7 Ways to Maximize the Value of DDoS Testing
These days, there are plenty of ways to run DDoS simulation testing and make sure you’re protected against attacks. You can do it on your own using commercial software or open-source tools—whatever works best for you.
That said, there are a few must-haves when it comes to running DDoS tests. For one, you’ll need a platform that allows you to easily start and stop attack simulations as needed. Plus, don’t forget to notify and get approval from relevant parties, such as your cloud provider or tool vendor, before you begin testing.
Beyond these basics, there are some best practices that can help you get the most out of your DDoS testing.
1 – Plan tests to validate the protection of your most critical assets
While it may be easier to run black box testing (basically launching attacks without looking at the internal structure, architecture, and configuration of your protection), a white box testing approach is much more effective when it comes to uncovering serious vulnerabilities.
Black-box testing can sometimes target low-priority services that aren’t crucial to your business, and may not be well protected to begin with. On the other hand, white-box testing allows you to focus efforts on business-critical services and verify the risk mitigation component.
Take, for example, testing cloud L3/4 DDoS protection to ensure it filters malicious traffic heading to your data center. With white-box testing, you’d focus on testing the protected subnets that really matter. But with black-box testing, you might end up targeting a less important corporate endpoint that doesn’t require the same level of defense.
2 – Test your production environment (not just a sandbox)
Testing your production environment is the real test. It gives you a much more accurate idea of how your system will hold up during a real DDoS attack.
While it is easier and less risky to test in a sandbox or testing environment, those setups often don’t reflect the full capacity or architecture of your production environment. The sandbox might not have the same resources, and it could be missing important components that impact your DDoS resilience.
Sure, testing in production carries some risk, but it’s far smaller than the risk of missing a critical vulnerability that could cause a real denial-of-service during an attack. To minimize risk, try to run your DDoS simulation during a low-traffic period to lessen the impact on your operations.
3 – Start with the most common attack vectors
Planning and running DDoS tests can be tricky. There are endless attack vectors and techniques to choose from, and it can be overwhelming to decide which ones to include in your simulation.
If it’s your first time running DDoS testing, it’s a good idea to start with the most common attack vectors, like TCP or UDP floods. These are the types of attacks attackers typically use, they’re relatively straightforward, and they’ll help you confirm that your protection can handle these “basic” threats.
Once you’ve validated that your defenses can deal with these, you can move on to simulating more advanced attacks—those that are harder to block and require more sophisticated tactics from attackers.
4 – Test each protection layer separately
Ideally, your DDoS protection should involve multiple layers and mechanisms to defend against attacks. For example, a WAF solution might include features like bot protection, machine learning-based rules, and rate limiting. During your test simulation, you’ll want to validate each of these layers individually.
You’ll often discover that one protection feature works really well against a specific type of attack. For instance, your test might show that bot protection effectively identifies certain attack vectors. But in the real world, attackers may start with one method, get blocked, and then switch to more advanced techniques that bypass bot protection.
To make your testing more realistic, aim to simulate scenarios where attackers use multiple vectors that challenge your entire protection suite. This will help you better understand how each layer holds up under different conditions.
5- Involve multiple stakeholders in the test
Unlike traditional penetration testing, a DDoS simulation should involve more than just the “red team” running the attack. It’s important to have multiple stakeholders participate in the process.
There are a few key reasons for this. First, you’ll want someone from network administration to keep an eye on things and make sure servers and network components are still running smoothly. Security and DevOps team members (or similar roles, depending on your organization) can also provide valuable insights during the test, such as how well the attack is getting through, the impact on services, how alerts are triggered, and whether your protection measures are kicking in as expected.
If you’re aware of any gaps in your ability to detect or mitigate attacks, network or security engineers can use the test as an opportunity to tweak configurations and improve defenses on the spot.
6- Deliver actionable test results to decision makers
The main purpose of DDoS simulation testing is to uncover and address security weaknesses. But let’s face it—DDoS tests are intricate and packed with technical nuances. For instance, saying that an “HTTPS GET / flood” attack was only partially detected may not translate into something decision-makers can easily grasp or act on.
Instead, focus on analyzing your test results and converting technical pass/fail outcomes into clear, digestible insights. Highlight the current security gaps, the risks they pose, and provide concrete, actionable next steps. This approach ensures decision-makers understand what’s needed to strengthen defenses and take meaningful action.
7- Retest after fixing vulnerabilities
Just like in software testing, retesting is a must after addressing vulnerabilities in your setup or configuration. It’s the only way to confirm that the fixes actually resolved the issues found during the initial test.
Consider this example: During a DDoS simulation with a financial institution, the first test failed. To validate the ISP’s “clean-pipe” DDoS protection, we had to conduct three retests because it repeatedly failed to defend against Layer 3/4 attacks.
Retesting isn’t just about verifying fixes—it’s also a chance to raise the stakes. By introducing more advanced attack vectors alongside previous ones, you can assess the improved resiliency of your protection and identify any remaining weak spots.