Ajax is a JavaScript-based web technology that helps you to build dynamic and interactive websites. WordPress uses Ajax to power many of its core admin area features such as auto-saving posts, user session management, and notifications.
By default, WordPress directs all Ajax calls through the admin-ajax.php file located in the site’s /wp-admin directory.
Numerous simultaneous Ajax requests can lead to high admin-ajax.php usage, resulting in a considerably slowed down server and website. It’s one of the most common problems faced by many unoptimized WordPress sites. Typically, it manifests itself as a slow website or an HTTP 5xx error (mostly 504 or 502 errors).
In this article, you’ll learn about WordPress’ admin-ajax.php file, how it works, its benefits and drawbacks, and how you can diagnose and fix the high admin-ajax.php usage issue.
Ready to go? Let’s roll out!
What Is the admin-ajax.php File?
The admin-ajax.php file contains all the code for routing Ajax requests on WordPress. Its primary purpose is to establish a connection between the client and the server using Ajax. WordPress uses it to refresh the page’s contents without reloading it, thus making it dynamic and interactive to the users.
A basic overview of how Admin Ajax works on WordPress
Since the WordPress core already uses Ajax to power its various backend features, you can use the same functions to use Ajax on WordPress. All you need to do is register an action, point it to your site’s admin-ajax.php file, and define how you want it to return the value. You can set it to return HTML, JSON, or even XML.
admin-ajax.php file in WordPress
As per WordPress Trac, the admin-ajax.php file first appeared in WordPress 2.1. It’s also referred to as Ajax Admin in the WordPress development community.
Checking Ajax usage in MyKinsta dashboard
The chart above only shows the amount of admin-ajax.php requests, not where they might be coming from. It’s a great way to see when the spikes are occurring. You can combine it with other techniques mentioned in this post to narrow down the primary cause.
Checking the number of admin-ajax.php requests in Chrome DevTools
You can also use Chrome DevTools to see how many requests are being sent to admin-ajax.php. You can also check out the Timings tab under the Network section to find out how much time it takes to process these requests.
As for finding the exact reason behind high admin-ajax.php usage, there are primarily two main causes: one due to frontend, and the other due to backend. We’ll discuss both below.
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How to Debug High admin-ajax.php Usage on WordPress
Third-party plugins are one of the most common reasons behind high admin-ajax.php usage. Typically, this issue is seen on the site’s frontend and shows up frequently in speed test reports.
But plugins aren’t the only culprit here as themes, the WordPress core, the webserver, and a DDoS attack can also be the reason behind high Admin Ajax usage.
Let’s explore them in more detail.
How to Determine the Origin of High admin-ajax.php Usage for Plugins and Themes
Just because a plugin uses Ajax doesn’t mean that it’ll slow down your site.
Viewing the admin-ajax.php request in WebPageTest report
Usually, Admin Ajax loads towards the end of the page load. Also, you can set Ajax requests to load asynchronously, so it can have little to no effect on the page’s perceived performance for the user.
As you can see in the WebPageTest report above, admin-ajax.php loads towards the end of the requests queue, but it still takes up 780 ms. That’s a lot of time for just one request.
GTmetrix report indicating a serious admin-ajax.php usage spike
When developers don’t implement Ajax properly on WordPress, it can lead to drastic performance issues. The above GTmetrix report is a perfect example of such behavior.
You can also use GTmetrix to dig into individual post and response data. You can use this feature to pinpoint what’s causing the issue.
To do that, go to GTmetrix report’s Waterfall tab, and then find and click the POST admin-ajax.php item. You’ll see three tabs for this request: Headers, Post, and Response.
POST admin-ajax.php request’s Headers data
Checking out the request’s Post and Response tabs will give you some hints to find out the reasons behind the performance issue. For this site, you can see clues in the Response tab.
POST admin-ajax.php request’s Response data
You can see that part of the response has something to do with an input tag with id set to “fusion-form-nonce-656”.
A quick search of this clue will lead you to ThemeFusion’s website, the creators of Avada theme. Hence, you can conclude that the request is originating from the theme, or any of the plugins it’s bundled with.
In such a case, you must first ensure that the Avada theme and all its related plugins are fully updated. If that doesn’t fix the issue, then you can try disabling the theme and see if that fixes the issue.
Unlike disabling a plugin, disabling a theme isn’t feasible in most scenarios. Hence, try optimizing the theme to remove any bottlenecks. You can also reach out to the theme’s support team to see if they can suggest a better solution.
Testing another slow website in GTmetrix led to finding similar issues with Visual Composer page builder and Notification Bar plugins.
Another POST admin-ajax.php request’s Response dataPOST admin-ajax.php request’s Post data
Thankfully, if you cannot resolve an issue with the plugin, you most like have many alternative plugins available to try out. For example, when it comes to page builders you could also try out Beaver Builder or Elementor.
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How to Determine the Origin of High admin-ajax.php
Sometimes, the Post and Response data presented in speed test reports may not be as clear and straightforward. Here, finding the origin of high admin-ajax.php usage isn’t as easy. In such cases, you can always do it the old-school way.
Disable all your site’s plugins, clear your site’s cache (if any), and then run a speed test again. If admin-ajax.php is still present, then the most likely culprit is the theme. But if it’s nowhere to be found, then you must activate each plugin one-by-one and run the speed tests each time. By process of elimination, you’ll lock down on the issue’s origin.
Diagnosing Backend Server Issues with admin-ajax.php
The second most common reason for high admin-ajax.php usage is the WordPress Heartbeat API generating frequent Ajax calls, leading to high CPU usage on the server. Typically, this is caused because of many users logged into the WordPress backend dashboard. Hence, you won’t see this show up in speed tests.
By default, the Heartbeat API polls the admin-ajax.php file every 15 seconds to auto-save posts or pages. If you’re using a shared hosting server, then you don’t have many server resources dedicated to your site. If you’re editing a post or page and leave the tab open for a significant time, then it can rack up a lot of Admin Ajax requests.
For example, when you’re writing or editing posts, a single user alone can generate 240 requests in an hour!
Frequent autosave admin-ajax.php requests
That’s a lot of requests on the backend with just one user. Now imagine a site where there are multiple editors logged in concurrently. Such a site can rack up Ajax requests rapidly, generating high CPU usage.
That was the situation discovered by DARTDrones when the company was preparing its WooCommerce site for an expected surge in traffic following an appearance on Shark Tank.
Before being featured on the television show, the DARTDrones site was receiving over 4,100 admin-ajax.php calls in a day with only 2,000 unique visitors. That’s a weak requests-to-visits ratio.
Heavy admin-ajax.php usage on dartdrones.com
Investigators noticed the /wp-admin referrer URL and correctly determined the root cause. These requests were due to DARTDrones’ admins and editors updating the site frequently in anticipation of the show.
WordPress has fixed this Heartbeat API issue partially long ago. For instance, you can reduce the frequency of requests generated by the Heartbeat API on hosts with limited resources. It also suspends itself after one hour of keyboard/mouse/touch inactivity.
Overwhelming your site with a DDoS attack or spam bots can also lead to high admin-ajax.php usage. However, such an attack doesn’t necessarily target increasing Admin Ajax requests. It’s just collateral damage.
If your site is under a DDoS attack, your priority should be to get it behind a robust CDN/WAF like Cloudflare or Sucuri. Every hosting plan with Kinsta includes free Cloudflare integration and Kinsta CDN, which can help you offload your website’s resources to a large extent.
WordPress uses Ajax in its Heartbeat API to implement many of its core features. However, it can lead to increased load times if not used correctly. This is typically caused due to a high frequency of requests to the admin-ajax.php file.
In this article, you learned the various causes for high admin-ajax.php usage, how to diagnose what’s responsible for this symptom, and how you can go about fixing it. In most cases, following this guide should get your site back up and running smoothly in no time.
However, in some cases upgrading to a server with higher resources is the only viable solution. Especially for demanding use cases such as ecommerce and membership sites. If you’re running such a site, consider upgrading to a managed WordPress host who is experienced with these types of performance issues.
If you’re still struggling with high admin-ajax.php usage on your WordPress site, let us know in the comments section.
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Salman Ravoof
Salman Ravoof is a self-taught web developer, writer, creator, and a huge admirer of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Besides tech, he’s excited by science, philosophy, photography, arts, cats, and food. Learn more about him on his website, and connect with Salman on Twitter.
Welcome to the sixteenth edition of Cloudflare’s DDoS Threat Report. This edition covers DDoS trends and key findings for the fourth and final quarter of the year 2023, complete with a review of major trends throughout the year.
What are DDoS attacks?
DDoS attacks, or distributed denial-of-service attacks, are a type of cyber attack that aims to disrupt websites and online services for users, making them unavailable by overwhelming them with more traffic than they can handle. They are similar to car gridlocks that jam roads, preventing drivers from getting to their destination.
There are three main types of DDoS attacks that we will cover in this report. The first is an HTTP request intensive DDoS attack that aims to overwhelm HTTP servers with more requests than they can handle to cause a denial of service event. The second is an IP packet intensive DDoS attack that aims to overwhelm in-line appliances such as routers, firewalls, and servers with more packets than they can handle. The third is a bit-intensive attack that aims to saturate and clog the Internet link causing that ‘gridlock’ that we discussed. In this report, we will highlight various techniques and insights on all three types of attacks.
Previous editions of the report can be found here, and are also available on our interactive hub, Cloudflare Radar. Cloudflare Radar showcases global Internet traffic, attacks, and technology trends and insights, with drill-down and filtering capabilities for zooming in on insights of specific countries, industries, and service providers. Cloudflare Radar also offers a free API allowing academics, data sleuths, and other web enthusiasts to investigate Internet usage across the globe.
To learn how we prepare this report, refer to our Methodologies.
Key findings
In Q4, we observed a 117% year-over-year increase in network-layer DDoS attacks, and overall increased DDoS activity targeting retail, shipment and public relations websites during and around Black Friday and the holiday season.
In Q4, DDoS attack traffic targeting Taiwan registered a 3,370% growth, compared to the previous year, amidst the upcoming general election and reported tensions with China. The percentage of DDoS attack traffic targeting Israeli websites grew by 27% quarter-over-quarter, and the percentage of DDoS attack traffic targeting Palestinian websites grew by 1,126% quarter-over-quarter — as the military conflict between Israel and Hamas continues.
In Q4, there was a staggering 61,839% surge in DDoS attack traffic targeting Environmental Services websites compared to the previous year, coinciding with the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28).
For an in-depth analysis of these key findings and additional insights that could redefine your understanding of current cybersecurity challenges, read on!
Illustration of a DDoS attack
Hyper-volumetric HTTP DDoS attacks
2023 was the year of uncharted territories. DDoS attacks reached new heights — in size and sophistication. The wider Internet community, including Cloudflare, faced a persistent and deliberately engineered campaign of thousands of hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks at never before seen rates.
These attacks were highly complex and exploited an HTTP/2 vulnerability. Cloudflare developed purpose-built technology to mitigate the vulnerability’s effect and worked with others in the industry to responsibly disclose it.
As part of this DDoS campaign, in Q3 our systems mitigated the largest attack we’ve ever seen — 201 million requests per second (rps). That’s almost 8 times larger than our previous 2022 record of 26 million rps.
Largest HTTP DDoS attacks as seen by Cloudflare, by year
Growth in network-layer DDoS attacks
After the hyper-volumetric campaign subsided, we saw an unexpected drop in HTTP DDoS attacks. Overall in 2023, our automated defenses mitigated over 5.2 million HTTP DDoS attacks consisting of over 26 trillion requests. That averages at 594 HTTP DDoS attacks and 3 billion mitigated requests every hour.
Despite these astronomical figures, the amount of HTTP DDoS attack requests actually declined by 20% compared to 2022. This decline was not just annual but was also observed in 2023 Q4 where the number of HTTP DDoS attack requests decreased by 7% YoY and 18% QoQ.
On the network-layer, we saw a completely different trend. Our automated defenses mitigated 8.7 million network-layer DDoS attacks in 2023. This represents an 85% increase compared to 2022.
In 2023 Q4, Cloudflare’s automated defenses mitigated over 80 petabytes of network-layer attacks. On average, our systems auto-mitigated 996 network-layer DDoS attacks and 27 terabytes every hour. The number of network-layer DDoS attacks in 2023 Q4 increased by 175% YoY and 25% QoQ.
HTTP and Network-layer DDoS attacks by quarter
DDoS attacks increase during and around COP 28
In the final quarter of 2023, the landscape of cyber threats witnessed a significant shift. While the Cryptocurrency sector was initially leading in terms of the volume of HTTP DDoS attack requests, a new target emerged as a primary victim. The Environmental Services industry experienced an unprecedented surge in HTTP DDoS attacks, with these attacks constituting half of all its HTTP traffic. This marked a staggering 618-fold increase compared to the previous year, highlighting a disturbing trend in the cyber threat landscape.
This surge in cyber attacks coincided with COP 28, which ran from November 30th to December 12th, 2023. The conference was a pivotal event, signaling what many considered the ‘beginning of the end’ for the fossil fuel era. It was observed that in the period leading up to COP 28, there was a noticeable spike in HTTP attacks targeting Environmental Services websites. This pattern wasn’t isolated to this event alone.
Looking back at historical data, particularly during COP 26 and COP 27, as well as other UN environment-related resolutions or announcements, a similar pattern emerges. Each of these events was accompanied by a corresponding increase in cyber attacks aimed at Environmental Services websites.
In February and March 2023, significant environmental events like the UN’s resolution on climate justice and the launch of United Nations Environment Programme’s Freshwater Challenge potentially heightened the profile of environmental websites, possibly correlating with an increase in attacks on these sites.
