Cyberattacks have been on the rise for the last few years, and in particular, the DDoS attacks have been growing at the rate of 2.6% since 2015. It is estimated that there were more than 17 million attacks in 2020 alone. Also, the average size of a DDoS attack is nearing 1Gbps, and that’s enough to take down most organizations.
Here is our list of the best DDoS Protection Services:
- ManageEngine Log360 – FREE TRIAL Provides powerful DDoS protection offering advanced SIEM services and compliance monitoring. Start a 30-day free trial.
- SolarWinds Security Event Manager – FREE TRIAL Gathers data from many sources, parses, and analyzes them to identify possible threats. Start a 30-day free trial.
- Sucuri Cloud-based Intrusion Prevention System that protects applications from DDoS attacks.
- Indusface AppTrana A comprehensive security solution that detects application-layer vulnerabilities and blocks possible threats and attacks.
- Cloudflare secures websites, applications, and even networks with its 51 Tbps network service.
What is a DDoS attack?
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is a kind of cyberattack where the perpetrator makes a service, application, or machine unavailable for its users. Essentially, it disrupts the hosts’ connection to the Internet temporarily or permanently, and this causes them to become unavailable to users.
Cybercriminals carry out this attack by flooding the host with multiple requests that exceed the system’s capacity to handle these requests with its existing resources. As a result, the response may be slow or the host can even crash completely.
How to Protect Your Organization From a DDoS Attack?
Preventing a DDoS attack is much easier than recovering from one.
To protect your organization,
- Secure your network
- Create a strong network architecture that is resistant to attacks
- Educate your employees on the warning signs
- Create a response plan for DDoS attacks
The good news is there are many DDoS protection services available today that you can leverage to protect your organization from an attack.
Our methodology for selecting the best DDoS protection service
We’ve broken down our analysis for you based on these key criteria:
- Effectiveness in identifying and mitigating DDoS attacks.
- Real-time threat detection and response capabilities.
- Compliance with major security regulations and standards.
- User-friendliness and ease of integration with existing systems.
- Quality of reporting and logging for audit and compliance purposes.
The best DDoS Protection Service
Here are some of the best DDoS protection services that offer end-to-end protection for your network.
1. ManageEngine Log360 – FREE TRIAL
ManageEngine Log360 is a complete SIEM software that aids IT administrators in securing and monitoring their infrastructure. It provides several features to help detect and respond to security threats such as DDoS and other persistent threats.
Key Features:
- Automated DDoS protection
- SIEM-level data sorting and filtering
- Behavior and anomaly-based threat detection
Why do we recommend it?
After installing the 30-day free trial of ManageEngine Log360 , we tested its automated DDoS protection and SIEM-level data sorting features. The software excelled in both, offering real-time alerts and effective automation that shut down malicious traffic.
DDoS attacks can cause network traffic disruption, service downtime, and financial losses. Log360 helps prevent and mitigate DDoS attacks by alerting administrators to suspicious behavior or leveraging automation to shut down malicious traffic.
ManageEngine Log360 also offers predefined reports for regulatory standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR. These reports help administrators demonstrate compliance during audits, and ensure their network is continuously compliant throughout the year.
Who is it recommended for?
ManageEngine Log360 is recommended for IT administrators who need a robust solution for DDoS protection and regulatory compliance. Its predefined reports for standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR make it an excellent choice for businesses that need to demonstrate compliance during audits.
Pros:
- Great dashboard visualizations, ideal for NOCs and MSPs
- Can integrate multiple threat data steams into the platform
- Offers robust searching of logs for live and historical event analysis
- Provides monitoring cross-platform for Windows, Linux, and Unix systems
- Can monitor configuration changes, preventing privilege escalation
Cons:
- ManageEngine offers a suite of advanced services and features can time to explore and test out
You can get started on their free plan, which offers up to 5GB of storage and 7 days of retention. Or start a 30-day free full trial. The Basic plan starts at $300/year for 75GB, and the Standard plan offers 100GB of storage for $600/year. Advanced threat analytics is an optional add-on.
