Spoofed Dedicated Servers & Preventing Spoofing

As technology continues to advance in helping users stay safe, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated with their attacks. And they do it by using spoofed dedicated servers to trick people into providing access to information cybercriminals can then use to steal and, in worst-case scenarios, cause harm to individuals who are unaware the attack is coming from a server intended to look like the real thing.

A spoofed dedicated server is one that pretends to be from a legitimate source in order to stage malicious attacks. 

Cybercriminals use spoofed dedicated servers to make you think you’re using the server you intended to use. Instead, you are connected to a fake server they set up. This allows them to steal your information, access your computer, and even track you down – all without your knowledge.

Say you receive an email that looks like it came from a site you visit often. At first glance, the email may appear to be from a reliable source. When you take a closer look, however, there are things that are off. The domain is not spelled correctly, or the email address is slightly different. And the email design itself may look legitimate, but the links don’t take you to the trusted provider you know. That’s because this email is actually from a spoofed dedicated server, and the sender is hoping you’ll click the link provided so they can infect your system with malware. 

Cybercriminals also set up spoofed dedicated servers to attack your website. Attacks on your site can cause your bandwidth usage to spike and your site to slow down. They can also make features inaccessible to your customers.

Another example of cybercriminals using spoofed dedicated servers is launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which restrict users from accessing websites. This can cost organizations millions of dollars in lost sales and damages from downtime.

Or they may launch a man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attack. This is where the cybercriminal will intercept your communication with a website and redirect you to a fake site. This fake site mimics the real one in order to capture data like login credentials and financial information.

When cybercriminals try and take your site down, the spoofed dedicated server makes it difficult for you to track them down. If it’s difficult to determine where the attack is coming from, they can attack your site multiple times, with each one getting more serious and causing more harm.

Cybercriminals often use spoofed dedicated servers to run phishing and fraud scams, email spamming, botnets, crypto mining, IP scanners, and other malicious, harmful activities. All these are detrimental to your company, your employees, and your customers.

As you can see, these are real threats and can cause serious harm to those who are unaware of the dangers these servers can cause. 

To protect your organization, make sure your organization is running a firewall on both your network and any devices connected to your network. Most devices come with basic firewall protection already built into the device’s operating system.

A step up is installing and configuring antivirus software. Antivirus software can scan your network and the devices connected to it consistently to monitor possible attacks from IP scanners and spoofed dedicated servers trying to find vulnerabilities.

Antivirus software often includes browser protection. So when employees connect to your network or applications, they’ll get an alert stating the site they’re trying to visit may be a security risk. This alert will advise them not to proceed unless they are positive it’s a trusted site.

You should also implement phishing and fraud protection rules in emails and offer resource training to help your employees understand what to look for and how to prevent attacks.

You should not choose a provider that offers spoofed dedicated servers as part of their services. If they’re willing to attract cybercriminals with these spoofed servers, imagine the service if you become one of their customers.

Continue implementing resources, software, and other tools into your organization to prevent spoofing attacks such as packet filtering, which can prevent an IP spoofing attack. This works by blocking packets that contain conflicting source address information.

A spoofed dedicated server is a dangerous, fake server created by cybercriminals to commit malicious activity. These servers are a security risk because they can steal sensitive information, distribute malware, and launch attacks on other systems.

To protect your organization from these servers, you should choose a provider that does not offer these services. You should also continue to practice preventative measures such as using strong passwords and installing anti-virus software. 

At the very least, build your network with a reliable provider like Liquid Web that offers dedicated servers and network resources to protect your site, application, email, and any other services your organization needs to thrive. Contact us to discuss your network.