This recurring pattern underscores the growing intersection between environmental issues and cyber security, a nexus that is increasingly becoming a focal point for attackers in the digital age.
DDoS attacks and Iron Swords
It’s not just UN resolutions that trigger DDoS attacks. Cyber attacks, and particularly DDoS attacks, have long been a tool of war and disruption. We witnessed an increase in DDoS attack activity in the Ukraine-Russia war, and now we’re also witnessing it in the Israel-Hamas war. We first reported the cyber activity in our report Cyber attacks in the Israel-Hamas war, and we continued to monitor the activity throughout Q4.
DDoS attacks targeting Israeli and Palestinian websites, by industry
Relative to each region’s traffic, the Palestinian territories was the second most attacked region by HTTP DDoS attacks in Q4. Over 10% of all HTTP requests towards Palestinian websites were DDoS attacks, a total of 1.3 billion DDoS requests — representing a 1,126% increase in QoQ. 90% of these DDoS attacks targeted Palestinian Banking websites. Another 8% targeted Information Technology and Internet platforms.
Top attacked Palestinian industries
Similarly, our systems automatically mitigated over 2.2 billion HTTP DDoS requests targeting Israeli websites. While 2.2 billion represents a decrease compared to the previous quarter and year, it did amount to a larger percentage out of the total Israel-bound traffic. This normalized figure represents a 27% increase QoQ but a 92% decrease YoY. Notwithstanding the larger amount of attack traffic, Israel was the 77th most attacked region relative to its own traffic. It was also the 33rd most attacked by total volume of attacks, whereas the Palestinian territories was 42nd.
Of those Israeli websites attacked, Newspaper & Media were the main target — receiving almost 40% of all Israel-bound HTTP DDoS attacks. The second most attacked industry was the Computer Software industry. The Banking, Financial Institutions, and Insurance (BFSI) industry came in third.
Top attacked Israeli industries
On the network layer, we see the same trend. Palestinian networks were targeted by 470 terabytes of attack traffic — accounting for over 68% of all traffic towards Palestinian networks. Surpassed only by China, this figure placed the Palestinian territories as the second most attacked region in the world, by network-layer DDoS attack, relative to all Palestinian territories-bound traffic. By absolute volume of traffic, it came in third. Those 470 terabytes accounted for approximately 1% of all DDoS traffic that Cloudflare mitigated.
Israeli networks, though, were targeted by only 2.4 terabytes of attack traffic, placing it as the 8th most attacked country by network-layer DDoS attacks (normalized). Those 2.4 terabytes accounted for almost 10% of all traffic towards Israeli networks.
Top attacked countries
When we turned the picture around, we saw that 3% of all bytes that were ingested in our Israeli-based data centers were network-layer DDoS attacks. In our Palestinian-based data centers, that figure was significantly higher — approximately 17% of all bytes.
On the application layer, we saw that 4% of HTTP requests originating from Palestinian IP addresses were DDoS attacks, and almost 2% of HTTP requests originating from Israeli IP addresses were DDoS attacks as well.
Main sources of DDoS attacks
In the third quarter of 2022, China was the largest source of HTTP DDoS attack traffic. However, since the fourth quarter of 2022, the US took the first place as the largest source of HTTP DDoS attacks and has maintained that undesirable position for five consecutive quarters. Similarly, our data centers in the US are the ones ingesting the most network-layer DDoS attack traffic — over 38% of all attack bytes.
HTTP DDoS attacks originating from China and the US by quarter
Together, China and the US account for a little over a quarter of all HTTP DDoS attack traffic in the world. Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, and Argentina account for the next twenty-five percent.
Top source of HTTP DDoS attacks
These large figures usually correspond to large markets. For this reason, we also normalize the attack traffic originating from each country by comparing their outbound traffic. When we do this, we often get small island nations or smaller market countries that a disproportionate amount of attack traffic originates from. In Q4, 40% of Saint Helena’s outbound traffic were HTTP DDoS attacks — placing it at the top. Following the ‘remote volcanic tropical island’, Libya came in second, Swaziland (also known as Eswatini) in third. Argentina and Egypt follow in fourth and fifth place.
Top source of HTTP DDoS attacks with respect to each country’s traffic
On the network layer, Zimbabwe came in first place. Almost 80% of all traffic we ingested in our Zimbabwe-based data center was malicious. In second place, Paraguay, and Madagascar in third.
Top source of Network-layer DDoS attacks with respect to each country’s traffic
Most attacked industries
By volume of attack traffic, Cryptocurrency was the most attacked industry in Q4. Over 330 billion HTTP requests targeted it. This figure accounts for over 4% of all HTTP DDoS traffic for the quarter. The second most attacked industry was Gaming & Gambling. These industries are known for being coveted targets and attract a lot of traffic and attacks.
Top industries targeted by HTTP DDoS attacks
On the network layer, the Information Technology and Internet industry was the most attacked — over 45% of all network-layer DDoS attack traffic was aimed at it. Following far behind were the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Gaming & Gambling, and Telecommunications industries.
Top industries targeted by Network-layer DDoS attacks
To change perspectives, here too, we normalized the attack traffic by the total traffic for a specific industry. When we do that, we get a different picture.
Top attacked industries by HTTP DDoS attacks, by region
We already mentioned in the beginning of this report that the Environmental Services industry was the most attacked relative to its own traffic. In second place was the Packaging and Freight Delivery industry, which is interesting because of its timely correlation with online shopping during Black Friday and the winter holiday season. Purchased gifts and goods need to get to their destination somehow, and it seems as though attackers tried to interfere with that. On a similar note, DDoS attacks on retail companies increased by 16% compared to the previous year.
Top industries targeted by HTTP DDoS attacks with respect to each industry’s traffic
On the network layer, Public Relations and Communications was the most targeted industry — 36% of its traffic was malicious. This too is very interesting given its timing. Public Relations and Communications companies are usually linked to managing public perception and communication. Disrupting their operations can have immediate and widespread reputational impacts which becomes even more critical during the Q4 holiday season. This quarter often sees increased PR and communication activities due to holidays, end-of-year summaries, and preparation for the new year, making it a critical operational period — one that some may want to disrupt.
Top industries targeted by Network-layer DDoS attacks with respect to each industry’s traffic
Most attacked countries and regions
Singapore was the main target of HTTP DDoS attacks in Q4. Over 317 billion HTTP requests, 4% of all global DDoS traffic, were aimed at Singaporean websites. The US followed closely in second and Canada in third. Taiwan came in as the fourth most attacked region — amidst the upcoming general elections and the tensions with China. Taiwan-bound attacks in Q4 traffic increased by 847% compared to the previous year, and 2,858% compared to the previous quarter. This increase is not limited to the absolute values. When normalized, the percentage of HTTP DDoS attack traffic targeting Taiwan relative to all Taiwan-bound traffic also significantly increased. It increased by 624% quarter-over-quarter and 3,370% year-over-year.
Top targeted countries by HTTP DDoS attacks
While China came in as the ninth most attacked country by HTTP DDoS attacks, it’s the number one most attacked country by network-layer attacks. 45% of all network-layer DDoS traffic that Cloudflare mitigated globally was China-bound. The rest of the countries were so far behind that it is almost negligible.
Top targeted countries by Network-layer DDoS attacks
When normalizing the data, Iraq, Palestinian territories, and Morocco take the lead as the most attacked regions with respect to their total inbound traffic. What’s interesting is that Singapore comes up as fourth. So not only did Singapore face the largest amount of HTTP DDoS attack traffic, but that traffic also made up a significant amount of the total Singapore-bound traffic. By contrast, the US was second most attacked by volume (per the application-layer graph above), but came in the fiftieth place with respect to the total US-bound traffic.
Top targeted countries by HTTP DDoS attacks with respect to each country’s traffic
Similar to Singapore, but arguably more dramatic, China is both the number one most attacked country by network-layer DDoS attack traffic, and also with respect to all China-bound traffic. Almost 86% of all China-bound traffic was mitigated by Cloudflare as network-layer DDoS attacks. The Palestinian territories, Brazil, Norway, and again Singapore followed with large percentages of attack traffic.
Top targeted countries by Network-layer DDoS attacks with respect to each country’s traffic
Attack vectors and attributes
The majority of DDoS attacks are short and small relative to Cloudflare’s scale. However, unprotected websites and networks can still suffer disruption from short and small attacks without proper inline automated protection — underscoring the need for organizations to be proactive in adopting a robust security posture.
In 2023 Q4, 91% of attacks ended within 10 minutes, 97% peaked below 500 megabits per second (mbps), and 88% never exceeded 50 thousand packets per second (pps).
Two out of every 100 network-layer DDoS attacks lasted more than an hour, and exceeded 1 gigabit per second (gbps). One out of every 100 attacks exceeded 1 million packets per second. Furthermore, the amount of network-layer DDoS attacks exceeding 100 million packets per second increased by 15% quarter-over-quarter.
DDoS attack stats you should know
One of those large attacks was a Mirai-botnet attack that peaked at 160 million packets per second. The packet per second rate was not the largest we’ve ever seen. The largest we’ve ever seen was 754 million packets per second. That attack occurred in 2020, and we have yet to see anything larger.
This more recent attack, though, was unique in its bits per second rate. This was the largest network-layer DDoS attack we’ve seen in Q4. It peaked at 1.9 terabits per second and originated from a Mirai botnet. It was a multi-vector attack, meaning it combined multiple attack methods. Some of those methods included UDP fragments flood, UDP/Echo flood, SYN Flood, ACK Flood, and TCP malformed flags.
This attack targeted a known European Cloud Provider and originated from over 18 thousand unique IP addresses that are assumed to be spoofed. It was automatically detected and mitigated by Cloudflare’s defenses.
This goes to show that even the largest attacks end very quickly. Previous large attacks we’ve seen ended within seconds — underlining the need for an in-line automated defense system. Though still rare, attacks in the terabit range are becoming more and more prominent.
1.9 Terabit per second Mirai DDoS attacks
The use of Mirai-variant botnets is still very common. In Q4, almost 3% of all attacks originate from Mirai. Though, of all attack methods, DNS-based attacks remain the attackers’ favorite. Together, DNS Floods and DNS Amplification attacks account for almost 53% of all attacks in Q4. SYN Flood follows in second and UDP floods in third. We’ll cover the two DNS attack types here, and you can visit the hyperlinks to learn more about UDP and SYN floods in our Learning Center.
DNS floods and amplification attacks
DNS floods and DNS amplification attacks both exploit the Domain Name System (DNS), but they operate differently. DNS is like a phone book for the Internet, translating human-friendly domain names like “www.cloudfare.com” into numerical IP addresses that computers use to identify each other on the network.
Simply put, DNS-based DDoS attacks comprise the method computers and servers used to identify one another to cause an outage or disruption, without actually ‘taking down’ a server. For example, a server may be up and running, but the DNS server is down. So clients won’t be able to connect to it and will experience it as an outage.
A DNS flood attack bombards a DNS server with an overwhelming number of DNS queries. This is usually done using a DDoS botnet. The sheer volume of queries can overwhelm the DNS server, making it difficult or impossible for it to respond to legitimate queries. This can result in the aforementioned service disruptions, delays or even an outage for those trying to access the websites or services that rely on the targeted DNS server.
On the other hand, a DNS amplification attack involves sending a small query with a spoofed IP address (the address of the victim) to a DNS server. The trick here is that the DNS response is significantly larger than the request. The server then sends this large response to the victim’s IP address. By exploiting open DNS resolvers, the attacker can amplify the volume of traffic sent to the victim, leading to a much more significant impact. This type of attack not only disrupts the victim but also can congest entire networks.
In both cases, the attacks exploit the critical role of DNS in network operations. Mitigation strategies typically include securing DNS servers against misuse, implementing rate limiting to manage traffic, and filtering DNS traffic to identify and block malicious requests.
Top attack vectors
Amongst the emerging threats we track, we recorded a 1,161% increase in ACK-RST Floods as well as a 515% increase in CLDAP floods, and a 243% increase in SPSS floods, in each case as compared to last quarter. Let’s walk through some of these attacks and how they’re meant to cause disruption.
Top emerging attack vectors
ACK-RST floods
An ACK-RST Flood exploits the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) by sending numerous ACK and RST packets to the victim. This overwhelms the victim’s ability to process and respond to these packets, leading to service disruption. The attack is effective because each ACK or RST packet prompts a response from the victim’s system, consuming its resources. ACK-RST Floods are often difficult to filter since they mimic legitimate traffic, making detection and mitigation challenging.
CLDAP floods
CLDAP (Connectionless Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a variant of LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). It’s used for querying and modifying directory services running over IP networks. CLDAP is connectionless, using UDP instead of TCP, making it faster but less reliable. Because it uses UDP, there’s no handshake requirement which allows attackers to spoof the IP address thus allowing attackers to exploit it as a reflection vector. In these attacks, small queries are sent with a spoofed source IP address (the victim’s IP), causing servers to send large responses to the victim, overwhelming it. Mitigation involves filtering and monitoring unusual CLDAP traffic.
SPSS floods
Floods abusing the SPSS (Source Port Service Sweep) protocol is a network attack method that involves sending packets from numerous random or spoofed source ports to various destination ports on a targeted system or network. The aim of this attack is two-fold: first, to overwhelm the victim’s processing capabilities, causing service disruptions or network outages, and second, it can be used to scan for open ports and identify vulnerable services. The flood is achieved by sending a large volume of packets, which can saturate the victim’s network resources and exhaust the capacities of its firewalls and intrusion detection systems. To mitigate such attacks, it’s essential to leverage in-line automated detection capabilities.
