Denial-of-service (DoS) attack

A Denial-of-service (DoS) attack can flood your servers, systems and websites with the intent to crash them and make it difficult, or even impossible, for your customers and staff to access them. The attack can also come from multiple sources at once, this is called a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS). DDoS attacks are designed simply to cause harm or inconvenience to your customers and staff, and not for financial gain.

• DoS or DDoS attacks can disable access to your systems or company website
• Inconvenience and frustrate you and your customers
• Lead to loss of revenue for your business through disabling your website
• Cause damage to business reputation
• Incur you costs to patch and restore systems

• Educate yourself and your staff on how to recognise early signs of DoS attacks, such as a slow network (opening files or websites), inability to access websites, or a dramatic increase in spam
• Ensure you have the latest anti-virus and firewalls installed, and update them regularly
• Contact your IT providers as soon as you notice something not quite right