With the rapid development of digital technology, businesses are increasingly reliant on the internet for online commercial activities, thus becoming more susceptible to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. To protect online resources, many companies choose to use Cloudflare’s DDoS protection services. This article will discuss how to use Cloudflare’s DDoS services in a cost-effective way to prevent malicious DDoS attacks.
Cloudflare provides users with various effective measures to protect against DDoS attacks. For instance, Cloudflare’s private IP infrastructure for network connectivity prevents data from returning to the central website, effectively isolating malicious traffic and protecting enterprise websites from attacks. Additionally, Cloudflare offers built-in, industry-leading DDoS protection, connecting public IP infrastructure to the internet. This type of DDoS protection can handle all kinds of DDoS attacks while simultaneously monitoring hundreds of thousands of parameters to ensure enterprise network security.
Companies can also take advantage of Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) delivered via the cloud, enforcing consistent network security worldwide. The firewall blocks and permits network traffic based on a set of internal rules. Most firewalls allow administrators to customize these rules, enabling enterprises to implement unified security policies in different regions and protect their network resources from DDoS attacks.
Key features of Cloudflare DDoS protection services
- Website DDoS protection – Web services (Layer 7): Non-metered free service provided in all Cloudflare website application service packages.
- Application DDoS protection – Spectrum (Layer 4): Reverse Proxy and pay-as-you-go service for all TCP/UDP applications (games, VOIP, etc.).
- Network DDoS protection – Magic Transit (Layer 3): Suitable for in-house, cloud, and hybrid networks. Combines DDoS protection and traffic acceleration functionalities.
To achieve a robust DDoS protection solution, enterprises need to choose a service provider that offers a variety of defense and monitoring tools. As the complexity of attacks evolves, enterprises need to find solutions that can handle both known attacks and zero-day attacks.
Cloudflare offers free website DDoS protection, with a quick and straightforward setup process. Companies only need to use a dashboard or API, and they can easily get started within minutes. Additionally, adding Cloudflare security, performance, and reliability features is as simple as flipping a switch. The advantage of Cloudflare DNS services lies in its highly centralized and distributed mitigation systems. Within 10 seconds (average 3 seconds), these systems can jointly identify and mitigate most DDoS attacks. For pre-set static rules, deployment time is even shorter, less than 1 second. This enables businesses to swiftly respond to various attacks, protecting server resources.
For more effective threat identification and blocking, when a Cloudflare edge data center receives a request, it scans based on criteria such as HTTP headers, user agent, query string, path, host, HTTP method, HTTP version, TLS encryption version, and request rate. Additionally, it checks HTTP response indicators, such as error codes returned by the customer’s original server.
Importantly, Cloudflare’s DDoS protection can seamlessly integrate and operate with other network security and performance products (such as Web Application Firewall, Bot Management, Load Balancer, CDN, etc.). This means that businesses can obtain comprehensive protection through a single solution, saving costs and resources.
Furthermore, through Cloudflare’s built-in analytics capabilities, enterprises can gain deeper insights into their traffic patterns, observed threats (blocked threats), and other related information. This data can help businesses continuously improve their network security strategies to deal with ever-changing threats. Cloudflare logs can also be integrated with third-party SIEMs, enabling businesses to manage and monitor their security status more effectively.
How Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Should Prevent DDoS Attacks
Small and medium enterprises can use Cloudflare DDoS services in a cost-effective way to prevent malicious DDoS attacks. By connecting to private IP infrastructure, using built-in DDoS protection, and cloud firewall as a service, companies can implement strong and consistent network security worldwide. At the same time, using Cloudflare’s website DDoS protection, application DDoS protection, and network DDoS protection allows businesses to get comprehensive protection, dealing with all types of DDoS attacks. Cloudflare’s built-in analytics capabilities and seamless integration with other security products enable companies to continuously improve their network security strategies to meet ever-changing threats. Please pay attention to our NineSmart’s latest innovation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.