Cloudflare is here to help – no matter the attack type, size, or duration
Cloudflare’s mission is to help build a better Internet, and we believe that a better Internet is one that is secure, performant, and available to all. No matter the attack type, the attack size, the attack duration or the motivation behind the attack, Cloudflare’s defenses stand strong. Since we pioneered unmetered DDoS Protection in 2017, we’ve made and kept our commitment to make enterprise-grade DDoS protection free for all organizations alike — and of course, without compromising performance. This is made possible by our unique technology and robust network architecture.
It’s important to remember that security is a process, not a single product or flip of a switch. Atop of our automated DDoS protection systems, we offer comprehensive bundled features such as firewall, bot detection, API protection, and caching to bolster your defenses. Our multi-layered approach optimizes your security posture and minimizes potential impact. We’ve also put together a list of recommendations to help you optimize your defenses against DDoS attacks, and you can follow our step-by-step wizards to secure your applications and prevent DDoS attacks. And, if you’d like to benefit from our easy to use, best-in-class protection against DDoS and other attacks on the Internet, you can sign up — for free! — at cloudflare.com. If you’re under attack, register or call the cyber emergency hotline number shown here for a rapid response.
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WRITTEN BY THE CLOUDINARY TEAM FEB-07-2023 7 MIN READ
Post-pandemic, consumer reliance on online shopping remains steady, meaning e-commerce businesses need to continue to adopt new technologies to scale their business operations.
Digital Asset Management (DAM) software can make it easier for creators to store, search, and organize their assets. Unfortunately, legacy DAM solutions are no longer sufficient to manage large volumes of product-related content. After all, using ‘old school’ DAM software requires a large staff who can manually optimize media and customize experiences for their audience—a practice that goes against agile methodology.
Staying competitive in today’s e-commerce environment requires brands to harness the power of AI and the efficiency of automation. A business using AI can quickly match audiences to relevant products and edit assets on the fly, creating more convenient and personalized shopping experiences. On the back-end, automation simplifies asset management, saving time and resources while increasing sales efficiency and marketing effectiveness.
During the pandemic, the US saw a 50% increase in e-commerce sales. This rapid shift to online shopping forced many businesses to find new asset management solutions. The right tool saves time for creative teams by taking on the labor involved in cropping, tagging, recoloring, background removal, and numerous other tedious tasks. AI tools can also automate higher-level functions, performing object recognition and asset categorization and efficiently organizing even legacy datasets.
Together, these tools free up a marketing team to address more strategic concerns, like finding opportunities to generate interest across new sales channels and touchpoints.
E-commerce activity generates a lot of data that can be used for discovery. However, creators and developers can’t use what they can’t access, and studies show that 73% of data is never used for analytics. This wasted data is more than just lost revenue: Storing and transmitting data is expensive and also poses environmental concerns. To optimize asset delivery and extract the most valuable data from e-commerce activity, businesses must enhance their DAM tools with AI and automation.
Let’s look at how AI and automation can help an e-commerce business achieve greater customer satisfaction, higher revenue, lower costs, happier employees, and more efficient and agile business operations.
Many websites collect cookies to track their customers’ buying patterns and enable personalized product recommendations. AI can analyze this information, so we can use it to automate outreach and customize customer campaigns and newsletters.
Effective tools can provide extensible APIs to automate DAM and target specific user segments and devices. For example, Cloudinary’s Admin API lets you retrieve and manipulate asset metadata as part of an automated pipeline. In conjunction with Cloudinary’s object detection tools, it’s a powerful tool to modernize legacy databases.
Most companies offer flexible return policies to stay competitive in a market where customers cannot appraise a product in person before purchase. It’s expensive to provide the customer with this freedom—product returns cost companies millions of dollars annually.
One of the most common reasons customers return products is because they feel they’ve received something different than what they saw before purchase, which could occur if the product page had insufficient photos or poor-quality images. For an e-commerce retailer, saving money by taking fewer photos is a false economy; a loss of revenue and the cost of processing returns can offset any savings.
AI-powered content creation helps ensure customers are happy with their purchases. For example, Cloudinary’s image and video transformation API provides a suite of tools to generate high-quality derivative assets from a small number of product images. For example, suppose you’re selling a sweater in a range of colors. Cloudinary’s image transformation API enables us to recolor a photo of it, so the product team only needs to photograph it once.
AI is also a powerful tool for matching visitors to the products they’re most likely to buy. By combining in-session user behavior patterns with cookies, an AI-based system can recommend appropriately sized clothing that matches the customer’s style.
Then, when a potential buyer is matched to a product, we can use AI-powered tools to generate interest. For example, on Mazda’s purchase page, customers can apply 3D model transformation functions to create a 360-degree view of their vehicle build with all the personalized upgrade options and the color they’ve selected.
AI also enables customers to preview personalized products. If a clothing retailer offers the option to add a custom inscription or design, for example, then an AI-powered displacement map can show what the final product will look like much more clearly than a simple overlay.
We can implement much of this functionality with a tool like Cloudinary’s content-aware object detection add-on. When used alongside the AI-powered background removal tool, we can generate and edit image assets for any context. For instance, consider an automotive manufacturer with a database of automotive add-ons. An AI could analyze image assets and apply smart tags to categorize product options. If the manufacturer offers numerous upgrade options across a range of a dozen or more vehicles, this will save a lot of time and work. The technology can even help with cleaning up legacy databases and regaining control over lost or mislabeled assets.
A well-organized asset database also creates happier customers. Suppose visitors to our storefront have access to a search field or chatbot for queries. In that case, we can combine this data with user behavior data we collected earlier and compare it against our meticulously and automatically tagged and organized product catalog.
As we integrate AI tools more deeply into our supply chain, we can also expect more efficient fulfillment as we optimize for customer preference, location, and even local weather. For example, we can integrate Cloudinary-managed assets with Next.js Middleware in Netlify to find out where visitors are located and inject shipping information. If customers find the status updates useful, they’re more likely to become repeat buyers.
AI also helps build customer trust. AI-powered tools can automatically synchronize sales across multiple devices, identify high-risk transactions, and offer discounts to loyal customers more intelligently than rule-based implementations would. We can even use virtual assistants to handle administrative tasks that impact the end-user experience.
For example, AI can help a storefront become more responsive by determining which media assets should be cached locally in a Content Delivery Network (CDN) or by identifying the most routine customer queries and offloading them to automated chatbots. An apparel storefront can provide a more bespoke experience by offering AI-powered fit and sizing assistance or even suggestions for complementary wardrobe choices.
When a customer decides to purchase, AI can help us ensure we’ve minimized human error in the inventory handling and fulfillment stages. If our product has a loyal following, we can keep customers engaged by providing AI-optimized, up-to-date stock arrival notifications.
If we allow end users to create their own content, such as photos in product reviews (or if we’re using AI to pull from external content stores), we should use a tool like Cloudinary’s asset moderation. Depending on the type and volume of content, we can configure these add-ons to flag content for manual or automatic review or a combination of both. For instance, we might want to automatically reject some content, such as low-quality images or images that have not been anonymized. Other content might need human approval, such as automatically smart-tagged product images.
To be competitive in sales within a digital ecosystem, you often need to analyze trends in external data. AI tools help us stay competitive with comprehensive industry monitoring and analysis. Rather than manually searching for a competitive edge, we can feed raw data into our models and expect better insights—notably, often without needing to perform the tedious process of data normalization.
Another common necessity of e-commerce businesses—namely, complex integrations—can break continuity between upstream and downstream portions of the sales pipeline, especially when integrating legacy applications. This process can create extra work and delays for the sales team, who either have to troubleshoot integrations or rely on support teams or developer teams to make changes. AI-powered automation can solve this issue and create a more extensible and easy-to-use pipeline for the sales team.
In an e-commerce business, payroll, accounting, and invoicing are all digital (and often cloud-first) processes. This makes them ideally suited to administrative automation and AI.
Cloudinary’s broad set of integrations enables Cloudinary-managed assets to be deployed through commercial platforms, like Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) or Salesforce. We get the benefits of the financial tooling of top e-commerce and marketing frameworks while delivering quality, relevant content that’s been automatically curated by asset management technologies.
To grow an e-commerce business in a cloud-first world, you need the help of cutting-edge technologies. In the DAM space, AI can make the difference between a digital storefront that needs constant manual labor to stay effective and an e-commerce business that’s ready to sail the tide of internet commerce. To start integrating AI into your business plan, visit Cloudinary today.
By: Shinji Robert Arasawa, Joshua Aquino, Charles Steven Derion, Juhn Emmanuel Atanque, Francisrey Joshua Castillo, John Carlo Marquez, Henry Salcedo, John Rainier Navato, Arianne Dela Cruz, Raymart Yambot, Ian Kenefick January 09, 2024 Read time: 8 min (2105 words)
A threat actor we track under the Intrusion set Water Curupira (known to employ the Black Basta ransomware) has been actively using Pikabot. a loader malware with similarities to Qakbot, in spam campaigns throughout 2023.
Pikabot is a type of loader malware that was actively used in spam campaigns by a threat actor we track under the Intrusion set Water Curupira in the first quarter of 2023, followed by a break at the end of June that lasted until the start of September 2023. Other researchers have previously noted its strong similarities to Qakbot, the latter of which was taken down by law enforcement in August 2023. An increase in the number of phishing campaigns related to Pikabot was recorded in the last quarter of 2023, coinciding with the takedown of Qakbot — hinting at the possibility that Pikabot might be a replacement for the latter (with DarkGate being another temporary replacement in the wake of the takedown).
Pikabot’s operators ran phishing campaigns, targeting victims via its two components — a loader and a core module — which enabled unauthorized remote access and allowed the execution of arbitrary commands through an established connection with their command-and-control (C&C) server. Pikabot is a sophisticated piece of multi-stage malware with a loader and core module within the same file, as well as a decrypted shellcode that decrypts another DLL file from its resources (the actual payload).
In general, Water Curupira conducts campaigns for the purpose of dropping backdoors such as Cobalt Strike, leading to Black Basta ransomware attacks (coincidentally, Black Basta also returned to operations in September 2023). The threat actor conducted several DarkGate spam campaigns and a small number of IcedID campaigns in the early weeks of the third quarter of 2023, but has since pivoted exclusively to Pikabot.
Pikabot, which gains initial access to its victim’s machine through spam emails containing an archive or a PDF attachment, exhibits the same behavior and campaign identifiers as Qakbot.
Figure 1. Our observations from the infection chain based on Trend’s investigation
Initial access via email
The malicious actors who send these emails employ thread-hijacking, a technique where malicious actors use existing email threads (possibly stolen from previous victims) and create emails that look like they were meant to be part of the thread to trick recipients into believing that they are legitimate. Using this technique increases the chances that potential victims would select malicious links or attachments. Malicious actors send these emails using addresses (created either through new domains or free email services) with names that can be found in original email threads hijacked by the malicious actor. The email contains most of the content of the original thread, including the email subject, but adds a short message on top directing the recipient to open the email attachment.
This attachment is either a password-protected archive ZIP file containing an IMG file or a PDF file. The malicious actor includes the password in the email message. Note that the name of the file attachment and its password vary for each email.
Figure 2. Sample email with a malicious ZIP attachmentFigure 3. Sample email with a malicious PDF attachment
The emails containing PDF files have a shorter message telling the recipient to check or view the email attachment.
The first stage of the attack
The attached archive contains a heavily obfuscated JavaScript (JS) with a file size amounting to more than 100 KB. Once executed by the victim, the script will attempt to execute a series of commands using conditional execution.
Figure 4. Files extracted to the attached archive (.zip or .img)Figure 5. Deobfuscated JS command
The script attempts command execution using cmd.exe. If this initial attempt is unsuccessful, the script proceeds with the following steps: It echoes a designated string to the console and tries to ping a specified target using the same string. In case the ping operation fails, the script employs Curl.exe to download the Pikabot payload from an external server, saving the file in the system’s temporary directory.
Subsequently, the script will retry the ping operation. If the retry is also unsuccessful, it uses rundll32.exe to execute the downloaded Pikabot payload (now identified as a .dll file) with “Crash” as the export parameter. The sequence of commands concludes by exiting the script with the specified exit code, ciCf51U2FbrvK.
We were able to observe another attack chain where the malicious actors implemented a more straightforward attempt to deliver the payload. As before, similar phishing techniques were performed to trick victims into downloading and executing malicious attachments. In this case, password-protected archive attachments were deployed, with the password contained in the body of the email.
However, instead of a malicious script, an IMG file was extracted from the attachment. This file contained two additional files — an LNK file posing as a Word document and a DLL file, which turned out to be the Pikabot payload extracted straight from the email attachment:
Figure 6. The content of the IMG file
Contrary to the JS file observed earlier, this chain maintained its straightforward approach even during the execution of the payload.
Once the victim is lured into executing the LNK file, rundll32.exe will be used to run the Pikabot DLL payload using an export parameter, “Limit”.
The content of the PDF file is disguised to look like a file hosted on Microsoft OneDrive to convince the recipient that the attachment is legitimate. Its primary purpose is to trick victims into accessing the PDF file content, which is a link to download malware.
Figure 7. Malicious PDF file disguised to look like a OneDrive attachment; note the misspelling of the word “Download”
When the user selects the download button, it will attempt to access a malicious URL, then proceed to download a malicious JS file (possibly similar to the previously mentioned JS file).
The delivery of the Pikabot payload via PDF attachment is a more recent development, emerging only in the fourth quarter of 2023.
We discovered an additional variant of the malicious downloader that employed obfuscation methods involving array usage and manipulation:
Figure 8. Elements of array “_0x40ee” containing download URLs and JS methods used for further execution
Nested functions employed array manipulation methods using “push” and “shift,” introducing complexity to the code’s structure and concealing its flow to hinder analysis. The presence of multiple download URLs, the dynamic creation of random directories using the mkdir command, and the use of Curl.exe, as observed in the preceding script, are encapsulated within yet another array. The JavaScript will run multiple commands in an attempt to retrieve the malicious payload from different external websites using Curl.exe, subsequently storing it in a random directory created using mkdir.
