Deflect

Deflect is a robust Web infrastructure that will withstand typical distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks — undertaken by infected 'bots' — are generally intentional with the aim to disable the targeted website and prevent access for normal users. The attacks also serve to intimidate the website's owner organization and to silence online voices. Many small human rights and activist organizations aren't able protect themselves from such attacks. The Deflect project will provide this service at a minimal cost and without over-extending resources from client organizations. Due to the technical nature of the Internet, DDoS attacks have been difficult to prevent and even tougher to recover from.

Deflect's approach is pro-active. Rather than responding to attacks after they occur, our project will deflect attacks keeping them under constant protection. DDoS attacks are distributed away from its intended organization's website to eQuality's multiple servers on the Internet that will absorb the shock, while maintaining access by identifying friendly visitors and giving them access to the site under its original address. Deflect will bundle other features into its website protection scheme that will identify friendly visitors and give them access to the site DURING an attack. The Deflect project will mirror protected websites across the eQuality cloud infrastructure, consisting of multiple servers in different locations around the world.

Our approach is to set up a Deflect infrastructure using multiple servers in different geographical locations. Each server/location will have a copy of the target website to deflect the infected 'bots' and protect the online presence of human rights and activist organizations.