According to a recent study by the IT security product company Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, one in five business representatives surveyed believe that their online services should be protected against DDoS attacks by their IT service providers (in particular, network providers). In reality, though, this responsibility often falls on the shoulders of companies that come under attack – and this can cause them significant losses, according to the IT firm.
The survey shows that smaller companies take less responsibility for protecting their services against DDoS attacks. The fact is that 40 per cent of small businesses are confident that they are fully protected by network service or web hosting providers. Among large companies, less than nine per cent share this viewpoint. Only nine per cent of small and two per cent of large companies rely on the police and the government. On average, 28 per cent of all businesses are of the opinion that protection against DDoS is not their concern.
At the same time 44 per cent of respondents believe that their IT departments should protect them against DDoS attacks. 16 per cent of those surveyed rely on their senior management, eight per cent on the security department, and four per cent on the Risk Management Department. In total, only 72 pe of companies agreed that combating DDoS is their responsibility (50 per cent of small businesses compared with almost 90 per cent of large companies).
Evgeny Vigovsky, Head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection at Kaspersky Lab, said: “By relying on IT services providers, many companies are putting themselves at risk. Vendors do not usually offer this protection as a default option. Moreover, many providers are simply unable to provide reliable protection against DDoS attacks using their own resources because DDoS attacks are constantly getting bigger and more complex. Reliable protection can be only provided by companies that specialize in protection against cyberthreats and can offer highly efficient technologies and a team of qualified experts capable of constantly upgrading these technologies to meet an ever-evolving threat.”
The IT firm points out that almost any company, regardless of size, is a potential victim of a DDoS attack. According to the study, 28 per cent of small businesses suffered DDoS activity. Among large companies affected this figure is slightly higher at 43 per cent (only companies with public online services were considered) over the 12-month period.
