Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks were thought to be something reserved for big corporations or government agencies. Big targets with big servers and big money, right? But not anymore. Small businesses, content creators, freelancers and even just ordinary individuals are increasingly being targeted.
And the statistics are quite alarming. Cloudflare reported over 10.3 million DDoS attacks up until the third quarter of 2025. It’s a sharp increase from the 21.3 million attacks in 2024. So why the increase? It’s because launching these attacks have become much easier and cheaper, with no elite hacking skills required.
In fact, in some corners of the dark web, you could actually rent a DDoS attack that costs the same as a takeaway pizza. So is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) the answer for security? Where does its protection actually begin and end? Let’s get into it.
What Are DDoS Attacks?
DDoS attacks happen when thousands of devices, sometimes even millions, send a huge amount of traffic to one target simultaneously. These devices are usually made up of a network of hacked computers and phones that are controlled by the attacker.
It’s not like phishing attempts where the goal is to steal your data. The objective is to overwhelm. Your website or network becomes so flooded with fake traffic that real users can’t actually access it.
As a result, websites slow down and you lose out on sales and revenue – even your reputation is at stake if your downtime takes too long.
Where Do VPNs Come In?
VPNs are used primarily to keep your online activities anonymous. They do this by hiding your real IP address because they use a server in a different location, usually a different country to where you actually are.
In order for DDoS attacks to happen successfully, your IP address is targeted. Attackers need to know where you are in order to be able to send the flood of traffic to that location. But if a VPN is masking your IP address, it makes it much harder for them to find you and disrupt your business.
How VPNs Protect Against DDoS Attacks
Using a VPN is not a foolproof way to protect yourself from DDoS attacks and they usually are just one layer of your security efforts. But here are some of the ways that they can help safeguard you from these kinds of attacks.
They Hide Your IP Address
Concealing your IP address is the biggest form of protection that VPNs can offer. When you use one, hackers can’t see what your real IP is and any traffic they try to send goes straight to the VPN’s server, not yours.
This alone is enough to stop most attacks before they even start. If attackers can’t find your real address, it’s a shot in the dark. For freelancers working remotely or small businesses managing their own servers, it’s incredibly useful to be using a VPN.
More from VPNs
VPN Providers Filter Internet Traffic
The reputable VPN providers out there run massive distributed networks that are designed to manage huge volumes of traffic. If a DDoS attack were to hit one of their servers, it would be detected and removed while legitimate traffic would be prioritised.
These kinds of attacks could knock a business offline completely but they likely wouldn’t even register as a problem for the provider because they are better equipped to handle it.
They Add A Layer Of Anonymity
Hackers are often deterred by the anonymity which VPNs give you online. It’s easier for them to go after easy targets with known IPs and predictable network setups.
If they can’t identify that with you, they’re more likely to move onto someone else.
Do VPNs Have Limitations?
VPNs are helpful yes, but they are not truly invincible. They don’t protect servers that you host publicly, whether it be a public website or cloud-hosted service. Your server’s IP is already known to the public so even if you have a VPN on your personal device, it can’t stop a DDoS attack on that server.
To prevent this, you would need either dedicated DDoS protection or use a firewall.
It’s also worth noting that very large attacks can still cause disruptions. Sometimes your VPN server will slow down or the connection gets disrupted temporarily. This is why it’s worth paying for a reliable VPN service because free VPNs don’t have the required infrastructure to handle attack traffic.
So are VPNs worth it for DDoS protection? They can’t stop every attack that happens, no tool can do that alone just yet. But they can reduce your exposure to these attacks, making you a less attractive target.
