Communications and analysis firm Neustar has announced it is to host the first international awareness day on the topic of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
Governments, Fortune 500 companies and small businesses around the world have been targeted by DDoS attacks, and these attacks have become more frequent and complex in nature.
In July, a Neustar survey revealed that more than one-fifth of UK firms experienced a disruptive DDoS attack in 2012.
The poll of 380 IT professionals also showed that despite DDoS attacks posing a threat to large and small organisations in all sectors, many do not have adequate protection in place.
Only a quarter of organisations polled use purpose-built DDoS equipment and cloud-based services, while 20% of respondents said their organisations have no DDoS protection in place.
To boost awareness around DDoS attacks and defences, Neustar has organised an online event on 23 October 2013 to bring together law enforcement, security industry and government experts.
The day will see content broadcast throughout the day, including victims’ real-life testimonies, discussion on the state of DDoS attacks, the hacker perspective, and technical tips on mitigating attacks.
Sessions will range from introductions to DDoS through to technical discussions on how botnets are able to detect whether organisations are able to mitigate against DDoS attacks or not.
Some sessions will focus on particular sectors such as financial and online retail, which are among the most industry sectors most often targeted by DDoS attacks.
“Whether you are a massive corporation or a small business, the threat of a DDoS attack remains very real and can have massive financial and structural ramifications,” said Rodney Joffe, senior vice-president and technologist of Neustar.
“By bringing together a roster of experts spanning a number of technical disciplines, we hope that companies and individuals will leave DDoS Awareness Day feeling better equipped to handle and prevent these attacks,” he said.
Speakers include Neustar’s Rodney Joffe; Michael Murray, co-founder of The Hacker Academy; Allison Nixon, security consultant at Integralis; and Mark Weatherford, a principal at the Chertoff Group and former undersecretary for cybersecurity at the US Department of Homeland Security.
But interactions between those taking part in the community discussion is where the real value will lie, said Susan Warner, DDoS market manager at Neustar.
“With DDoS, information sharing is a big part of the battle; the community sessions will provide a way for real users to ask questions, gain insights and share information,” she told Computer Weekly.
“We are happy to do whatever we can to facilitate greater understanding around the threat and effects of DDoS attacks among internet users, particularly in the enterprise,” she said.
The event is to start at 9am London time with continuous coverage until 6pm Pacific Time, with selected content to be made available on-demand after the event.
Anyone interested in viewing the programme can pre-register here.
16 Oct 2013