ISC 2 Credentials CISSP Question # 137 Topic 14 Discussion

The best technique to address the threat of an imminent DDoS attack targeting a web application is to coordinate with and utilize the capabilities within the ISP. A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic. A DDoS attack can cause severe damage to the availability, performance, and reputation of the web application, as well as incur financial losses and legal liabilities. Therefore, it is important to have a DDoS mitigation strategy in place to prevent or minimize the impact of such attacks. One of the most effective ways to mitigate DDoS attacks is to leverage the capabilities of the ISP, as they have more resources, bandwidth, and expertise to handle large volumes of traffic and filter out malicious packets. The ISP can also provide additional services such as traffic monitoring, alerting, reporting, and analysis, as well as assist with the investigation and prosecution of the attackers. The ISP can also work with other ISPs and network operators to coordinate the response and share information about the attack. The other options are not the best techniques to address the threat of an imminent DDoS attack, as they may not be sufficient, timely, or scalable to handle the attack. Deploying load balancers, setting up web application firewalls, and implementing reverse web-proxies are some of the measures that can be taken at the application level to improve the resilience and security of the web application, but they may not be able to cope with the magnitude and complexity of a DDoS attack, especially if the attack targets the network layer or the infrastructure layer. Moreover, these measures may require more time, cost, and effort to implement and maintain, and may not be feasible to deploy in a short notice. References: What is a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack?; What is a DDoS Attack? DDoS Meaning, Definition & Types | Fortinet; Denial-of-service attack - Wikipedia.