Figure 9. Payload retrieval commands using curl.exe
The rundll32.exe file will continue to serve as the execution mechanism for the payload, incorporating its export parameter.
Figure 10. Payload execution using rundll32.exe
The Pikabot payload
We analyzed the DLL file extracted from the archive shown in Figure 6 and found it to be a sample of a 32-bit DLL file with 1515 exports. Calling its export function “Limit”, the file will decrypt and execute a shellcode that identifies if the process is being debugged by calling the Windows API NtQueryInformationProcess twice with the flag 0x7 (ProcessDebugPort) on the first call and 0x1F ProcessDebugFlags on the second call. This shellcode also decrypts another DLL file that it loads into memory and then eventually executes.
Figure 11. The shellcode calling the entry point of the decrypted DLL file
The decrypted DLL file will execute another anti-analysis routine by loading incorrect libraries and other junk to detect sandboxes. This routine seems to be copied from a certain GitHub article.
Security/Virtual Machine/Sandbox DLL files
Real DLL files
Fake DLL files
cmdvrt.32.dll
kernel32.dll
NetProjW.dll
cmdvrt.64.dll
networkexplorer.dll
Ghofr.dll
cuckoomon.dll
NlsData0000.dll
fg122.dll
pstorec.dll
avghookx.dll
avghooka.dll
snxhk.dll
api_log.dll
dir_watch.dll
wpespy.dll
Table 1. The DLL files loaded to detect sandboxes
After performing the anti-analysis routine, the malware loads a set of PNG images from its resources section which contains an encrypted chunk of the core module and then decrypts them. Once the core payload has been decrypted, the Pikabot injector creates a suspended process (%System%\SearchProtocolHost) and injects the core module into it. The injector uses indirect system calls to hide its injection.
Figure 12. Loading the PNG images to build the core module
Resolving the necessary APIs is among the malware’s initial actions. Using a hash of each API (0xF4ACDD8, 0x03A5AF65E, and 0xB1D50DE4), Pikabot uses two functions to obtain the addresses of the three necessary APIs, GetProcAddress, LoadLibraryA, and HeapFree. This process is done by looking through kernel32.dll exports. The rest of the used APIs are resolved using GetProcAddress with decrypted strings. Other pertinent strings are also decrypted during runtime before they are used.
Figure 13. Harvesting the GetProcAddress and LoadLibrary API
The Pikabot core module checks the system’s languages and stops its execution if the language is any of the following:
Russian (Russia)
Ukrainian (Ukraine)
It will then ensure that only one instance of itself is running by creating a hard-coded mutex, {A77FC435-31B6-4687-902D-24153579C738}.
The next stage of the core module involves obtaining details about the victim’s system and forwarding them to a C&C server. The collected data uses a JSON format, with every data item using the wsprintfW function to fill its position. The stolen data will look like the image in Figure 13 but with the collected information before encryption:
Figure 14. Stolen information in JSON format before encryption
Pikabot seems to have a binary version and a campaign ID. The keys 0fwlm4g and v2HLF5WIO are present in the JSON data, with the latter seemingly being a campaign ID.
The malware creates a named pipe and uses it to temporarily store the additional information gathered by creating the following processes:
whoami.exe /all
ipconfig.exe /all
netstat.exe -aon
Each piece of information returned will be encrypted before the execution of the process.
A list of running processes on the system will also be gathered and encrypted by calling CreateToolHelp32Snapshot and listing processes through Process32First and Process32Next.
Once all the information is gathered, it will be sent to one of the following IP addresses appended with the specific URL, cervicobrachial/oIP7xH86DZ6hb?vermixUnintermixed=beatersVerdigrisy&backoff=9zFPSr:
70[.]34[.]209[.]101:13720
137[.]220[.]55[.]190:2223
139[.]180[.]216[.]25:2967
154[.]61[.]75[.]156:2078
154[.]92[.]19[.]139:2222
158[.]247[.]253[.]155:2225
172[.]233[.]156[.]100:13721
However, as of writing, these sites are inaccessible.
C&C servers and impact
As previously mentioned, Water Curupira conducts campaigns to drop backdoors such as Cobalt Strike, which leads to Black Basta ransomware attacks.It is this potential association with a sophisticated type of ransomware such as Black Basta that makes Pikabot campaigns particularly dangerous.
The threat actor also conducted several DarkGate spam campaigns and a small number of IcedID campaigns during the early weeks of the third quarter of 2023, but has since pivoted exclusively to Pikabot.
Lastly, we have observed distinct clusters of Cobalt Strike beacons with over 70 C&C domains leading to Black Basta, and which have been dropped via campaigns conducted by this threat actor.
Security recommendations
To avoid falling victim to various online threats such as phishing, malware, and scams, users should stay vigilant when it comes to emails they receive. The following are some best practices in user email security:
Always hover over embedded links with the pointer to learn where the link leads.
Check the sender’s identity. Unfamiliar email addresses, mismatched email and sender names, and spoofed company emails are signs that the sender has malicious intent.
If the email claims to come from a legitimate company, verify both the sender and the email content before downloading attachments or selecting embedded links.
Keep operating systems and all pieces of software updated with the latest patches.
Regularly back up important data to an external and secure location. This ensures that even if you fall victim to a phishing attack, you can restore your information.
A multilayered approach can help organizations guard possible entry points into their system (endpoint, email, web, and network). Security solutions can detect malicious components and suspicious behavior, which can help protect enterprises.
Trend Vision One™ provides multilayered protection and behavior detection, which helps block questionable behavior and tools before ransomware can do any damage.
Trend Cloud One™ – Workload Security protects systems against both known and unknown threats that exploit vulnerabilities. This protection is made possible through techniques such as virtual patching and machine learning.
Trend Micro™ Deep Discovery™ Email Inspector employs custom sandboxing and advanced analysis techniques to effectively block malicious emails, including phishing emails that can serve as entry points for ransomware.
Trend Micro Apex One™ offers next-level automated threat detection and response against advanced concerns such as fileless threats and ransomware, ensuring the protection of endpoints.
Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)
The indicators of compromise for this blog entry can be found here.
By: Jon Clay January 11, 2024 Read time: 4 min (970 words)
Trend Micro collaborates with INTERPOL to defend FIFA World Cup by preventing attacks & mitigating risks to fight against the rising threat of cybercrime.
The prominent sporting event, FIFA World Cup, concluded in December 2022, and it generated a lot of online engagements from millions of fans around the world. The remarkable penalty-shootout in the finals was hailed the champion of the event and it was a trending topic in social media and headline news. Before and during this event, the online users were rejoicing and betting their favorite teams at the same time cybercriminals were taking advantage of the event to deploy spam and scams. With this, law enforcement, and in particular, INTERPOL, had to step up and tapped its gateway partners to be on the lookout and report to them the cyberthreats surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Trend Micro helped by proactively monitoring our global threat intelligence that revealed many malicious websites and scams before and during the event. For example, we saw websites disguised as ticketing systems of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and many survey scams. We shared this information to INTERPOL, helping in their goal of preventing attacks and mitigating the risk posed by the fraudsters of this event. Furthermore, through our global threat intelligence, we monitored the detections of malicious websites and files from the country of Qatar as INTERPOL worked closely with them to prevent cybercriminals and malicious actors in disrupting the sporting event.
Let’s look a bit deeper into the different cyber threats we discovered and shared with INTERPOL, besides blocking them for our customers.
Malicious Websites found throughout 2022
Figure 1: Trend Micro detections of malicious sites bearing keywords of “FIFA” and “World Cup”Figure 2: Top affected countries of malicious sites related to FIFA World CupFigure 3: Timeline of FIFA World Cup Cyberthreats
Fake Ticketing System
It is no wonder due to the millions of potential victims that cybercriminals created dubious sites for selling tickets to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and trick users into inputting their personal information and credit card details in phishing attempts. We observed a few sites such as fifa-ticketssales[.]com and prime-ticketssales[.]com, both imitating the FIFA World Cup ticketing page and one showing an unbelievable number of sold tickets and remaining number of seats. We also identified contact details of scammers such as phone numbers and email addresses, some of these phone numbers were linked to other scam sites which is typical for scammers to reuse phone numbers.
Figure 4: Fake selling tickets of FIFA World CupFigure 5: Questionable number of tickets sold and used as lure to users
Fake Live Streaming
Cybercriminals created several fake streaming sites to lure victims to click on it. We identified around 40 unique domains that hosted fake streaming of FIFA World Cup. Example sites are watchvsportstv[.]com/2022-FIFA-WORLD-CUP-FINAL, sportshdlivetv[.]com/FIFA-WORLD-CUP-FINAL and istream2watch[.]stream/video/fifa-world-cup. From our analysis of these fake live streaming pages, the user will be redirected to websites with subscription forms or premium access requests and lure these users to subscribe and pay. Among the top countries detected were Brazil, Philippines, and Malaysia.
Survey Scams
Survey scams are relentless and scammers have been using them for a long time now. One we reported for example was https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/23/pinterest_attracts_scammers/. While the FIFA World Cup 2022 was ongoing, especially as we approached the semi-finals and final game, we observed malicious sites hosting survey scams that offered free 50GB mobile data. We identified more than 40 IP addresses or servers hosting the scam sites. Mostly were registered by Chinese names and hosted under Google LLC. Survey scams aim to trick users into obtaining free mobile data 50GB for a faster streaming of video or a free mobile network. It tricks users into inputting phone number and personal information thus in the end it will incur charges to the victims not knowing that it is a scam and may use their personal information for future spam or scams. Additionally, mostly it will redirect to fake dating sites and would require and harvest email address which can allow spammers to include them in their next wave of spam.
Figure 6: FIFA World Cup Survey scam that offers free mobile dataFigure 7: It requests for phone number which may lead to unwanted charges.Figure 8: Displays the offer is successful, however, it requires the user to share it in WhatsApp, thus propagating this survey scamFigure 9: Survey scam common web page title
Crypto scamming and malicious app
Based on external reports there were crypto scammers that leveraged the sporting event. We observed some scam sites such as cristiano-binance[.]xyz, binance[.]supply, football-blnance[.]com, football-binance[.]com, birance[.]online and birance[.]site that lure users to click on the button “Connect wallet” and will compromise the account. We also observed malicious app or Android RAT which was reported from https://twitter.com/ESETresearch/status/1596222440996311040https://blog.cyble.com/2022/12/09/threat-actors-targeting-fans-amid-fifa-world-cup-fever/ and it was called “ Kora 442” with malicious site kora442[.]com. It lured users to download the app “kora442.apk” and promised live and exclusive broadcasts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Example of hashes are 2299d4e4ba3e9c2643ee876bb45d6a976362ce3c, c66564b7f66f22ac9dd2e7a874c6874a5bb43a26, 9c904c821edaff095e833ee342aedfcaac337e04 and 60b1da6905857073c4c46e7e964699d9c7a74ec7. The package name is com.app.projectappkora and we detect it as AndroidOS_DummyColl.HRX. It steals information from the infected device and sends it to the Command &Control (C&C) server.
Figure 10: Fraudulent site potential hijacking of Crypto accountFigure 11: Malicious mobile app site with download request
Trend Micro’s mission has always been making the world safe for exchanging digital information and our support of INTERPOL and the 2022 FIFA World Cup gave us an opportunity to do exactly this. We’re proud of our continued support of INTERPOL, whether it is helping them with investigations of cybercriminals, or helping with a major worldwide sporting event. Our 34 years of experience in proactively identifying new threats and attacks and protecting users against them will continue in the future and we look forward to more engagements with law enforcement and organizations managing these events.
By: Trend Micro December 06, 2023 Read time: 4 min (971 words)
In this blog entry, we discuss predictions from Trend Micro’s team of security experts about the drivers of change that will figure prominently in 2024.
Digital transformations in the year ahead will be led by organizations pursuing a pioneering edge from the integration of emergent technologies. Advances in cloud technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), and Web3 are poised to reshape the threat landscape, giving it new frontiers outside the purview of traditional defenses. However, these technological developments are only as efficient as the IT structures that support them. In 2024, business leaders will have to take measures to ensure that their organization’s systems and processes are equipped to stay in step with these modern solutions — not to mention the newfound security challenges that come with implementing and securing them.
As the new year draws closer, decision-makers will need to stay on top of key trends and priority areas in enterprise cybersecurity if they are to make room for growth and fend off any upcoming threats along their innovation journey. In this blog entry, we discuss predictions from Trend Micro’s team of security experts about the drivers of change that will figure prominently next year.
Misconfigurations will allow cybercriminals to scale up their attacks using cloud-native worms
Enterprises should come into 2024 prepared to ensure that their cloud resources can’t be turned against them in “living-off-the-cloud” attacks. Security teams need to closely monitor cloud environments in anticipation of cyberattacks that, tailored with worming capabilities, can also abuse cloud misconfigurations to gain a foothold in their targets and use rootkits for persistence. Cloud technologies like containerized applications are especially at risk as once infected, these can serve as a launchpad from which attackers can spread malicious payloads to other accounts and services. Given their ability to infect multiple containers at once, leverage vulnerabilities at scale, and automate various tasks like reconnaissance, exploitation, and achieving persistence, worms will endure as a prominent tactic among cybercriminals next year.
AI-generated media will give rise to more sophisticated social engineering scams
The gamut of use cases for generative AI will be a boon not only for enterprises but also for fraudsters seeking new ways of profiteering in 2024. Though they’re often behind the curve when it comes to new technologies, expect cybercriminals — swayed by the potential of lucrative pay — to incorporate AI-generated lures as part of their upgraded social engineering attacks. Notably, despite the shutdown of malicious large language model (LLM) tool WormGPT, similar tools could still emerge from the dark web. In the interim, cybercriminals will also continue to find other ways to circumvent the limitations of legitimate AI tools available online. In addition to their use of digital impostors that combine various AI-powered tools in emerging threats like virtual kidnapping, we predict that malicious actors will resort specifically to voice cloning in more targeted attacks.
