Cyber Security FAQs

Information on types of cyber security attacks and how to prevent them.

Cyber Security – Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection 

All schools’ broadband circuits managed by our telecoms partner, MLL Telecom, include Enterprise Grade DDoS protection. We know schools in Suffolk have previously been targeted by these types of attacks and thought it would be useful to provide some detail of what they are and how we take steps to prevent them.  

A volumetric Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is one of the most common forms of cyberattack. It is a malicious attempt to make an online service unavailable by flooding unwanted internet traffic from multiple sources, therefore making the online service or website unavailable.    

 Almost any type of internet-facing connected device could be a potential DDoS resource: Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smartphones, personal computers, and powerful servers. Simply put, a DDoS attack is like a traffic jam clogging up the motorway, preventing regular traffic from arriving at its desired destination.    

For a DDoS attack to be successful, an attacker will spread malicious software to vulnerable computers, mainly through infected emails and attachments. This creates a network of infected machines called a botnet. Once the botnet has been established, the attacker is able to instruct and control the machines. Commands would be given to flood a site with traffic, causing the targeted server or network to overflow capacity, resulting in a denial-of-service to normal traffic.    

The MLL DDoS mitigation service is powered by industry leading DDoS and Cyber Threat Protection Specialists Arbor Networks. The base offering is the “on demand” service which means that the service will be invoked as soon as an attack is detected.  

The service constantly baselines traffic to ensure that only “out of baseline” spikes in traffic are classified as attack traffic. Once detected, the mitigation service removes the spurious traffic, sending only legitimate “clean” traffic back to the customer.   The service protects against standard volumetric attacks, as well as so-called “low and slow” attacks that are designed to slowly deplete network resources and would otherwise go undetected.   

If you want more details about Suffolk Cyber Security services, including the new Bronze level service please see: Suffolk schools bronze cyber security service | Suffolk County Council

The National Cyber Security Centre have put together a cyber security training package for school staff to help improve their school's cyber resilience.

The NCSC has produced free cyber security training to raise awareness and help school staff manage some of the key cyber threats facing schools.

The training is available in two formats:

A scripted presentation pack or a self-learn video.
Please visit the following website for more information.
Cyber security training for school staff - NCSC.GOV.UK

Cyber-crime and cyber security: a guide for education providers

The following guidance, provided by the GOV.UK aims to help raise education provider’s awareness of cyber-crime and cyber security. Academy trusts, colleges and independent training providers (ITPs) retain responsibility to be aware of the risk of fraud, theft and irregularity and address it by putting in place proportionate controls.

Please visit Cyber crime and cyber security: a guide for education providers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for the full article details.

For further information contact us via the IT Service Desk on 01473 265555 or email itservicedesk@suffolk.gov.uk

Cyber Security FAQs

What is a DDoS attack?

How does an attack work?

The MLL Telecom Mitigation Service

Where can I find Cyber Security Training for School Staff?

Cyber-crime and cyber security: a guide for education providers