2. SolarWinds Security Event Manager – FREE TRIAL
SolarWinds Security Event Manager is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution that comes with hundreds of connectors that gather data from different sources, parses them and puts them in a central location to make it easy for you to identify the threats.
Key Features:
- Comes with pfSense reporting and analysis for improved monitoring and troubleshooting
- Aggregates and analyzes logs
- Its APT software detects threats across environments
- The centralized logon audit events monitor tracks the logon and logoff events
- Continuous risk monitoring and active compliance verification features provide improved compliance risk management
- Automates log aggregation, analysis, and reporting
- Uses botnet detection capabilities to provide real-time awareness of the situation
- Offers greater control with its centralized log management
- Instantly reports compliance policy violations
- Comes with a cyber threat intelligence framework for quickly identifying and responding to threats
- Automates the regulatory process with its DISA STIG compliance tools
- Monitors file activities to protect highly sensitive information
- Complies with HIPAA and other security regulations
Why do we recommend it?
We downloaded and tested SolarWinds Security Event Manager’s 30-day free trial and were especially impressed by its extensive logging process and real-time botnet detection capabilities. These features not only help in identifying threats but also make the software ideal for audits and compliance.
It also comes with advanced capabilities for fixing the most common threats quickly, while its extensive logging process is ideal for audits and compliance.
Who is it recommended for?
SolarWinds Security Event Manager is ideal for businesses that require real-time threat detection and a centralized system for log management. Its compliance with regulations like HIPAA makes it a strong choice for healthcare industries and other sectors where data security is a critical concern.
Pros:
- Extensive connectors for data aggregation.
- Real-time botnet detection for immediate threat awareness.
- Automated log management for efficient data handling.
- Strong compliance tools, including HIPAA compatibility.
- Centralized monitoring for logon and logoff events.
Cons:
- May require a learning curve to fully utilize all features.
Subscription to this tool starts at $2,613. Click here for a fully functional 30-day free trial.
3. Sucuri Website Firewall
Sucuri Website Firewall, as the name suggests, is a cloud-based Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) designed to exclusively protect websites. It operates as a reverse proxy to intercept and inspect all incoming and outgoing requests, both HTTP and HTTPS, to a website. Based on its monitoring, it removes malicious requests.
Key Features:
- Application profiling feature learns the intricacies of an application and accordingly, identifies the first signs of an attack
- Blacklist identifies viruses, blacklists them, and ensures that they don’t reach your website at all.
- Correlation engine understands the behavior of an application and compares it to the behavior in real-time to identify potential attacks and threats.
- Identifies botnets and blocks them to prevent DDoS attacks
- Increases the speed of loading time by 70% through a robust Content Delivery Network.
- Runs on a proprietary Global Distributed Anycast Network (GDAN) to allow the nearest node to respond to a request, thereby greatly increasing the speed of website loading.
- Increases SEO ratings by including an SSL certificate and enhanced speed through GDAN
- Protects against a ton of cyberattacks such as DDoS, cross-site scripting, remote file inclusion, brute force attempts, and more.
Why do we recommend it?
During our hands-on testing of Sucuri Website Firewall, we were particularly impressed with its application profiling and correlation engine. These features not only learned the nuances of our application but also effectively identified and blocked incoming threats in real time.
Who is it recommended for?
Sucuri Website Firewall is an ideal solution for website owners who are serious about security. Its Intrusion Prevention System is particularly beneficial for e-commerce websites and platforms that handle sensitive customer information. The tool’s ability to protect against a wide range of cyberattacks like DDoS, cross-site scripting, and brute force attempts makes it an excellent choice for maintaining high levels of website security.
Pros:
- Effective application profiling for tailored security.
- Advanced botnet and DDoS attack prevention.
- Enhanced website loading speed through CDN.
Cons:
- Malware removal limited to higher-tier plans.
Sucuri website Firewall comes in three plans, namely,
- Basic ($199/year/site)
- Pro ($299/year/site)
- Business ($499/year/site)
The key difference between the three plans is the frequency scan, which is once every 12 hours in Basic, six hours in Pro, and 30 minutes in Business. Also, the malware is removed within six hours in the Pro plan while there is no removal in the other two plans.
