Deflect provides solid protection from distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks on websites. Built for and by people within the human rights and democracy community, Deflect can help defend against some of the most common ways a malicious actor may try to take down an organization’s online presence.
If an organization has a website, they benefit from the distributed denial of service (DDOS) protection provided by using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) like Deflect. eQualitie, the organization which built and manages Deflect, aims their services at non-profits, particularly those working on democracy and rights issues.
An organization’s web presence is their primary home online, and often a critical element in information communication to their supporters and interested parties. However, websites are subjected to a withering barrage of hacks and distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks. Particularly for small NGOs focused on democracy and human rights, such aggressive attacks can be a way to silence critical voices in challenging environments. Deflect, by eQualitie, provides a shield against DDOS attacks and some other common threats in the form of a Content Delivery Network, or CDN, which creates a copy of a site that can handle such an onslaught. Deflect was built by technical leaders in the human rights community specifically to face the dangers they were seeing first hand. Deflect also provides detailed metrics for clients with information on their users, making it a useful way for organizations to understand their audience.
Cost
Deflect is free for nonprofit organizations that meet their criteria. Other organizations or individuals pay for commercial plans, which start at $72/mo.
Technical Requirements/Capacity
To initially get a website on Deflect requires someone with the ability to modify the DNS records for the website. While a straightforward process, not everyone will be familiar with it. eQualitie has documentation (https://deflect.ca/resources/get-started/) to make it as easy as possible.
Support Available
Deflect provides an online support desk to customers.
Maintenance considerations
As a hosted proxy service, Deflect will not require ongoing maintenance. However, it is important that site administrators understand how to access the Deflect platform and make changes as needed.
If a site is facing a significant DDOS attack or other problems, some modification of Deflect settings might be required. If in doubt, users should contact the online support desk.
Cybersecurity
DDOS mitigation is an important aspect of website security. Deflect can be an effective tool to help protect sites from getting knocked offline by adversaries.
If an adversary got access to the Deflect control console, they could effectively make your website inaccessible on the internet, or redirect unsuspecting users to another malicious site.