Now more than ever, Australian organisations are in fear of online breaches. Last year alone, the Australian Signals Directorate responded to 79 cyber security incidents involving DoS and DDoS, more than double the number of incidents reported the financial year prior. From governmental departments to small businesses, Australians must accept a harsh truth – there is no escaping being targeted by malicious actors. 

For startups, scaleups through to larger, established businesses, anti-DDoS solutions are already a key consideration for digital businesses, providing improved and continuous visibility on potential cyber threats.

Cyber governance is no longer a “nice to have”, but foundational to the trust customers, partners and staff have in business. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, it is crucial for Australian businesses to review their technology governance policies and DDoS protection strategies.

But with the threat recognised and understood, how should businesses – both large and small – start their journey? Step one, cyber hygiene.

The role of regular cyber hygiene checks

Cyber hygiene checks are a critical component of any comprehensive security strategy. Implementing consistent, repeatable practices to assess system vulnerabilities or access points ensures sensitive data is protected from unauthorised users. These checks can work in tandem with other security infrastructure to strengthen a business’s defences assuring:

  1. Early detection of vulnerabilities: Vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing can help identify and address security gaps and weaknesses before they can be exploited by attackers. These assessments need to be a routine part of good IT governance, conducted daily, weekly, monthly to ensure system updates and changes do not create new (or undiscovered) vulnerabilities.
  2. Enhanced cybersecurity strength level: Consistent application of cyber hygiene practices will improve the overall cybersecurity strength of a business. This ensures that all systems are configured correctly and that security policies are up to date.
  3. Improved incident response: Prior planning can prevent poor performance by ensuring that a business can respond swiftly and effectively to any security or threat. Becoming familiar with all systems, support resources and communications pathways will help maintain customer trust in any challenging scenarios.

Robust anti-DDoS solutions are designed to safeguard businesses from disruptive attacks, ensuring data safety and business continuity.

Tech stack evaluation for enhanced visibility and threat navigation

Cyber hygiene routines can often result in tool and system optimisation, but longer-term intervals offer IT leaders a moment to evaluate the robustness of existing protection measures. A multi-layered defence approach is essential for effective DDoS protection, including the deployment of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and web application firewalls to filter malicious traffic before it reaches critical systems.

Cloud solutions offer significant advantages in providing improved visibility into potential cyber threats and navigating them effectively including:

  1. Centralised monitoring and management: Cloud platforms can provide centralised monitoring and management tools that offer real-time insights into network traffic and potential threats, simplifying the detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks.
  2. Scalability and flexibility: Cloud solutions are inherently scalable, allowing a business to adjust its resources based on the severity of an attack. This flexibility ensures businesses can maintain service availability during both large and small DDoS attacks.
  3. Advanced threat detection and analytics: Cloud-based security solutions leverage advanced analytics and machine learning to detect and respond to threats in real-time, identifying unusual patterns and behaviours, delivering quicker and more accurate threat mitigation.

Enhancing DDoS protection requires a multi-faceted approach that includes engaging with reliable mitigation services, leveraging cloud solutions for better visibility and threat navigation, and maintaining regular cyber hygiene checks.

Dvs Shiv Kumar is cloud solutions architect for Asia Pacific OVHcloud.