How to Fix a Router After a DDoS Attack?

A DDoS attack is a hacking attempt where the goal is to bring down a website or server with multiple requests from different sources, thereby preventing legitimate users from accessing it. There are two types of DDoS attacks: those that come through brute force, where the attacker sends specific characters repeatedly to overload servers’ resources, and those that happen through flooding servers with requests. In this article, I will highlight how you can protect your router’s IP address and stop attackers from trying to cause damage by launching attacks on your router.

According to CNN Business,10% of all companies have been attacked with a DDoS attack at some point within the past year alone. DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attacks is becoming more common and harder to fight. A DDoS attack is a denial of service attack that uses multiple compromised systems, causing servers to overload and stop responding to legitimate requests. These types of attacks can last for days. The most significant DDoS attack on record so far lasted for 300 days!

A DDoS attack on your router can significantly impact your business’s network and create trust issues with your users because the internet is often the first point of contact between customers and businesses. Ransomware attacks are also increasing in intensity, according to CNBC Business News (2018). 11% of companies reported being attacked with ransomware within the past year alone. DDoS attacks are becoming more common and differ from ransomware in that they often occur by accident, while attackers use scare tactics to extract money from companies with ransomware attacks.

If you have a network router and are experiencing an attack, then you must know how to protect your router’s IP address.

Here’s how to protect your router from the dangers of a DDoS attack.

Before we go into detail on how to stop a DDoS attack on your router, let’s first discuss what a DoS attack is and why it can be damaging to websites in the first place. Research conducted by MIT (2018) shows that DDoS attacks can cost an average of $1.35 million in damages. In addition, the most recent version of the attack can flood servers with requests, termed TCP/UDP flooding.

Can DDoS Break a Router:

Some think a denial of service attack (DDoS) can break a router. This is not the case, as routers have anti-DDoS capabilities in mind. DDoS attacks will typically use an infected device with high bandwidth to bring down your network for an extended period, so anti-Denos technologies would be able to monitor and shut down such threats. Additionally, old routers can also be forced off the power by temporarily disabling it of their own accord. These routers will automatically stop functioning when the energy supply drops below a certain level because they have low-powered internal components which cannot function in such conditions.

Whenever a DDOS attack is launched against a router, its resources are drained, causing it to become slow and unresponsive. A DDOS attack will slow the router’s processing speed by causing it to drop packets, which will cause it to time out. This will narrow the TCP window and slow down any TCP-based applications. If the DDOS attack is persistent, the router will eventually shut down, slow down, or even stop altogether.

Resetting the Router

If a DDoS attack recently attacked your network, you might want to reinstall the router to get it back online. Resetting the router after an attack is relatively simple. It can be done by unplugging the power cable and rebooting the device. Some routers have a button that you can press to reboot them. To do this, you must access the router’s administrative page. You will also need a username and password.

Before rebooting the router, you may want to go to the router’s onboard settings. There are usually options for restarting and resetting the router remotely. Depending on your router, the reset options may also reset the router to factory default. However, be careful, as this will wipe all current settings. It would help if you disconnected your router and modem from other power sources and devices. Check your network to ensure your Wi-Fi isn’t down before rebooting.

Reinstalling the Router’s Firmware

If your router has been hacked, the first step is to reinstall the router’s firmware. This can be done through the router management page. Next, you will need the IP address of your router. If you are unsure what this number is, you can use a public IP address checker to find it. If you are using Windows 10, you can find this IP address by pressing the reset button on your router for 30 seconds. After the factory reset, the router’s status indicator should illuminate.