Source URL: https://blog.cloudflare.com/how-cloudflare-auto-mitigated-world-record-3-8-tbps-ddos-attack
Source: The Cloudflare Blog
Title: How Cloudflare auto-mitigated world record 3.8 Tbps DDoS attack
Feedly Summary: Over the past couple of weeks, Cloudflare’s DDoS protection systems have automatically and successfully mitigated multiple hyper-volumetric L3/4 DDoS attacks exceeding 3 billion packets per second (Bpps). Our systems also automatically mitigated multiple attacks exceeding 3 terabits per second (Tbps), with the largest ones exceeding 3.65 Tbps. The scale of these attacks is unprecedented.
AI Summary and Description: Yes
**Summary:** Cloudflare has successfully mitigated a series of unprecedented hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks, showcasing its robust automated defenses capable of handling traffic peaks of up to 3.8 Tbps. The article details the nature of these attacks, their origins, and the techniques utilized by Cloudflare to maintain performance and security for its clients, emphasizing the importance of global network architecture and real-time threat detection.
**Detailed Description:** The text provides a comprehensive overview of a recent campaign of massive Layer 3/4 DDoS attacks that targeted Cloudflare customers. The following are the key points highlighted:
– **Attack Overview:**
– Cloudflare encountered a series of hyper-volumetric attacks that included over a hundred instances, some recording peak traffic exceeding 2 billion packets per second (Bpps) and 3 terabits per second (Tbps).
– The largest recorded attack reached a peak of 3.8 Tbps, which is the highest publicly disclosed by any organization.
– **Mitigation Techniques:**
– **Automated Defense:** Cloudflare’s systems were able to autonomously detect and mitigate these attacks, allowing seamless protection for its customers.
– **Dynamic Signatures:** The infrastructure can generate real-time signatures to match attack traffic, utilizing kernel features to manage packet processing efficiently.
– **Global Anycast Network:** Cloudflare employs anycast technology to distribute network traffic and protect against DDoS attacks, helping to spread the attack surface across multiple data centers.
– **Nature of Attacks:**
– The attacks primarily targeted bandwidth saturation and resource exhaustion of applications, leveraging UDP traffic on fixed ports.
– The attack vectors were traced back to multiple compromised devices, including routers and DVRs, with origins from countries like Vietnam, Russia, and Brazil.
– There is significant mention of a vulnerability in ASUS routers contributing to the attack’s effectiveness.
– **Understanding DDoS Attacks:**
– The text explains how DDoS attacks aim to exhaust CPU resources and network bandwidth to deny service to legitimate users.
– It illustrates the importance of inspecting packets and ensuring that the good traffic is not impacted by overwhelming attack traffic.
– **Cloudflare’s Robust Defense Mechanisms:**
– Cloudflare’s layered security framework includes advanced measures such as real-time threat intelligence, statistical analysis, and machine learning for adaptive protection strategies.
– Their proprietary DDoS detection and mitigation system allows for real-time mitigation without requiring out-of-band scrubbing or additional physical hardware.
– **Significance for Professionals:**
– For security, privacy, and compliance professionals, this analysis underscores the need for advanced, scalable solutions to counteract evolving DDoS threats.
– Emphasizing the importance of employing global infrastructures and automated systems to maintain high-performance protection against substantial malicious traffic.
By understanding the dynamics and preventative strategies against large-scale DDoS threats, security professionals can better strategize their defenses in maintaining service availability and integrity.