A denial-of-service (DoS) attack attempts to make a website or other service unavailable to legitimate users. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack uses multiple sources. A slow or unavailable website, however, is not enough evidence on its own to diagnose an attack.
What an attack can affect
Attack traffic can overload a network connection, consume server resources or target expensive application requests. Different layers need different responses. Cloudflare’s DDoS explanation describes these distinctions and mitigation methods such as rate limiting, traffic filtering and distributed network capacity.
A website firewall and server security software can play a role in handling malicious requests, but they should not be treated as a universal defence against every network flood. No individual tool is a guarantee that a service will remain available.
An outage needs evidence before a diagnosis
Expired domains, DNS problems, application errors, resource limits and maintenance can also interrupt a website. Give the hosting provider the exact address, when the problem started, the error displayed and whether it occurs on more than one connection. Note whether email and the hosting control panel are affected too.
Keep the observations factual. “The checkout returns this error from 10:15” is more useful than asserting that the server has been attacked without supporting evidence.
What to send with an urgent support request
- The affected domain and the page or service that fails.
- The first observed time, including the time zone, and whether the problem is continuous.
- A screenshot or exact error message with private details removed.
- The recent change history, such as a deployment or DNS change.
- The business function affected, such as enquiries, checkout or staff email.
Ask the provider to check its monitoring and logs and explain the findings, the current response and the next update. Do not post account credentials, private customer information or unrestricted logs in a public support thread.
Questions to ask about protection
- Which protection applies at the network level, and which applies to website requests?
- Does it cover this service and package, or require a separate arrangement?
- Who investigates alerts and who can change filtering rules?
- How will legitimate visitors be checked after mitigation is applied?
- How are incidents escalated and service recovery confirmed?
Backups can support recovery of changed or lost data. They do not by themselves stop traffic from overwhelming a live service. Agree both the response process and the recovery arrangements when comparing hosting.
Confirm the scope of your hosting and maintenance
For packages arranged through Rhino Hosting, see our website and email hosting page and ask which protections apply to your requirements. Confirm the current protections and support arrangements directly with your provider.
Our hosting buying guide includes the questions to ask about support and backups. Website maintenance covers a different scope of work. Contact SDDS if you need to establish the appropriate next step for your website.