Cloudflare blocks largest DDoS attack - here's how to protect yourself

Cloudflare is a robust content delivery network (CDN) that specializes in providing protection against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Last month, Cloudflare blocked the largest DDoS attack in internet history. 

This assault peaked at a staggering 7.3 terabits per second (Tbps). That's a data deluge, equivalent to streaming nearly 10,000 high-definition movies in under a minute. 

 The attack targeted an unnamed hosting provider using Cloudflare's Magic Transit DDoS protection service and delivered a record-breaking 37.4 terabytes of data in just 45 seconds. The attack consisted almost entirely (99.996%) of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) flood attacks. 

Also: How to protect your site from DDoS attacks - before it's too late

Thanks to its high data transmission speeds, UDP is commonly used for real-time applications such as gaming and streaming. That same feature lends itself to attacks. UDP-based floods have become increasingly common ...