The rising tide of data poisoning will be a scourge on ML models under training
Integrating machine-learning (ML) models into their operations promises to be a real game changer for businesses that are banking on the potential of these models to supercharge innovation and productivity. As we step into 2024, attempts to corrupt the training data of these models will start gaining ground. Threat actors will likely carry out these attacks by taking advantage of a model’s data-collection phase or by compromising its data storage or data pipeline infrastructure. Specialized models using focused datasets will also be more vulnerable to data poisoning than LLMs and generative AI models trained on extensive datasets, which will prompt security practitioners to pay closer attention to the risks associated with tapping into external resources for ML training data.
Attackers will take aim at software supply chains through their CI/CD pipelines
Software supply chains will have a target on their back in 2024, as cybercriminals will aim to infiltrate them through their continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) systems. For example, despite their use in expediting software development, components and code sourced from third-party libraries and containers are not without security risks, such as lacking thorough security audits, containing malicious or outdated components, or harboring overlooked vulnerabilities that could open the door to code-injection attacks. The call for developers to be wary of anything sourced from third parties will therefore remain relevant next year. Similarly, to safeguard the resilience of critical software development pipelines and weed out bugs in the coming year, DevOps practitioners should exercise caution and conduct routine scans of any external code they plan to use.
New extortion schemes and criminal gangs will be built around the blockchain
Whereas public blockchains are hardened by continuous cyberattacks, the same can’t be said of their permissioned counterparts because of the latter’s centralized nature. This lack of hard-won resilience will drive malicious actors to develop new extortion business models specific to private blockchains next year. In such extortion operations, criminals could use stolen keys to insert malicious data or modify existing records on the blockchain and then demand a payoff to stay mum on the attack. Threat actors can also strong-arm their victims into paying the ransom by wresting control of enough nodes to encrypt an entire private blockchain. As for criminal groups, we predict that 2024 will see the debut of the first criminal organizations running entirely on blockchains with smart contract or decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Countering future cyberthreats
Truly transformative technologies inevitably cross the threshold into standard business operations. But as they make that transition from novel to industry norm, newly adopted tools and solutions require additional layers of protection if they are to contribute to an enterprise’s expansion. So long as their security stance is anchored on preparedness and due diligence, organizations stand to reap the benefits from a growing IT stack without exposing themselves to unnecessary risks. To learn more about the key security considerations and challenges that lie ahead for organizations and end users, read our report, “Critical Scalability: Trend Micro Security Predictions for 2024.”
UniFi Network Application 8.0.7 adds support for Radio Manager, WireGuard VPN Client, and Site Overview, and improves the Port Manager section by adding an overview of all ports and the VLAN Viewer.
Radio Manager
The new Radios page provides an overview of the Access Point radios and their configuration, statistics, and performance.
Filter Devices – Show all APs or only specific devices.
Filter Bands – Use the filters to display only certain bands or MIMO, e.g. 5 GHz or 3×3.
Bulk Edit – Change the radio configuration on multiple APs at the same time.
Improved Port Manager
The new Ports page provides an overview of all ports across your devices.
Filter Ports – Use the filters to display only certain ports, e.g. only PoE or SFP ports.
Filter Devices – Show all ports or only ports on a specific device.
Insights – View and compare statistics between ports on the same device.
The VLAN port management has been redesigned to improve UX when managing VLANs.
Native VLAN / Network – Used for untagged traffic, i.e. not tagged with a VLAN ID. Previously this option was called ‘Primary Network’.
Tagged VLAN Management – Used for traffic tagged with a VLAN ID. Previously this option was called ‘Traffic Restriction’.
Allow All – Configured VLANs are automatically tagged (allowed) on the port.
Block All – All tagged VLANs are blocked (not allowed) on the port.
Custom – Specify which VLANs are tagged (allowed) on the port. Any VLAN that is not specified is blocked.
When adding a new VLAN, it is automatically tagged (allowed) on the port when using ‘Allow All’. If ‘Custom’ is used, the new VLAN needs to be manually added to the port.
VLAN Viewer
Provides an easy way to see Native and Tagged VLANs across your devices.
Native VLAN Assignment – This shows which VLAN ID is set as native.
VLAN Tagging – Shows which VLANs are tagged, blocked, or native.
Search for VLANs using the VLAN name, ID, or subnet.
WireGuard VPN Client
Allows you to connect your UniFi Gateway to a VPN service provider and send internet traffic from devices over the VPN. Uploading a file and manual configuration are both supported.
Site Overview
Provides an overview of all sites used on UniFi Network Applications managing multiple sites.
UniFi Devices – See how many devices are connected to each site.
Client Devices – See how many WiFi/wired clients and guests are connected to each site.
Insight – See which sites have offline devices and critical notifications.
Client Connections
The System Log now provides much more details on client connections such as the connection time and data usage.
Improvements
Improved Port Manager.
Added all ports overview.
Added VLAN Viewer.
Improved VLAN port management UX.
Added Site Overview.
Added ability to select which networks Suspicious Activity is enabled on.
Added sorting feature for IP Groups.
Added ability to allow opening predefined firewall rules.
Improved validation for Prefix ID in Virtual Network settings.
Improved empty MAC whitelist validation in Port Manager.
Improved validation for DHCP options.
Improved DHCP Server TFTP Server field validation.
Improved Traffic Rule IP Address validation.
Improved Firewall Rules UX.
Improved Security Settings UX.
Improved Global Network Settings UX.
Enabled auto upgrade for UXG-Pro after the adoption is completed.
Remove LTE Failover WAN from IPTV Options.
Show the local language in the Language dropdown.
Prevent provisioning more Layer 3 static routes than UniFi switches can support.
Routes that are over the limit at the time of upgrade will be marked as Paused.
This does not mean that total static route support on Layer 3 UniFi switches is decreased, instead, UX is improved to prevent configuration of routes that are not functional.
VPN
Added WireGuard VPN Client.
Added messaging to create traffic routes after creating VPN Clients. This applies to the VPN Client feature, not adding clients to VPN Servers.
Added validation in VPN Server settings when the port overlaps with a Port Forwarding rule.
Added IP/Hostname override option for OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN Servers.
This adds a custom hostname or IP address to the configuration file used by clients.
This option is useful if the UniFi Gateway is behind NAT or is using a dynamically assigned IP address.
Added validation for Local IP in IPsec Site-to-Site VPN settings.
Automatically remove Site-to-Site Auto IPsec configuration if the adopted gateway doesn’t support it.
Improved Site-to-Site VPN validations.
Improved configuration file generation time for OpenVPN Servers.
Increased OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN Client limit from 5 to 8. This applies to the VPN Client feature, not VPN users connecting to VPN Servers.
Remove the PPTP Server if the adopted gateway doesn’t support it.
Clients and Devices
Added PoE power cycle option to the device side panel.
Added confirmation message when configuring Network Overrides.
Improved UniFi Devices page performance on larger setups.
Improved System Logs for client connections.
Locked the first column for Devices/Clients pages when scrolling horizontally.
Client hostnames (if present) are now shown in the side panel overview.
Moved filters to the left side in the Device and Client pages.
WiFi
Added Radio Manager.
Added ability to enable Professional installer toggle for Consoles.
Improved adding clients to MAC Address Filters.
Improved actionable feedback when Outdoor Mode is enabled.
Removed Global AP Settings, you can now use Radio Manager for bulk editing.
Collapse RF Scan tab by default in the AP device panel.
Changed WiFi Experience to TX retries for APs in their device panel.
Enhanced voucher printing options.
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue where some UniFi devices were incorrectly shown on the Client Devices page or not shown at all.
As a result of this fix, unmanaged non-network UniFi devices (e.g. UniFi Protect camera) may appear again as offline devices.
These offline devices will be removed automatically based on the Data Retention settings.
Automatic removal is an automated, periodic process that will run for several minutes after updating. Manual removal is also possible.
Fixed an issue where blocked clients couldn’t connect if they were removed until the next AP provision.
Fixed incorrect channel width for BeaconHD/U6-Extender.
Fixed an issue where Virtual Network usable hosts were incorrectly calculated.
Fixed missing ISP names in internet-related notifications.
Fixed rare gateway adoption issues via Layer 3.
Fixed an issue where WiFiman speed test results were not shown.
Fixed issue where WAN configuration is not populated when moving a gateway device to a new site.
Fixed an issue where CGNAT IP addresses were incorrectly marked as public IPs for Site Magic.
Fixed invalid connected client count for In-Wall APs.
Fixed unmanaged Network devices not shown on Client and Device pages in rare cases.
Fixed an issue where the Console would appear offline in rare cases.
Fixed sorting when there are multiple pages.
Fixed an issue where Voice VLAN settings are not effective when all VLANs are auto-allowed on switch ports.
Fixed an issue where Lock to AP is not disabled when removing an AP.
Fixed an issue where RADIUS profiles couldn’t be disabled when using a WireGuard VPN Server.
Fixed rare gateway configuration error.
Additional information
Create a backup before upgrading your UniFi Network Application in the event any issues are encountered.
See the UniFi Network Server Help Center article for more information on self-hosting a server.
UniFi Network Application 7.5 and newer requires MongoDB 3.6 (up to 4.4) and Java 17.
UniFi Network Native Application for UniFi OS
A specific application version that is only compatible with the UDM and UDR (running UniFi OS 3.1.6 or newer).
The UniFi OS update uses the application version that is required for your console.
The manual update process via SSH requires you to use the compatible package. Incompatible packages will be rejected on installation.
Older UniFi OS versions (before UniFi OS 3.1.6) on the UDM and UDR still use regular UniFi Network Application for UniFi OS.
Dirk Schrader Published: November 14, 2023 Updated: November 24, 2023
In the wake of escalating cyber-attacks and data breaches, the ubiquitous advice of “don’t share your password” is no longer enough. Passwords remain the primary keys to our most important digital assets, so following password security best practices is more critical than ever. Whether you’re securing email, networks, or individual user accounts, following password best practices can help protect your sensitive information from cyber threats.
Read this guide to explore password best practices that should be implemented in every organization — and learn how to protect vulnerable information while adhering to better security strategies.
The Secrets of Strong Passwords
A strong password is your first line of defense when it comes to protecting your accounts and networks. Implement these standard password creation best practices when thinking about a new password:
Complexity: Ensure your passwords contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. It should be noted that composition rules, such as lowercase, symbols, etc. are no longer recommended by NIST — so use at your own discretion.
Length: Longer passwords are generally stronger — and usually, length trumps complexity. Aim for at least 6-8 characters.
Unpredictability: Avoid using common phrases or patterns. Avoid using easily guessable information like birthdays or names. Instead, create unique strings that are difficult for hackers to guess.
Combining these factors makes passwords harder to guess. For instance, if a password is 8 characters long and includes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters, the total possible combinations would be (26 + 26 + 10 + 30)^8. This astronomical number of possibilities makes it exceedingly difficult for an attacker to guess the password.
Of course, given NIST’s updated guidance on passwords, the best approach to effective password security is using a password manager — this solution will not only help create and store your passwords, but it will automatically reject common, easy-to-guess passwords (those included in password dumps). Password managers greatly increase security against the following attack types.
Password-Guessing Attacks
Understanding the techniques that adversaries use to guess user passwords is essential for password security. Here are some of the key attacks to know about:
Brute-Force Attack
In a brute-force attack, an attacker systematically tries every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found. This method is time-consuming but can be effective if the password is weak.
Strong passwords help thwart brute force attacks because they increase the number of possible combinations an attacker must try, making it unlikely they can guess the password within a reasonable timeframe.
Dictionary Attack
A dictionary attack is a type of brute-force attack in which an adversary uses a list of common words, phrases and commonly used passwords to try to gain access.
Unique passwords are essential to thwarting dictionary attacks because attackers rely on common words and phrases. Using a password that isn’t a dictionary word or a known pattern significantly reduces the likelihood of being guessed. For example, the string “Xc78dW34aa12!” is not in the dictionary or on the list of commonly used passwords, making it much more secure than something generic like “password.”
Dictionary Attack with Character Variations
In some dictionary attacks, adversaries also use standard words but also try common character substitutions, such as replacing ‘a’ with ‘@’ or ‘e’ with ‘3’. For example, in addition to trying to log on using the word “password”, they might also try the variant “p@ssw0rd”.
Choosing complex and unpredictable passwords is necessary to thwart these attacks. By using unique combinations and avoiding easily guessable patterns, you make it challenging for attackers to guess your password.
How Password Managers Enhance Security
Password managers are indispensable for securely storing and organizing your passwords. These tools offer several key benefits:
Security: Password managers store passwords and enter them for you, eliminating the need for users to remember them all. All users need to remember is the master password for their password manager tool. Therefore, users can use long, complex passwords as recommended by best practices without worrying about forgetting their passwords or resorting to insecure practices like writing passwords down or reusing the same password for multiple sites or applications.
Password generation: Password managers can generate a strong and unique password for user accounts, eliminating the need for individuals to come up with them.
Encryption: Password managers encrypt password vaults, ensuring the safety of data — even if it is compromised.
Convenience: Password managers enable users to easily access passwords across multiple devices.
When selecting a password manager, it’s important to consider your organization’s specific needs, such as support for the platforms you use, price, ease of use and vendor breach history. Conduct research and read reviews to identify the one that best aligns with your organization’s requirements. Some noteworthy options include Netwrix Password Secure, LastPass, Dashlane, 1Password and Bitwarden.
How Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Adds an Extra Layer of Security
Multifactor authentication strengthens security by requiring two or more forms of verification before granting access. Specifically, you need to provide at least two of the following authentication factors:
Something you know: The classic example is your password.
Something you have: Usually this is a physical device like a smartphone or security token.
Something you are: This is biometric data like a fingerprint or facial recognition.
MFA renders a stolen password worthless, so implement it wherever possible.
Password Expiration Management
Password expiration policies play a crucial role in maintaining strong password security. Using a password manager that creates strong passwords also has an influence on password expiration. If you do not use a password manager yet, implement a strategy to check all passwords within your organization; with a rise in data breaches, password lists (like the known rockyou.txt and its variations) used in brute-force attacks are constantly growing. The website haveibeenpawned.com offers a service to check whether a certain password has been exposed. Here’s what users should know about password security best practices related to password expiration:
Follow policy guidelines: Adhere to your organization’s password expiration policy. This includes changing your password when prompted and selecting a new, strong password that meets the policy’s requirements.
Set reminders: If your organization doesn’t enforce password expiration via notifications, set your own reminders to change your password when it’s due. Regularly check your email or system notifications for prompts.
Avoid obvious patterns: When changing your password, refrain from using variations of the previous one or predictable patterns like “Password1,” “Password2” and so on.
Report suspicious activity: If you notice any suspicious account activity or unauthorized password change requests, report them immediately to your organization’s IT support service or helpdesk.
Be cautious with password reset emails: Best practice for good password security means being aware of scams. If you receive an unexpected email prompting you to reset your password, verify its authenticity. Phishing emails often impersonate legitimate organizations to steal your login credentials.
Password Security and Compliance
Compliance standards require password security and password management best practices as a means to safeguard data, maintain privacy and prevent unauthorized access. Here are a few of the laws that require password security:
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): HIPAA mandates that healthcare organizations implement safeguards to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI), which includes secure password practices.
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard): PCI DSS requires organizations that handle payment card data on their website to implement strong access controls, including password security, to protect cardholder data.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): GDPR requires organizations that store or process the data of EU residents to implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data. Password security is a fundamental aspect of data protection under GDPR.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): FERPA governs the privacy of student education records. It includes requirements for securing access to these records, which involves password security.
Organizations subject to these compliance standards need to implement robust password policies and password security best practices. Failure to do so can result in steep fines and other penalties.
There are also voluntary frameworks that help organizations establish strong password policies. Two of the most well known are the following:
NIST Cybersecurity Framework: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides guidelines and recommendations, including password best practices, to enhance cybersecurity.
ISO 27001: ISO 27001 is an international standard for information security management systems (ISMSs). It includes requirements related to password management as part of its broader security framework.
Password Best Practices in Action
Now, let’s put these password security best practices into action with an example:
Suppose your name is John Doe and your birthday is December 10, 1985. Instead of using “JohnDoe121085” as your password (which is easily guessable), follow these good password practices:
Create a long, unique (and unguessable) password, such as: “M3an85DJ121!”
If you are looking to strengthen your security, follow these password best practices:
Remove hints or knowledge-based authentication: NIST recommends not using knowledge-based authentication (KBA), such as questions like “What town were you born in?” but instead, using something more secure, like two-factor authentication.
Encrypt passwords: Protect passwords with encryption both when they are stored and when they are transmitted over networks. This makes them useless to any hacker who manages to steal them.
Avoid clear text and reversible forms: Users and applications should never store passwords in clear text or any form that could easily be transformed into clear text. Ensure your password management routine does not use clear text (like in an XLS file).
Choose unique passwords for different accounts: Don’t use the same, or even variations, of the same passwords for different accounts. Try to come up with unique passwords for different accounts.
Use a password management: This can help select new passwords that meet security requirements, send reminders of upcoming password expiration, and help update passwords through a user-friendly interface.
Enforce strong password policies: Implement and enforce strong password policies that include minimum length and complexity requirements, along with a password history rule to prevent the reuse of previous passwords.
Update passwords when needed: You should be checking and – if the results indicate so – updating your passwords to minimize the risk of unauthorized access, especially after data breaches.
Monitor for suspicious activity: Continuously monitor your accounts for suspicious activity, including multiple failed login attempts, and implement account lockouts and alerts to mitigate threats.
Educate users: Conduct or partake in regular security awareness training to learn about password best practices, phishing threats, and the importance of maintaining strong, unique passwords for each account.
Implement password expiration policies: Enforce password expiration policies that require password changes at defined circumstances to enhance security.
How Netwrix Can Help
Adhering to password best practices is vital to safeguarding sensitive information and preventing unauthorized access.
Netwrix Password Secure provides advanced capabilities for monitoring password policies, detecting and responding to suspicious activity and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. With features such as real-time alerts, comprehensive reporting and a user-friendly interface, it empowers organizations to proactively identify and address password-related risks, enforce strong password policies, and maintain strong security across their IT environment.
Conclusion
In a world where cyber threats are constantly evolving, adhering to password management best practices is essential to safeguard your digital presence. First and foremost, create a strong and unique password for each system or application — remember that using a password manager makes it much easier to adhere to this critical best practice. In addition, implement multifactor authentication whenever possible to thwart any attacker who manages to steal your password. By following the guidelines, you can enjoy a safer online experience and protect your valuable digital assets.
Dirk Schrader is a Resident CISO (EMEA) and VP of Security Research at Netwrix. A 25-year veteran in IT security with certifications as CISSP (ISC²) and CISM (ISACA), he works to advance cyber resilience as a modern approach to tackling cyber threats. Dirk has worked on cybersecurity projects around the globe, starting in technical and support roles at the beginning of his career and then moving into sales, marketing and product management positions at both large multinational corporations and small startups. He has published numerous articles about the need to address change and vulnerability management to achieve cyber resilience.
If you want to improve your network security and performance, learning how to set up a VLAN properly is all you need. Virtual LANs are powerful networking tools that allow you to segment your network into logical groups and isolate traffic between them.
In this post, we will go through the steps required to set up a VLAN in your network. We will configure two switches along with their interfaces and VLANs, respectively.
So, let’s dive in and learn how to set up VLANs and take your network to the next level.
Table of Contents
What is a VLAN?
Preparing for VLAN configuration
Our Lab
Network Diagram
How to set up a VLAN on a Switch?
Let’s connect to the Switch
Configure VLANs
Assign switch ports to VLANs
Configure trunk ports
Extra Configuration to Consider
What is a VLAN?
Before we go deep into learning how to set up a VLAN and provide examples, let’s understand the foundations of VLANs (or Virtual Local Area Networks).
In a nutshell, VLANs are logical groupings of devices that rely on Layer 2 addresses (MAC) for communication. VLANs are implemented to segment a physical network (or large Layer two broadcast domains) into multiple smaller logical networks (isolated broadcast domains).
Each VLAN behaves as a separate network with its own broadcast domain. VLANs help prevent broadcast storms (extreme amounts of broadcast traffic). They also help control traffic and overall improve network security and performance.
Preparing for VLAN configuration
Although VLANs are usually left for Layer 2 switches, in reality, any device (including routers and L3 switches) with switching capabilities and support of VLAN configuration should be an excellent fit for VLANs. In addition, VLANs are supported by different vendors, and since each vendor has a different OS and code, the way the VLANs are configured may slightly change.
Furthermore, you can also use specific software such as network diagramming and simulation to help you create network diagrams and test your configuration.
Our Lab
We will configure a popular Cisco (IOS-based) switch for demonstration purposes. We will use Boson NetSim (a network simulator for Cisco networking hardware and software) to run Cisco IOS simulated commands. This simulation is like you were configuring an actual Cisco switch or router.
Network Diagram
To further illustrate how to set up a VLAN, we will work on the following network diagram. We will configure two VLANs in two different switches. We will then configure each port on the switches connected to a PC. We will then proceed to configure the trunk port, which is vital for VLAN traffic.
Network diagram details
S2 and S3 (Switch 2 and Switch 3) – Two Cisco L2 Switches connecting PCs at different VLANs (VLAN 10 and VLAN 20) via Fast Ethernet interfaces.
VLANs 10 and VLAN20. These VLANs configured in L2 switches (S2 and S3) create a logical grouping of PCs within the network. In addition, each VLAN gets a name, VLAN 10 (Engineering) and VLAN 20 (Sales).
PCs. PC1, PC2, PC3, and PC4 are each connected to a specific L2 switch.
How to set up a VLAN on a Switch?
So now that you know the VLAN configuration we will be using, including the number of switches, VLAN ID, VLAN name, and the devices or ports that will be part of the configuration, let’s start setting up the VLANs.
Note:VLAN configuration is just a piece of the puzzle. Switches also need proper interface configuration, authentication, access, etc. To learn how to correctly connect and configure everything else, follow the step-by-step guide on how to configure a Cisco Switch.
a. Let’s connect to the switch
Inspect your hardware and find the console port. This port is usually located on the back of your Cisco switch. You can connect to the switch’s “console port” using a console cable (or rollover). Connect one end of the console cable to the switch’s console port and the other to your computer’s serial port.
Note: Obviously, not all modern computers have serial ports. Some modern switches come with a Mini USB port or AUX port to help with this. But if your hardware doesn’t have these ports, you can also connect to the switch port using special cables like an RJ-45 rollover cable, a Serial DB9-to-RJ-45 console cable, or a serial-to-USB adapter.
Depending on your switch’s model, you can configure it via Command Line Interface (CLI) or Graphical User Interface (GUI). We will connect to the most popular user interface: The IOS-based CLI.
To connect to your switch’s IOS-based CLI, you must use a terminal emulator on your computer, such as PuTTY or SecureCRT.
You’ll need to configure the terminal emulator to use the correct serial port and set the baud rate to 9600. Learn how to properly set these parameters in the Cisco switching configuration guide.
In the terminal emulator, press Enter to activate the console session. The Cisco switch should display a prompt asking for a username and password.
Enter your username and password to log in to the switch.
b. Configure VLANs
According to our previously shown network diagram, we will need two VLANs; VLAN 10 and VLAN 20.
To configure Layer 2 switches, you need to enter the privileged EXEC mode by typing “enable” and entering the password (if necessary).
Enter the configuration mode by typing “configure terminal.”
Create the VLAN with “vlan <vlan ID>” (e.g., “vlan 10”).
Name the VLAN by typing “name <vlan name>” (e.g., “name Sales”).
Repeat these two steps for each VLAN you want to create.
Configuration on Switch 2 (S2)
S2# configure terminal
S2(config)# vlan 10
S2(config-vlan)# name Engineering
S2(config-vlan)# end
S2# configure terminal
S2(config)# vlan 20
S2(config-vlan)# name Sales
S2(config-vlan)# end
Use the “show vlan” command to see the configured VLANs. From the output below, you’ll notice that the two new VLANs 10 (Engineering) and 20 (Sales) are indeed configured and active but not yet assigned to any port.
Configuration on Switch 3 (S3)
S3# configure terminal
S3(config)# vlan 10
S3(config-vlan)# name Engineering
S3(config-vlan)# end
S3# configure terminal
S3(config)# vlan 20
S3(config-vlan)# name Sales
S3(config-vlan)# end
Note: From the output above, you might have noticed VLAN 1 (default), which is currently active and is assigned to all the ports in the switch. This VLAN, also known as native VLAN, is the default VLAN on most Cisco switches. It is used for untagged traffic on a trunk port. This means that all traffic that is not explicitly tagged with VLAN information will be sent to this default VLAN.
Now, let’s remove those VLAN 1 tags from interfaces Fa0/2 and Fa0/3. Or in simple words let’s assign the ports to our newly created VLANs.
c. Assign switch ports to VLANs
In the previous section, we created our VLANs; now, we must assign the appropriate switch ports to the correct VLANs. The proper steps to assign switch ports to VLANs are as follows:
Enter configuration mode. Remember to run these commands under the configuration mode (configure terminal).
Assign ports to the VLANs by typing “interface <interface ID>” (e.g., “interface GigabitEthernet0/1”).
Configure the port as an access port by typing “switchport mode access”
Assign the port to a VLAN by typing “switchport access vlan <vlan ID>” (e.g., “switchport access vlan 10”).
Repeat these steps for each port you want to assign to a VLAN.
Let’s refer to a section of our network diagram
Configuration on Switch 2 (S2)
S2(config)# interface fastethernet 0/2
S2(config-if)# switchport mode access
S2(config-if)# switchport access vlan 10
S2(config)# interface fastethernet 0/3
S2(config-if)# switchport mode access
S2(config-if)# switchport access vlan 20
Use the “show running-configuration” to see the new configuration taking effect on the interfaces.
Configuration on Switch 3 (S3)
S3(config)# interface fastethernet 0/2
S3(config-if)# switchport mode access
S3(config-if)# switchport access vlan 10
S3(config)# interface fastethernet 0/3
S3(config-if)# switchport mode access
S3(config-if)# switchport access vlan 20
A “show running-configuration” can show you our configuration results.
d. Configure trunk ports
Trunk ports are a type of switch port mode (just like access) that perform essential tasks like carrying traffic for multiple VLANs between switches, tagging VLAN traffic, supporting VLAN management, increasing bandwidth efficiency, and allowing inter-VLAN routing.
If we didn’t configure trunk ports between our switches, the PCs couldn’t talk to each other on different switches, even if they were on the same VLAN.
Here’s a step by step to configuring trunk ports
Configure a trunk port to carry traffic between VLANs by typing “interface <interface ID>” (e.g., “interface FastEthernet0/12”).
Set the trunk encapsulation method (dot1q). The IEEE 802.1Q (dot1q) trunk encapsulation method is the standard tagging Ethernet frames with VLAN information.