Besides, there is also a custom solution if you need custom coverage for many websites. This tool offers no free trial. So, you can click here to get started on the Basic plan.
4. Indusface AppTrana
Indusface AppTrana is a fully managed security solution that detects application-layer vulnerabilities, protects the network with a web application firewall, monitors traffic continuously, and blocks possible threats and attacks. In other words, it is a one-stop solution that addresses all your security requirements.
Key Features:
- Identifies vulnerabilities in applications
- Patches these vulnerabilities immediately, based on the application’s needs
- Provides a complete managed security service
- Continuously monitors the security of applications through automated security scans to prevent DDoS attacks
- Zero false positives
- Improves the performance of websites
- Gives a 360-degree view of application security through its portal
- Provides actionable intelligence to make it easier for website and application owners to apply custom security rules
- Complies with PCI DSS 6.6
- Zero maintenance from an owner’s perspective
- Leverages carrier-grade CDN for the fastest service
- Gives a real-time update of the status of DDoS attacks
- Comes with out-of-the-box rules like bot mitigation, rate limiting, and more
- Undertakes pen-testing by experts to identify vulnerabilities
- It monitors the system continuously and raises an alarm when traffic exceeds the threshold.
Why do we recommend it?
We put AppTrana’s fully managed security solution to the test and were particularly impressed with its ability to identify and patch application vulnerabilities in real time. During our hands-on trial, its 360-degree view of application security and zero false positives stood out, proving it to be a comprehensive security solution.
Who is it recommended for?
Indusface AppTrana is well-suited for businesses that require a robust, all-in-one security solution. With features like continuous monitoring and automated security scans, it is ideal for organizations with a need for real-time actionable intelligence.
Pros:
- Instant patching of application vulnerabilities.
- Zero maintenance required from the user’s side.
- Comprehensive, 360-degree security view through its portal.
Cons:
- Premium pricing for fully-managed site security.
AppTrana has two pricing tiers – The Premium plan priced at $399/app/month and the Advanced plan priced at $99/app/month.
The key difference between the two plans is that the Premium plan is designed as fully-managed site security whereas the Advanced plan provides just comprehensive site security.
The Advanced plan provides a 14-day free trial. Click here to start this trial.
5. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a comprehensive DDoS protection service that secures websites, applications, and even complete networks. According to the company, it blocks 72 billion threats per day with a 51 Tbps network.
Key Features:
- Protects against layer 3 and 4 DDoS attacks
- Provides fine-grained traffic control
- Rate-limiting features protect against all forms of brute-force attacks
- Automatic learning platform analyzes network traffic in real-time to identify malicious requests
- Offers predictive security that is based on IP
- Protects against Layer 7 application vulnerabilities
Why do we recommend it?
After installing and navigating Cloudflare’s interface, we were particularly struck by its ability to block threats at multiple layers with fine-grained traffic control. Its predictive IP-based security rapidly identified and neutralized malicious requests in our test environment, confirming it as a reliable DDoS protection service.
Who is it recommended for?
Cloudflare is an excellent option for a wide range of users, from individuals running personal blogs to large enterprises with mission-critical applications. Its rate-limiting and Layer 7 application vulnerability protection make it a solid choice for businesses that handle sensitive customer data.
Pros:
- Effective protection against multiple DDoS attack layers.
- Real-time traffic analysis for malicious request identification.
- Comprehensive coverage for websites and applications.
Cons:
- The complexity of features may be challenging for beginners.
It offers four pricing plans and they are:
- Free – ideal for individuals with personal or hobby projects
- Pro ($20/month) – Geared for people who want to protect their blog or website.
- Business ($200/month) – Ideal for small businesses operating online
- Enterprise (custom quote) – This is most suited for mission-critical applications
Contact the sales team to get a custom quote for the Enterprise plan. To try the free plan, click here to get started.
Choosing a DDoS Protection Service
To conclude, DDoS attacks are on the rise and it has become important for organizations to take all possible steps to prevent these attacks by securing their systems and having a response plan in place. The above-mentioned five tools come with a ton of advanced features that can help any organization protect its assets from DDoS attacks.
