IP-Converge takes its campaign vs DDoS a step further

IP Converge Data Center Inc. (IP-Converge), the information technology and telecommunications division of listed company IPVG Corp., takes its campaign against distributed denial of service (DDoS) a step further by introducing an upgraded Internet connectivity service package that bundles premium Internet bandwidth with DDoS detection and mitigation services using state-of-the-art equipment from Arbor Networks.

Since forging a partnership with DDoS mitigation specialists Prolexic Technologies (USA) in 2006, IP-Converge further strengthens its fight against DDoS through a new Global Internet Access (GIA) service package called GIA Protect.

IP-Converge’s GIA services, available in three packages (GIA Standard, GIA Premium, and GIA Protect), are high-performance, cost-effective Internet services that provide carrier-neutral, fully redundant, integrated IP transport and connectivity solutions to local and international clients.

GIA Protect consists of premium dedicated Internet bandwidth, value-added network services such as route optimization and network intelligence, and most importantly, DDoS detection and mitigation services.

IP-Converge underscores its commitment to strengthening its expertise in DDoS mitigation through GIA Protect, being the Philippines’ first and only service provider to offer complete DDoS mitigation solutions bundled with dedicated Internet bandwidth.

Rene Huergas, IP-Converge president and COO, says, “We recognize that it is a necessary service to add since distributed denial of service has become the world’s most costly cyber crime. By having DDoS mitigation, we’ve widened the gap between us and our competitors further and establishes IP-Converge as a major player in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Assault on networks

DDoS is an assault on a network, flooding it with thousands of additional requests that regular traffic is either slowed or completely interrupted.

While a worm or virus can cause severe damage to databases, a DDoS attack cripples a network’s service for a period of time by using multiple computers that have been infected to send out bogus messages, thus increasing the amount of phony traffic.

Real-time cyber crimes are now listed as the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s third highest priority behind terrorism and espionage.

IP-Converge employs a team in its Network Operations Center whose duties are focused on analyzing traffic and immediately mitigating attacks before breaching the network.

IP-Converge also allocates enormous bandwidth and multiple devices, including Arbor Network’s Peakflow SP, providing layered security that warns the team of possible attacks.

Other Internet data center facilities in the Philippines cannot provide the same comprehensive protection against DDoS.

According to IP-Converge director for technical operations Edgar Gutierrez, in August this year, IP-Converge successfully warded off incessant DDoS attacks on its customers’ networks.

Had the assault succeeded, the customers’ operations would have gone offline and transactions would not have taken place, resulting in serious economic damage.

While Gutierrez declines to identify the clients, he describes the extent of attacks as “persistent” and might have potentially taken days, even weeks before they subsided.

Risk of damage

“If a service provider is not equipped with the skills, network resources and technology to mitigate DDoS, the risk of damage to business due to a persistent attack is very high. We have customers who have experienced attack floods that if left unmitigated, could saturate their subscribed bandwidth and overwhelm their system resources, causing their network services to go offline. However, because of our mitigation platforms and NOC procedures, we are able to detect such attacks and divert attack traffic before these could cause any damage,” Gutierrez says.

In the international context, DDoS attacks date back to 2002 but have become more brazen in recent years. High-profile attacks this year included those against London’s Stock Exchange and English newspaper Daily Telegraph where users received bogus information causing them to halt operations for 48 hours.

The online operations of Estonia’s main bank became sporadic and largely unavailable for two days due to a crippling DDoS attack.

Organizations, particularly financial institutions, subject to a real-time DDoS attack, could suffer from significant losses in earnings and capital due to the loss of customers, cost of repair and damage to reputation.

According to Computer Economics Inc., lost revenue and repair costs from attacks on networked services and disruptions exceeded $17.5 billion in 2005, up from $13.2 billion in 2003.