Configure the port as a trunk port by typing “switchport mode trunk”.
Repeat the steps for each trunk port you want to configure.
Note (on redundant trunk links): To keep our article simple, we will configure one trunk link. However, keep in mind that any good network design (including trunk links) would need redundancy. One trunk link between switches is not an optimal redundant solution for networks on production. To add redundancy, we recommend using EtherChannel to bundle physical links together and configure the logical link as a trunk port. You can also use Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) by using the “spanning-tree portfast trunk” command.
Note: You can use different types of trunk encapsulation such as dot1q and ISL, just make sure both ends match the type of encapsulation.
Extra Configuration to Consider
Once you finish with VLAN and trunk configuration, remember to test VLAN connectivity between PCs, you can do this by configuring the proper IP addressing and doing a simple ping. Below are other key configurations related to your new VLANs that you might want to consider.
a. Ensure all your interfaces are up and running
To ensure that your interfaces are not administratively down, issue a “no shutdown” (or ‘no shut’) command on all those newly configured interfaces. Additionally, you can also use the “show interfaces” to see the status of all the interfaces.
b. (Optional) enable inter-VLAN
VLANs, as discussed earlier, separate broadcast domains (Layer 2) — they do not know how to route IP traffic because Layer 2 devices like switches can’t accept IP address configuration on their interfaces. To allow inter-VLAN communication (PCs on one VLAN communicate with PCs on another VLAN), you would need to use a Layer 3 device (a router or L3 switch) to route traffic.
There are three ways to implement inter-VLAN routing: an L3 router with multiple Ethernet interfaces, an L3 router with one router interface using subinterfaces (known as Router-On-a-Stick), and an L3 switch with SVI.
We will show a step-by-step on how to configure Router-On-a-Stick for inter-VLAN communications.
Connect the router to one switch via a trunk port.
Configure subinterfaces on the router for each VLAN (10 and 20 in our example). To configure subinterfaces, use the “interface” command followed by the VLAN number with a period and a subinterface number (e.g., “interface FastEthernet0/0.10” for VLAN 10). For example, to configure subinterfaces for VLANs 10 and 20, you would use the following commands:
> router(config-subif)# ip address 192.168.20.1 255.255.255.0
Configure a default route on the router using the “ip route” command. This is a default route to the Internet through a gateway at IP address 192.168.1.1. For example:
> router(config)# ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1
c. Configure DHCP Server
To automatically assign IP addresses to devices inside the VLANs, you will need to configure a DHCP server. Follow these steps:
The DHCP server should also be connected to the VLAN.
Configure the DHCP server to provide IP addresses to devices in the VLAN.
Configure the router to forward DHCP requests to the DHCP server by typing “ip helper-address <ip address>” (e.g., “ip helper-address 192.168.10.2”).
Final Words
By following the steps outlined in this post, you can easily set up a VLAN on your switch and effectively segment your network. Keep in mind to thoroughly test your VLAN configuration and consider additional configuration options to optimize your network for your specific needs.
With proper setup and configuration, VLANs can greatly enhance your network’s capabilities and 10x increase its performance and security.
The realm of Network Monitoring Tools, Software, and Vendors is Huge, to say the least. New software, tools, and utilities are being launched almost every year to compete in an ever-changing marketplace of IT monitoring, server monitoring, and system monitoring software.
I’ve test-driven, played with and implemented dozens during my career and this guide rounds up the best ones in an easy-to-read format and highlighted their main strengths and why I think they are in the top class of tools to use in your IT infrastructure and business.
Some of the features I am looking for are device discovery, uptime/downtime indicators, along with robust and thorough alerting systems (via email/SMS), NetFlow and SNMP Integration as well as considerations that are important with any software purchase such as ease of use and value for money.
The features from above were all major points of interest when evaluating software suites for this article and I’ll try to keep this article as updated as possible with new feature sets and improvements as they are released.
Here is our list of the top network monitoring tools:
Auvik – EDITOR’S CHOICE This cloud platform provides modules for LAN monitoring, Wi-Fi monitoring, and SaaS system monitoring. The network monitoring package discovers all devices, maps the network, and then implements automated performance tracking. Get a 14-day free trial.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor – FREE TRIAL The leading network monitoring system that uses SNMP to check on network device statuses. This monitoring tool includes autodiscovery that compiles an asset inventory and automatically draws up a network topology map. Runs on Windows Server. Start 30-day free trial.
Checkmk – FREE TRIAL This hybrid IT infrastructure monitoring package includes a comprehensive network monitor that provides device status tracking and traffic analysis functions via the integration with ntop. Available as a Linux install package, Docker package, appliance and cloud application available in cloud marketplaces. Get a 30-day free trial.
Datadog Network Monitoring – FREE TRIAL Provides good visibility over each of the components of your network and the connections between them – be it cloud, on-premises or hybrid environment. Troubleshoot infrastructure, apps and DNS issues effortlessly.
ManageEngine OpManager – FREE TRIAL An SNMP-based network monitor that has great network topology layout options, all based on an autodiscovery process. Installs on Windows Server and Linux.
NinjaOne RMM – FREE TRIAL This cloud-based system provides remote monitoring and management for managed service providers covering the systems of their clients.
Site24x7 Network Monitoring – FREE TRIAL A cloud-based monitoring system for networks, servers, and applications. This tool monitors both physical and virtual resources.
Atera – FREE TRIAL A cloud-based package of remote monitoring and management tools that include automated network monitoring and a network mapping utility.
Below you’ll find an updated list of the Latest Tools & Software to ensure your network is continuously tracked and monitored at all times of the day to ensure the highest up-times possible. Most of them have free Downloads or Trials to get you started for 15 to 30 days to ensure it meets your requirements.
What should you look for in network monitoring tools?
We reviewed the market for network monitoring software and analyzed the tools based on the following criteria:
An automated service that can perform network monitoring unattended
A device discovery routine that automatically creates an asset inventory
A network mapping service that shows live statuses of all devices
Alerts for when problems arise
The ability to communicate with network devices through SNMP
A free trial or a demo for a no-cost assessment
Value for money in a package that provides monitoring for all network devices at a reasonable price
With these selection criteria in mind, we have defined a shortlist of suitable network monitoring tools for all operating systems.
Auvik is a SaaS platform that offers a network discovery and mapping system that automates enrolment and then continues to operate in order to spot changes in network infrastructure. This system is able to centralize and unify the monitoring of multiple sites.
Key Features:
A SaaS package that includes processing power and storage space for system logs as well as the monitoring software
Centralizes the monitoring of networks on multiple sites
Watches over network device statuses
Offers two plans: Essential and Performance
Network traffic analysis included in the higher plan
Monitors virtual LANs as well as physical networks
Autodiscovery service
Network mapping
Alerts for automated monitoring
Integrations with third-party complimentary systems
Why do we recommend it?
Auvik is a cloud-based network monitoring system. It reaches into your network, identifies all connected devices, and then creates a map. While SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor also performs those tasks, Auvik is a much lighter tool that you don’t have to host yourself and you don’t need deep technical knowledge to watch over a network with this automated system.
Auvik’s network monitoring system is automated, thanks to its system of thresholds. The service includes out-of-the-box thresholds that are placed on most of the metrics that the network monitor tracks. It is also possible to create custom thresholds.
Once the monitoring service is operating, if any of the thresholds are crossed, the system raises an alert. This mechanism allows technicians to get on with other tasks, knowing that the thresholds give them time to avert system performance problems that would be noticeable to users.
Network management tools that are included in the Auvik package include configuration management to standardize the settings of network devices and prevent unauthorized changes.
The processing power for Auvik is provided by the service’s cloud servers. However, the system requires collectors to be installed on each monitored site. This software runs on Windows Server and Ubuntu Linux. It is also possible to run the collector on a VM. Wherever the collector is located, the system manager still accesses the service’s console, which is based on the Auvik server, through any standard Web browser.
Who is it recommended for?
Smaller businesses that don’t have a team to support IT would benefit from Auvik. It needs no software maintenance and the system provides automated alerts when issues arise, so your few IT staff can get on with supporting other resources while Auvik looks after the network.
PROS:
A specialized network monitoring tool
Additional network management utilities
Configuration management included
A cloud-based service that is accessible from anywhere through any standard Web browser
Data collectors for Windows Server and Ubuntu Linux
CONS:
The system isn’t expandable with any other Auvik modules
Auvik doesn’t publish its prices by you can access a 14-day free trial.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Auvik is our top pick for a network monitoring tool because it is a hosted SaaS package that provides all of your network monitoring needs without you needing to maintain the software. The Auvik platform installs an agent on your site and then sets itself up by scanning the network and identifying all devices. The inventory that this system generates gives you details of all of your equipment and provides a basis for network topology maps. Repeated checks on the network gather performance statistics and if any metric crosses a threshold, the tool will generate an alert. You can centralize the monitoring of multiple sites with this service.
PRTG Network Monitor software is commonly known for its advanced infrastructure management capabilities. All devices, systems, traffic, and applications in your network can be easily displayed in a hierarchical view that summarizes performance and alerts. PRTG monitors the entire IT infrastructure using technology such as SNMP, WMI, SSH, Flows/Packet Sniffing, HTTP requests, REST APIs, Pings, SQL, and a lot more.
Key Features:
Autodiscovery that creates and maintains a device inventory
Live network topology maps are available in a range of formats
Monitoring for wireless networks as well as LANs
Multi-site monitoring capabilities
SNMP sensors to gather device health information
Ping to check on device availability
Optional extra sensors to monitor servers and applications
System-wide status overviews and drill-down paths for individual device details
A protocol analyzer to identify high-traffic applications
A packet sniffer to collect packet headers for analysis
Color-coded graphs of live data in the system dashboard
Capacity planning support
Alerts on device problems, resource shortages, and performance issues
Notifications generated from alerts that can be sent out by email or SMS
Available for installation on Windows Server or as a hosted cloud service
Why do we recommend it?
Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a very flexible package. Not only does it monitor networks, but it can also monitor endpoints and applications. The PRTG system will discover and map your network, creating a network inventory, which is the basis for automated monitoring. You put together your ideal monitoring system by choosing which sensors to turn on. You pay for an allowance of sensors.
It is one of the best choices for organizations with low experience in network monitoring software. The user interface is really powerful and very easy to use.
A very particular feature of PRTG is its ability to monitor devices in the data center with a mobile app. A QR code that corresponds to the sensor is printed out and attached to the physical hardware. The mobile app is used to scan the code and a summary of the device is displayed on the mobile screen.
In summary, Paessler PRTG is a flexible package of sensors that you can tailor to your own needs by deciding which monitors to activate. The SNMP-based network performance monitoring routines include an autodiscovery system that generates a network asset inventory and topology maps. You can also activate traffic monitoring features that can communicate with switches through NetFlow, sFlow, J-Flow, and IPFIX. QoS and NBAR features enable you to keep your time-sensitive applications working properly.
Who is it recommended for?
PRTG is available in a Free edition, which is limited to 100 sensors. This is probably enough to support a small network. Mid-sized and large organizations should be interested in paying for larger allowances of sensors. The tool can even monitor multiple sites from one location.
PROS:
Uses a combination of packet sniffing, WMI, and SNMP to report network performance data
Fully customizable dashboard is great for both lone administrators as well as NOC teams
Drag and drop editor makes it easy to build custom views and reports
Supports a wide range of alert mediums such as SMS, email, and third-party integrations into platforms like Slack
Each sensor is specifically designed to monitor each application, for example, there are prebuilt sensors whose specific purpose is to capture and monitor VoIP activity
Supports a freeware version
CONS:
Is a very comprehensive platform with many features and moving parts that require time to learn
PRTG has a very flexible pricing plan, to get an idea visit their official pricing webpage below. It is free to use for up to 50 sensors. Beyond that you get a 30-day free trial to figure out your network requirements.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is easy to setup and can be ready in no time. The tool automatically discovers network devices and deploys within an hour. Its simple approach to oversee an entire network makes it one of the easiest to use and most intuitive user interfaces.
Key Features:
Automatically Network Discovery and Scanning for Wired and Wifi Computers and Devices
Support for Wide Array of OEM Vendors
Forecast and Capacity Planning
Quickly Pinpoint Issues with Network Performance with NetPath™ Critical Path visualization feature
Easy to Use Performance Dashboard to Analyze Critical Data points and paths across your network
Robust Alerting System with options for Simple/Complex Triggers
Monitor Hardware Health of all Servers, Firewalls, Routers, Switches, Desktops, laptops and more
Real-Time Network and Netflow Monitoring for Critical Network Components and Devices
Why do we recommend it?
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is the leading network monitoring tool in the world and this is the system that the other monitor providers are chasing. Like many other network monitors, this system uses the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to gather reports on network devices. The strength of SolarWinds lies in the deep technical knowledge of its support advisors, which many other providers lack.
The product is highly customizable and the interface is easy to manage and change very quickly. You can customize the web-based performance dashboards, charts, and views. You can design a tailored topology for your entire network infrastructure. You can also create customized dependency-aware intelligent alerts and much more.
The software is sold by separate modules based on what you use. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor Price starts from $1,995 and is a one-time license including 1st-year maintenance.
SolarWinds NPM has an Extensive Feature list that make it One of the Best Choices for Network Monitoring Solutions
SolarWinds NPM is able to track the performance of networks autonomously through the use of SNMP procedures, producing alerts when problems arise. Alerts are generated if performance dips and also in response to emergency notifications sent out by device agents. This system means that technicians don’t have to watch the monitoring screen all the time because they know that they will be drawn back to fix problems by an email or SMS notification.
NetPath Screenshot
Who is it recommended for?
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is an extensive network monitoring system and it is probably over-engineered for use by a small business. Mid-sized and large companies would benefit from using this tool.
