With the development of network technology, website security issues have become increasingly prominent, especially Challenge Collapsar (CC) attacks, a covert and destructive form of cyber attack, pose a serious threat to the stable operation of websites. This article will provide an introduction to CC attacks, as well as effective defense measures to help web administrators protect their online business.

Introduction to CC Attacks

CC attacks are a special form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that overload a server by sending a large number of legitimate requests, thereby consuming the server’s resources and preventing timely responses to normal service requests. Compared to traditional DDoS attacks, CC attacks have the following characteristics:

  • Low traffic feature: CC attacks can paralyze a website without the need for huge traffic.
  • Use of real IP addresses: The attack uses distributed, real IP addresses, rendering simple IP blocking measures ineffective.
  • Highly targeted: The attack often targets specific pages of a website, such as the login page or search function.

What are the methods to defend against CC attacks?

Defense strategies against CC attacks need to be comprehensive, requiring not only emergency response capabilities but also proactive preventive measures. Here are some effective defense strategies:

  • Security device deployment: Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAF) and load balancing devices in the network architecture to disperse and filter attack traffic.
  • Captcha and human verification: Implement captcha or human verification mechanisms on key pages to differentiate between normal users and automated attack tools.
  • IP blocking and rate limiting: Block the detected attack source IPs or set rate limits for IPs that access frequently.

Detecting CC Attacks

To effectively defend against CC attacks, it is first necessary to accurately detect the occurrence of an attack. Here are some common detection methods:

  • Traffic analysis: Use tools to monitor and analyze traffic patterns to find abnormal requests.
  • Log review: Analyze access logs in detail to identify abnormal and frequent request patterns.
  • Abnormal behavior monitoring: Use security systems to detect unusual access behavior, such as requesting the same page multiple times in a short period.

Measures to Counter CC Attacks

When a CC attack is detected, the following countermeasures can be taken:

  • Resource allocation: Increase the ability to handle concurrent requests by vertically scaling (enhancing the performance of a single server) or horizontally scaling (increasing the number of servers).
  • Domain unbinding: Temporarily unbind the attacked domain to remove the target of the attack.
  • Firewall configuration: Configure targeted rules in the firewall to intercept abnormal traffic.
  • Software firewall: Install and configure a software firewall on the server to monitor and manage ports and network requests.