Why Tiering Mission Critical Data Matters
Why Tiering Mission Data Matters
1. Cloud is resilient — but not invincible.
Even with Azure’s robust DDoS mitigation, a 15+ Tbps attack shows that single-point
cloud dependencies can be risky. Tiering lets you isolate critical
workloads from public exposure.
2. Hybrid and on-prem tiers offer latency and control.
For banking, fraud prevention, and compliance workloads, on-prem or hybrid
tiers can:
- Reduce
exposure to internet-based threats
- Improve
response times for internal systems
- Ensure
data sovereignty and auditability
3. Tiering enables graceful degradation.
If public cloud services are throttled or disrupted, local tiers can
maintain core operations — especially for authentication, transaction
processing, or alerting systems.
4. Strategic segmentation supports incident response.
By separating tiers (e.g., public-facing apps vs. internal fraud engines), you
can:
- Limit
blast radius
- Prioritize
recovery
- Maintain
forensic integrity
Practical Tiering Strategies You Might Consider
- Tier 0 On-prem
- Tier 1 Hybrid (Azure Stack, HCI)
- Tier 2 Public cloud
Why?
Microsoft Azure was hit by a record-breaking 15.72 Tbps DDoS attack on October 24, 2025, originating from the Aisuru botnet. The attack targeted a single endpoint in Australia but was successfully mitigated by Azure’s DDoS Protection system.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what happened:
Attack Overview
- Date: October 24, 2025
- Peak Traffic: 15.72 terabits per second and 3.64 billion packets per second
- Target: A single public IP address in Australia
- Botnet Used: Aisuru, a Turbo Mirai-class IoT botnet
- Source IPs: Over 500,000 compromised devices including routers and cameras
About the Aisuru Botnet
- Aisuru has been responsible for multiple record-breaking DDoS attacks, including a 22.2 Tbps attack on Cloudflare in September 2025.
- It exploits vulnerabilities in IoT devices—especially home routers, IP cameras, and Realtek-based hardware.
- The botnet grew rapidly after breaching a TotoLink firmware update server, infecting ~100,000 devices.
- Attack traffic included high-rate UDP floods with minimal spoofing and randomized source ports, simplifying traceback and enforcement.
Azure’s Response
- Azure’s globally distributed DDoS Protection automatically detected and mitigated the attack.
- Malicious traffic was filtered and redirected, ensuring no disruption to customer workloads.
- Microsoft emphasized the importance of proactive simulations and defensive readiness for all internet-facing workloads.
Industry Implications
- DDoS attacks exceeding 1 Tbps were once rare—now attacks over 10 Tbps are becoming more frequent due to:
- Faster home internet speeds
- Proliferation of vulnerable IoT devices
- The Aisuru botnet is also used for commercial attacks, including targeting game servers like Minecraft.
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