<p>In January 2024, Karnataka’s<strong> Kaveri 2.0</strong> web portal, a crucial platform for property registrations, experienced frequent server crashes, bringing essential citizen services to a standstill. Authorities suspect a Distributed Denial of Service <strong>(DDoS)</strong> attack, which may have overwhelmed the system with malicious traffic.</p>
<p><strong>Understanding a DDoS Attack</strong><br />
A DDoS attack is a cyber assault where attackers flood a website or online service with an excessive volume of traffic, causing it to crash or slow down significantly. Unlike traditional cyberattacks that originate from a single source, DDoS attacks utilize multiple compromised devices—often forming a botnet—to send overwhelming traffic to the target, disrupting its functionality.</p>
<p><strong>Major DDoS Attacks in Recent History</strong><br />
Several large-scale DDoS attacks have crippled major platforms in the past:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dyn DDoS Attack (2016)</strong>:A botnet of compromised IoT devices (such as routers and cameras) launched an attack on Dyn, a major DNS provider, causing outages on platforms like Twitter, Netflix, and Reddit.</li>
<li><strong>GitHub Attack (2018</strong>): GitHub endured one of the largest DDoS attacks ever recorded, peaking at 1.35 Tbps. The attack leveraged misconfigured memcached servers to amplify traffic, briefly knocking GitHub offline.</li>
<li><strong>AWS Attack (2020):</strong> Amazon Web Services faced an attack reaching 2.3 Tbps, one of the largest publicly disclosed DDoS attacks. AWS effectively mitigated the impact using its cloud security infrastructure.</li>
<li><strong>Cloudflare Attack (2021):</strong> Cloudflare successfully thwarted a 26 million request-per-second (RPS) attack, one of the largest HTTPS-based DDoS incidents at the time.</li>
<li><strong>Microsoft Azure Attack (2023</strong>): A record-breaking 3.47 Tbps DDoS attack targeted Microsoft Azure, using a botnet powered by compromised devices to disrupt enterprise services.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>India’s Cybersecurity Measures</strong><br />
The Indian government has taken significant steps to strengthen its cybersecurity framework and combat rising cyber threats, including DDoS attacks:</p>
<p><strong>1. Cybersecurity Policies & Regulations:</strong><br />
– In 2025, India introduced new cybersecurity regulations mandating data localization and enhanced data protection measures. The National Cyber Security Policy (2013) continues to serve as a strategic guideline for securing critical infrastructure.</p>
<p><strong>2. Increased Budget for Cybersecurity:</strong><br />
– The Union Budget 2025 allocated over Rs 1,600 crore for cybersecurity initiatives, with substantial investments in CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team) and national infrastructure security programs.</p>
<p><strong>3. Cybersecurity Agencies & Monitoring:</strong><br />
– The government has established CERT-In and NCIIPC (National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre) to monitor cyber threats, coordinate response efforts, and secure key sectors like banking, telecom, and energy.</p>
<p><strong>4. Skill Development Initiatives:</strong><br />
– India has launched training programs aimed at developing 500,000 cybersecurity professionals to strengthen the country’s cyber resilience.</p>
<p><strong>Mitigating DDoS Attacks: The Way Forward </strong><br />
Organizations and governments can protect against DDoS attacks through advanced mitigation techniques:</p>
<ul>
<li>Traffic Filtering & AI-Based Detection:<br />
– Deploys firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and AI-driven analysis to identify and block malicious traffic before it reaches the target.<br />
-Example:Google Cloud Armor successfully mitigated a 46 million RPS attack in 2022 using real-time threat detection.</li>
<li>Rate Limiting & Load Balancing:<br />
– Restricts excessive requests per user and distributes traffic across multiple servers to prevent overload.<br />
– Example: Cloudflare’s rate limiting helped protect a European banking institution from HTTP flood attacks.</li>
<li>Bot Detection & CAPTCHAs:<br />
– Uses behavioral analytics, CAPTCHA challenges, and browser fingerprinting to block bot-driven traffic.<br />
– Example: GitHub strengthened security with CAPTCHA-based authentication after a 2015 DDoS attack by a China-based botnet.</li>
<li>Cloud-Based DDoS Protection & CDN Services:<br />
– Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) absorb malicious traffic before it reaches critical infrastructure.<br />
– Example: AWS Shield defended against a 2.3 Tbps attack (2020) by utilizing global CDN distribution and real-time mitigation.</li>
<li>Incident Response & Government Collaboration:<br />
– Organizations must continuously monitor threats, conduct security audits, and work with cybersecurity agencies for rapid response.<br />
– Example: Following the Kaveri 2.0 attack in Karnataka, authorities detected 6.2 lakh malicious requests in just two hours, prompting a cybercrime investigation and stricter security measures.</li>
</ul>
<p>As cyber threats continue to evolve, robust security frameworks and proactive measures are essential to safeguarding critical online services and protecting users from large-scale cyber disruptions.</p>