PROS:
Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps and inventory lists in real-time based on devices that enter the network
Has some of the best alerting features that balance effectiveness with ease of use
Supports both SNMP monitoring as well as packet analysis, giving you more control over monitoring than similar tools
Uses drag and drop widgets to customize the look and feel of the dashboard
Tons of pre-configured templates, reports, and dashboard views
CONS:
This is a feature-rich enterprise tool designed for sysadmin, non-technical users may some features overwhelming
Checkmk is an IT asset monitoring package that has the ability to watch over networks, servers, services, and applications. The network monitoring facilities in this package provide both network device status tracking and network traffic monitoring.
Features of this package include:
Device discovery that cycles continuously, spotting new devices and removing retired equipment
Creation of a network inventory
Registration of switches, routers, firewalls, and other network devices
Creation of a network topology map
Continuous device status monitoring with SNMP
SNMP feature report focus for small businesses
Performance thresholds with alerts
Wireless network monitoring
Protocol analysis
Traffic throughput statistics per link
Switch port monitoring
Gateway transmission speed tracking
Network traffic data extracted with ntop
Can monitor a multi-vendor environment
Why do we recommend it?
The Checkmk combination of network device monitoring and traffic monitoring in one tool is rare. Most network monitoring service creators split those two functions so that you have to buy two separate packages. The Checkmk system also gives you application and server monitoring along with the network monitoring service.
The Checkmk system is easy to set up, thanks to its autodiscovery mechanism. This is based on SNMP. The program will act as an SNMP Manager, send out a broadcast requesting reports from device agents, and then compile the results into an inventory. The agent is the Checkmk package itself if you choose to install the Linux version or it is embedded on a device if you go for the hardware option. If you choose the Checkmk Cloud SaaS option, that platform will install an agent on one of your computers.
The SNMP Manager constantly re-polls for device reports and the values in these appear in the Checkmk device monitoring screen. The platform also updates its network inventory according to the data sent back by device agents in each request/response round. The dashboard also generates a network topology map from information in the inventory. So, that map updates whenever the inventory changes.
While gathering information through SNMP, the tool also scans the headings of passing packets on the network to compile traffic statistics. Basically, the tool provides a packet count which enables it to quickly calculate a traffic throughput rate. Data can also be segmented per protocol, according to the TCP port number in each header.
Who is it recommended for?
Checkmk has a very wide appeal because of its three editions. Checkmk Raw is free and will appeal to small businesses. This is an adaptation of Nagios Core. The paid version of the system is called Checkmk Enterprise and that is designed for mid-sized and large businesses. Checkmk Cloud is a SaaS option.
PROS:
Provides both network device monitoring and traffic tracking
Automatically discovers devices and creates a network inventory
Free version available
Options for on-premises or SaaS delivery
Monitors wireless networks as well as LANs
Available for installation on Linux or as an appliance
Datadog Network Monitoring supervises the performance of network devices. The service is a cloud-based system that is able to explore a network and detect all connected devices. With the information from this research, the network monitor will create an asset inventory and draw up a network topology map. This procedure means that the system performs its own setup routines.
Features of this package include:
Monitors networks anywhere, including remote sites
Joins together on-premises and cloud-based resource monitoring
Integrates with other Datadog modules, such as log management
Offers an overview of all network performance and drill-down details of each device
Facilitates troubleshooting by identifying performance dependencies
Includes DNS server monitoring
Gathers SNMP device reports
Blends performance data from many information sources
Includes data flow monitoring
Offers tag-based packet analysis utilities in the dashboard
Integrates protocol analyzers
Performance threshold baselining based on machine learning
Alerts for warnings over evolving performance issues
Datadog Network Monitoring services are split into two modules that are part of a cloud platform of many system monitoring and management tools. These two packages are called Network Performance Monitoring and Network Device Monitoring, which are both subscription services. While the device monitoring package works through SNMP, the performance monitor measures network traffic levels.
The autodiscovery process is ongoing, so it spots any changes you make to your network and instantly updates the inventory and the topology map. The service can also identify virtual systems and extend monitoring of links out to cloud resources.
Datadog Network Monitoring provides end-to-end visibility of all connections, which are also correlated with performance issues highlighted in log messages. The dashboard for the system is resident in the cloud and accessed through any standard browser. This centralizes network performance data from many sources and covers the entire network, link by link and end to end.
You can create custom graphs, metrics, and alerts in an instant, and the software can adjust them dynamically based on different conditions. Datadog prices start from free (up to five hosts), Pro $15/per host, per month and Enterprise $23 /per host, per month.
Who is it recommended for?
The two Datadog network monitoring packages are very easy to sign up for. They work well together to get a complete view of network activities. The pair will discover all of the devices on your network and map them, then startup automated monitoring. These are very easy-to-use systems that are suitable for use by any size of business.
PROS:
Has one of the most intuitive interfaces among other network monitoring tools
Cloud-based SaaS product allows monitoring with no server deployments or onboarding costs
Can monitor both internally and externally giving network admins a holistic view of network performance and accessibility
Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps on the fly
Changes made to the network are reflected in near real-time
Allows businesses to scale their monitoring efforts reliably through flexible pricing options
CONS:
Would like to see a longer trial period for testing
At its core, ManageEngine OpManager is infrastructure management, network monitoring, and application performance management “APM” (with APM plug-in) software.
Key Features:
Includes server monitoring as well as network monitoring
Autodiscovery function for automatic network inventory assembly
Constant checks on device availability
A range of network topology map options
Automated network mapping
Performs an SNMP manager role, constantly polling for device health statuses
Receives SNMP Traps and generates alerts when device problems arise
Implements performance thresholds and identifies system problems
Watches over resource availability
Customizable dashboard with color-coded dials and graphs of live data
Forwards alerts to individuals by email or SMS
Available for Windows Server and Linux
Can be enhanced by an application performance monitor to create a full stack supervisory system
Free version available
Distributed version to supervise multiple sites from one central location
Why do we recommend it?
ManageEngine OpManager is probably the biggest threat to SolarWind’s leading position. This package monitors servers as well as networks. This makes it a great system for monitoring virtualizations.
When it comes to network management tools, this product is well balanced when it comes to monitoring and analysis features.
The solution can manage your network, servers, network configuration, and fault & performance; It can also analyze your network traffic. To run Manage Engine OpManager, it must be installed on-premises.
A highlight of this product is that it comes with pre-configured network monitor device templates. These contain pre-defined monitoring parameters and intervals for specific device types. The essential edition product can be purchased for $595 which allows up to 25 devices.
Who is it recommended for?
A nice feature of OpManager is that it is available for Linux as well as Windows Server for on-premises installation and it can also be used as a service on AWS or Azure for businesses that don’t want to run their own servers. The pricing for this package is very accessible for mid-sized and large businesses. Small enterprises with simple networks should use the Free edition, which is limited to covering a network with three connected devices.
PROS:
Designed to work right away, features over 200 customizable widgets to build unique dashboards and reports
Leverages autodiscovery to find, inventory, and map new devices
Uses intelligent alerting to reduce false positives and eliminate alert fatigue across larger networks
Supports email, SMS, and webhook for numerous alerting channels
Integrates well in the ManageEngine ecosystem with their other products
CONS:
Is a feature-rich tool that will require a time investment to properly learn
NinjaOne is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) package for managed service providers (MSPs). The system reaches out to each remote network through the installation of an agent on one of its endpoints. The agent acts as an SNMP Manager.
Key Features:
Based on the Simple Network Management Protocol
SNMP v1, 2, and 3
Device discovery and inventory creation
Continuous status polling for network devices and endpoints
Live traffic data with NetFlow, IPFIX, J-Flow, and sFlow
Traffic throughput graphs
Customizable detail display
Performance graphs
Switch port mapper
Device availability checks
Syslog processing for device status reports
Customizable alerts
Notifications by SMS or email
Related endpoint monitoring and management
Why do we recommend it?
NinjaOne RMM enables each technician to support multiple networks simultaneously. The alerting mechanism in the network monitoring service means that you can assume that everything is working fine on a client’s system unless you receive a notification otherwise. The network tracking service sets itself up automatically with a discovery routine.
The full NinjaOne RMM package provides a full suite of tools for administering a client’s system. The network monitoring service is part of that bundle along with endpoint monitoring and patch management.
The Ninja One system onboards a new client site automatically through a discovery service that creates both hardware and software inventories. The data for each client is kept separate in a subaccount. Technicians that need access to that client’s system for investigation need to be set up with credentials.
The network monitoring system provides both device status tracking and network traffic analysis. The service provides notifications if a dive goes offline or throughput drops.
Who is it recommended for?
This service is built with a multi-tenant architecture for use by managed service providers. However, IT departments can also use the system to manage their own networks and endpoints. The service is particularly suitable for simultaneously monitoring multiple sites. The console for the RMM is based in the cloud and accessed through any standard Web browser.
PROS:
A cloud-based package that onboards sites through the installation of an agent
Auto discovery for network devices and endpoints
Network device status monitoring
Network traffic analysis
Syslog message scanning
CONS:
No price list
NinjaOne doesn’t publish a price list so you start your buyer’s journey by accessing a 14-day free trial.
Site24x7 is a monitoring service that covers networks, servers, and applications. The network monitoring service in this package starts off by exploring the network for connected devices. IT logs its findings in a network inventory and draws up a network topology map.
Key Features:
A hosted cloud-based service that includes CPU time and performance data storage space
Can unify the monitoring of networks on site all over the world
Uses SNMP to check on device health statuses
Gives alerts on resource shortages, performance issues, and device problems
Generates notifications to forward alerts by email or SMS
Root cause analysis features
Autodiscovery for a constantly updated network device inventory
Automatic network topology mapping
Includes internet performance monitoring for utilities such as VPNs
Specialized monitoring routines for storage clusters
Monitors boundary and edge services, such as load balancers
Offers overview and detail screens showing the performance of the entire network and also individual devices
Includes network traffic flow monitoring
Facilities for capacity planning and bottleneck identification
Integrates with application monitoring services to create a full stack service
Why do we recommend it?
Site24x7 Network Monitoring is part of a platform that is very similar to Datadog. A difference lies in the number of modules that Site24x7 offers – it has far fewer than Datadog. Site24x7 bundles its modules into packages with almost all plans providing monitoring for networks, servers, services, applications, and websites. Site24x7 was originally developed to be a SaaS plan for ManageEngine but then was split out into a separate brand, so there is very solid expertise behind this platform.
The Network Monitor uses procedures from the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to poll devices every minute for status reports. Any changes in the network infrastructure that are revealed by these responses update the inventory and topology map.
The results of the device responses are interpreted into live data in the dashboard of the monitor. The dashboard is accessed through any standard browser and its screens can be customized by the user.
The SNMP system empowers device agents to send out a warning without waiting for a request if it detects a problem with the device that it is monitoring. Site24x7 Infrastructure catches these messages, which are called Traps, and generates an alert. This alert can be forwarded to technicians by SMS, email, voice call, or instant messaging post.
The Network Monitor also has a traffic analysis function. This extracts throughput figures from switches and routers and displays data flow information in the system dashboard. This data can also be used for capacity planning.
Who is it recommended for?
The plans for Site24x7 are very reasonably priced, which makes them accessible to businesses of all sizes. Setup for the system is automated and much of the ongoing monitoring processes are carried out without any manual intervention.
PROS:
One of the most holistic monitoring tools available, supporting networks, infrastructure, and real user monitoring in a single platform
Uses real-time data to discover devices and build charts, network maps, and inventory reports
Is one of the most user-friendly network monitoring tools available
User monitoring can help bridge the gap between technical issues, user behavior, and business metrics
Supports a freeware version for testing
CONS:
Is a very detailed platform that will require time to fully learn all of its features and options
Site24x7 costs $9 per month when paid annually. It is available for a free trial.
Atera is a package software that was built for managed service providers. It is a SaaS platform and it includes professional service automation (PSA) and remote monitoring and management (RMM) systems.
Why do we recommend it?
Atera is a package of tools for managed service providers (MSPs). Alongside remote network monitoring capabilities, this package provides automated monitoring services for all IT operations. The package also includes some system management tools, such as a patch manager. Finally, the Atera platform offers Professional Services Automation (PSA) tools to help the managers of MSPs to run their businesses.
The network monitoring system operates remotely through an agent that installs on Windows Server. The agent enables the service to scour the network and identify all of the network devices that run it. This is performed using SNMP, with the agent acting as the SNMP Manager.
The SNMP system enables the agent to spot Traps, which warn of device problems. These are sent to the Atera network monitoring dashboard, where they appear as alerts. Atera offers an automated topology mapping service, but this is an add-on to the main subscription packages.
Who is it recommended for?
Atera charges for its platform per technician, so it is very affordable for MSPs of all sizes. This extends to sole technicians operating on a contract basis and possibly fielding many small business clients.
ManageEngine RMM Central provides sysadmins with everything they need to support their network. Automated asset discovery makes deployment simple, allowing you to collect all devices on your network by the end of the day.
Key Features
Automated network monitoring and asset discovery
Built-in remote access with various troubleshooting tools
Flexible alert integrations
With network and asset metrics collected, administrators can quickly see critical insights automatically generated by the platform. With over 100 automated reports it’s easy to see exactly where your bottlenecks are and what endpoints are having trouble.
Administrators can configure their own SLAs with various automated alert options and even pair those alerts with other automation that integrate into their helpdesk workflow.
PROS:
Uses a combination of packet sniffing, WMI, and SNMP to report network performance data
Fully customizable dashboard is great for both lone administrators as well as NOC teams
Drag and drop editor makes it easy to build custom views and reports
Supports a wide range of alert mediums such as SMS, email, and third-party integrations into platforms like Slack
CONS:
Is a very comprehensive platform with many features and moving parts that require time to learn
