect and mitigate.

This blog post will explore the benefits of using a hybrid solution - combining on-premises Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) with cloud-based security services - to protect against advanced Web DDoS attacks.

The Rise of Web DDoS Attacks

In recent years, attackers have developed new tools that create highly sophisticated Web DDoS attacks, which can be difficult-or even impossible-to catch with traditional methods. Unlike typical network-layer DDoS attacks or common web-based attacks, Web DDoS sits somewhere in between. These attacks are a combination of HTTPS flood attacks, often called "Web DDoS Tsunami" attacks, that are more aggressive and higher in volume.

The problem? These attacks are encrypted, which means network-based security systems cannot "see" them. And once the traffic is decrypted, it often looks like normal requests from real users, making it hard to differentiate between genuine and malicious activity.

Attackers also use advanced techniques like randomizing HTTP headers, spoofing IPs, and impersonating third-party services to bypass traditional defenses.

According to Radware's 2024 H1 Global Threat Analysis Report (https://www.radware.com/threat-analysis-report/ ), we can see that these attacks have evolved and increased in volume and are challenging the traditional protection methods. As a result, many organizations need a new behavioral-based approach for accurate detection and mitigation.

"Web DDoS attacks have continued to rise since the start of 2023 due to several trends in the new threat landscape. A good portion of the activity, especially in Europe, can be attributed to hacktivists motivated by political tensions in the region. Hacktivists are known to reach for more sophisticated L7 attacks targeting online applications."

Why Hybrid Solutions Work for Web DDoS Mitigation

A hybrid approach, combining the on-premise capabilities of ADCs with the cloud's power, provides an ideal solution for Web DDoS protection. Here's why:

• Accurate Detection: Cloud-based Web DDoS services use behavioral-based algorithms powered by AI and machine learning. These technologies learn from traffic patterns to quickly detect Web DDoS attacks while keeping false positives to a minimum, ensuring that legitimate traffic isn't blocked. Once the cloud service identifies an attack, it updates the on-premise ADC with the attack details so the ADC can help mitigate it locally.
• Powerful Mitigation: ADCs serve as on-premise proxies, acting as a last line of defense. Here's why they're so effective:
  • Application Insight: Since ADCs handle the application's daily traffic, they know what "normal" traffic looks like, which helps them identify unusual behavior that may signal an attack.
  • SSL/TLS Handling: Many Web DDoS attacks use encrypted traffic. ADCs already decrypt traffic for load balancing, so they can inspect and stop these attacks without needing extra resources or sending sensitive data to the cloud.
  • Reduced Latency: Because ADCs are positioned within the network, they can quickly block attacks without adding any extra delay.
  • Scalability: Modern ADCs can scale their resources up and down to match traffic patterns, ensuring they're ready to protect during high-volume attacks without wasting resources when things are quiet.
  • Correlating Attacks with Business Logic: ADCs manage daily application traffic, enabling them to link attacks with business activities. This helps uncover attacker motivations, geolocation, potential business impacts, and broader risks to the organization, offering a deeper understanding of the attack's full scope.

Conclusion

In a world where Web DDoS attacks are becoming more frequent and complex, a hybrid solution combining the strengths of on-premise ADCs and cloud-based security is an effective defense strategy. The cloud excels at rapidly identifying sophisticated attacks, while ADCs provide a powerful, on-the-ground response with minimal latency and deep application insight. Together, they offer a robust and scalable approach to safeguarding your web applications from the growing threat of Web DDoS.

Remember, security is an ongoing process. Regularly review your protection strategies, stay informed about emerging threats, and continue to evolve your defenses to stay one step ahead of potential attackers

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