Discord Server Security: Protect Your Community from Raids

The Growing Threat of Discord Raids

Discord raids — coordinated attacks where groups flood a server with spam, slurs, or malicious content — have become an increasingly serious problem. Whether it's a small troll group or a large-scale raid, the damage can be devastating: lost members, deleted channels, and a shattered sense of community. Prevention is always better than recovery.

Essential Security Settings

Verification Levels

Discord offers five built-in verification levels under Server Settings → Safety. Use at least Medium (account must be registered for 5+ minutes) for general servers, and High (must be a member for 10+ minutes) for servers that have experienced raids before.

Enable Community Features

Turning on Community in Server Settings unlocks additional safety tools including AutoMod, membership screening, and Server Insights. There's no downside — enable it immediately if you haven't already.

Two-Factor Authentication

Require 2FA for server administration. This prevents compromised accounts from being used to modify server settings, ban members, or delete channels. Enable this under Server Settings → Safety → Require 2FA for moderator actions.

Setting Up AutoMod

Discord's built-in AutoMod is your first line of defense. Configure it under Server Settings → AutoMod:

• Block Mention Spam — Limit mass mentions (set to 5 or fewer unique mentions per message)
• Block Spam Content — Enable Discord's default spam detection
• Keyword Filters — Block common raid phrases, slurs, and spam patterns
• Custom Regex Rules — For advanced filtering of invite links, repeated characters, etc.

Additionally, use bot-based automod (Carl-bot, Dyno, or YAGPDB) for more granular control like anti-raid mode, message rate limiting, and automatic lockdowns.

Permission-Based Protection

Your permission setup is critical for limiting raid damage:

• Lock @everyone — Remove send message, add reactions, and create threads from the default role
• Channel-specific access — Use verification roles to gate access to main channels
• Limit invite creation — Only allow trusted roles to create invite links
• Restrict file uploads — Disable in general channels to prevent malicious file distribution
• Disable @everyone/@here — No role below admin should have mention everyone permission

Implementing Member Screening

Member screening creates a barrier that stops the majority of automated raids:

• Discord's built-in screening — Require members to accept rules before gaining full access
• Verification bots — Captcha.bot, Wick, or AltDentifier add additional verification layers
• Manual verification — For high-security servers, require staff approval via ticket system
• Alt account detection — Bots like Wick and AltDentifier identify accounts created specifically for raiding

What to Do During a Raid

If your server is actively being raided, act fast:

1. Enable Lockdown — Use your moderation bot's lockdown command or manually restrict send permissions
2. Enable Slowmode — Set slowmode to 30-60 seconds on all channels being targeted
3. Increase Verification — Temporarily raise the verification level to highest
4. Ban Accounts — Mass-ban raiding accounts (Carl-bot's ban command can handle multiple users)
5. Purge Messages — Clean up spam messages after banning
6. File a Report — Report coordinated raids to Discord Trust & Safety

Recovery After a Raid

Once the raid is contained:

• Communicate with members — Post an announcement explaining what happened and that it's been handled
• Audit logs — Review Discord's audit log to identify any compromised accounts or inside threats
• Update security — Patch whatever vulnerability was exploited
• Consider a cooldown — Keep channels in slowmode for a few hours
• Support your team — Check in with moderators who handled the raid — burnout is real

Proactive Security Checklist

Run through this checklist monthly to maintain strong security:

• Verification level set to Medium or higher
• AutoMod rules updated with latest spam patterns
• 2FA required for moderation actions
• @everyone role properly restricted
• Unused bots and webhooks removed
• Audit log reviewed for suspicious activity
• Moderation team trained on raid response
• Backup plan documented (channel layout, roles, settings)

Security is an ongoing process, not a one-time setup. Stay vigilant, keep your tools updated, and your community will thrive safely.