Staying vigilant regarding evolving DDoS trends is crucial to foresee potential threats and adjust defensive maneuvers. The detailed Gcore Radar Report for the initial half of 2024 furnishes in-depth insights into DDoS attack statistics, demonstrating shifts in attack methodologies and the wider spectrum of cyber jeopardies. Presented below are some of the highlights extracted from the comprehensive report.
Top Insights
The count of DDoS assaults in the first half of 2024 has surged by 46% compared to the corresponding duration a year earlier, reaching 445K in the second quarter. In comparison to the preceding six months’ data (third and fourth quarters of 2023), it has climbed by 34%.
The peak potency of the attacks has seen a slight elevation: The most formidable attack recorded in the first half of 2024 peaked at 1.7 Tbps. In contrast, the figure stood at 1.6 Tbps in 2023. Although the surge is a mere 0.1 Tbps in a year, it points towards an increased potency that presents a notable threat.
In scale, a terabit per second (Tbps) denotes an extensive barrage of data overwhelming a network, equivalent to over 212,000 HD video streams being transmitted concurrently. Given that a 300 Gbps attack alone has the potential to render an unprotected server inaccessible, leading to tarnished reputation, loss of clientele, and revenue, any augmentation within the Tbps domain holds significance.
Industries Primarily Targeted
The casino and gaming domain continues to be the hardest hit, comprising 49% of the total attacks. This sector faces heightened vulnerability due to its competitive milieu and the substantial financial stakes associated with online gaming operations.
The tech sector witnessed a noteworthy surge in attacks, doubling to encompass 15% of the overall incidents. Tech enterprises serve as hosting platforms for indispensable services like servers, storage, and networking resources, thereby making disruptions particularly detrimental across a multitude of other industries. Financial services, telecommunications, and online retail follow suit, accounting for 12%, 10%, and 7% of the assaults, respectively.
Attacks at Network and Application Levels
Network-layer assaults (L3–4) have predominantly impacted the gaming, tech, and telecom sectors owing to the criticality of real-time data services they provide. On the other hand, application-layer assaults (L7) have inflicted significant damage on segments such as finance, e-commerce, and media, leading to disruptions in transaction handling and content delivery.
Within the network realm, the gaming and gambling industries bear the brunt due to their exigent real-time interaction requirements and high user engagement, rendering them prime targets. For tech providers, the wide-reaching repercussions of assaults can cause extensive operational stoppages by disrupting numerous client services simultaneously. Telecom firms, critical to the connectivity and communication infrastructure, often endure broad service disruptions during attacks, impacting countless users and commercial entities.
Application-layer (L7) assaults pose a significant threat to the financial sector due to the severe consequences attached to outages and regulatory sanctions. E-commerce and media and entertainment industries, reliant on uninterrupted customer engagement and unobtrusive content delivery respectively, confront formidable challenges in sustaining service operability amidst such attacks.
Sources and Varieties of Attacks
Discovering the roots of application-layer assaults entails mapping IP addresses to specific nations, supplying actionable insights for defensive tactics. Conversely, network-layer attacks frequently feature IP spoofing, making origin tracing more complex. Usual attack approaches comprise of UDP deluges for network-layer raids and HTTP floods for application-layer offensives, targeting weak spots in communication protocols.
Duration of Attacks
The majority of DDoS assaults are brief, typically lasting less than 10 minutes, yet their frequency and intensity can lead to significant operational disruptions. Nonetheless, the lengthiest attack in H1 2024 endured for 16 hours, underlining the necessity for resilient and swift mitigation strategies.
Customized Attacks
Malevolent actors are progressively tailoring their techniques, setting their sights on specific sectors. This movement towards more intricate attacks necessitates sophisticated, customized defensive actions and emphasizes the significance of global collaboration in cyber security. Personalized offensives within the gaming realm often focus on degrading particular servers, urging users to transition to competitors, whereas in financial services, the objective is frequently to induce maximum disruption in exchange for immediate monetary gain via ransomware.
The variability in attack durations suggests that wrongdoers are embracing more intricate strategies, tailoring their tactics to match the susceptibilities and priorities of their targets. For example, in the gaming sector, assaults are typically brief and less forceful but occur more frequently. This approach aims to consistently disrupt a specific server, hence deteriorating the gaming experience with the intention of persuading players to migrate to rival servers. On the contrary, in industries like financial services and telecommunications—where service interruptions carry extremely high stakes and financial ramifications are immediate—attacks are typically more voluminous and exhibit significant duration variations.
Summary
The issue of DDoS attacks remains a crucial global concern, prompting collaborative efforts and information exchange to respond promptly and mitigate the impact of such attacks.
The evolving landscape of DDoS attacks, marked by heightened complexity and precision, demands a vigilant and preemptive defensive stance. Boasting over 145 Tbps of network capacity, spanning six continents, and leveraging a global network that continually learns from its vast internet assets, Gcore DDoS Protection offers comprehensive protection, ensuring business continuity and robust security for industries susceptible to these cyber threats.
Access the complete Gcore Radar report for deeper insights.
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