What is a DDoS Attack?

When your website suddenly becomes unreachable, loads at a snail’s pace or crashes altogether, there’s a chance you’re not just facing a technical hiccup. Instead you could be under a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. These aggressive and coordinated cyberattacks target websites, servers or online services by overwhelming them with an enormous volume of traffic. The aim? Make your digital presence inaccessible to real users, costing you time, money and potentially your reputation.

For business owners, IT managers and digital decision-makers, understanding DDoS attacks is more than a technical concern — it’s an essential component of modern cybersecurity.

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DDoS vs. DoS: What’s the Difference?

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack involves a single device or source sending excessive traffic to a service, slowing it or crashing it completely. A DDoS attack takes this a step further by distributing the attack across many devices. These devices — often part of a botnet — flood your system with malicious traffic from multiple locations simultaneously. This makes it incredibly difficult to filter out harmful traffic without also affecting legitimate users.

Unlike a DoS attack, which might be easier to contain, DDoS attacks operate like a digital flash mob: coordinated, overwhelming and often sophisticated enough to blend in with regular user activity.

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How DDoS Attacks Work: A Closer Look at Botnets

Most DDoS attacks are powered by botnets — large networks of compromised devices (PCs, smartphones, IoT gadgets) that have been infected with malware. Once under an attacker’s control, these “zombie” devices await commands to send out mass traffic to a target.

The attack might take different forms: flooding your network with packets, initiating incomplete connection requests, or endlessly refreshing a page. The goal remains the same — consume resources until your server can’t handle real requests.

And because each bot typically behaves like a regular user, the traffic they generate can appear legitimate, making it harder for detection tools to filter them out.

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Common Questions About DDoS

DDoS attacks raise a lot of questions, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. For example:

• How long does a DDoS attack last? Attacks can range from minutes to days, depending on the goal. Some aim to cause short-term disruption, while others apply long-term pressure.
• Are DDoS attacks illegal? Yes. In most jurisdictions, launching a DDoS attack or hiring someone to do so is a criminal offense.
• Are small businesses targets too? Absolutely. In fact, their often-limited infrastructure makes them attractive, easy targets.

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DDoS Attack Types and How They Disrupt

DDoS attacks come in several forms. Some target your bandwidth, others your server’s communication protocol and some focus on the applications users interact with directly. Attackers often combine several techniques for maximum disruption.

Take HTTP floods, for example. These simulate users constantly refreshing a website, which can be devastating to a web server. Or consider DNS amplification attacks, where small requests trigger large responses that flood your systems. Each type of attack exploits different network layers, and combined attacks (multi-vector DDoS) are increasingly common and difficult to mitigate.

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Early Warning Signs of a DDoS Attack

Detecting an attack early can limit damage. Signs may include:

• Websites slowing down or becoming completely unresponsive.
• Unusual traffic spikes from unknown sources or locations.
• High bounce rates from users who leave because pages won’t load.
• Repeated server crashes or increased CPU usage.

Understanding what typical traffic looks like for your site helps you spot deviations quickly.

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Strengthening Your Defence Against DDoS Threats

There’s no magic bullet for preventing every attack, but layered protection greatly reduces your risk.

Start with risk assessments to uncover vulnerabilities. Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) to analyse and block malicious traffic. Distribute incoming traffic through Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which can absorb high-volume attacks. Regular software updates and employee training also play a significant role.

In some cases, using tactics like Anycast routing helps disperse traffic geographically, minimizing the load on any one server. Rate-limiting also helps by reducing the number of requests a server accepts within a set time frame.

One often-overlooked but highly effective method of protection? Intelligent bot detection.

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How captcha.eu Helps Protect Against Bot-Based DDoS

Modern DDoS attacks often rely on botnets to simulate user traffic. Detecting and filtering these bots is critical — and this is where captcha.eu steps in.

Our GDPR-compliant CAPTCHA system works silently in the background or can present an interactive widget when needed. For example, during suspicious spikes in login attempts or contact form submissions, captcha.eu can distinguish between human users and automated bots. Whether you’re using forms for registrations, support requests, or login pages, integrating captcha.eu ensures only real users get through.

This makes it far harder for attackers to use your public-facing forms as entry points for DDoS activity and helps protect your bandwidth and server load.

If your organisation is based in the EU or prioritises user privacy, captcha.eu offers peace of mind. It complies fully with GDPR, is WCAG 2.2 AA certified for accessibility and integrates easily with most content management systems and custom websites.

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Conclusion

DDoS attacks aren’t going away. In fact, they’re becoming more frequent and more sophisticated. Their effects can be immediate and devastating, especially for businesses that rely heavily on digital services. Being prepared means having more than just basic security—it means proactive, intelligent defense.

Solutions like captcha.eu add a smart verification layer that helps identify malicious traffic at the form level. Combined with firewalls, CDNs, and trained staff, this offers a resilient, user-friendly defence against the damaging effects of DDoS.

Cybersecurity is a journey, not a destination. But with the right tools, including layered bot protection and user verification, you’re far better equipped to navigate the road ahead.

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FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions