30 Apr NETSCOUT Report finds DDos Threats increase
NETSCOUT SYSTEMS, Inc. has released its latest DDoS Threat Intelligence Report, which provides insight into the trends and attack methodologies used by adversaries against service providers, enterprises, and end-users.
According to the report, NETSCOUT observed more than 7 million DDoS attacks in the second half of 2023, representing a 15% increase from the first half.
The information cited in the report is gathered from NETSCOUT’s unparalleled internet visibility at a global scale, collecting, analyzing, prioritizing, and disseminating data on DDoS attacks from 214 countries and territories, 456 vertical industries, and more than 13,000 Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs).
The report highlights an increase in DDoS hacktivism, which has transcended geographic borders during the past year, exemplifying a shift in the global security landscape.
Groups like NoName057(016) and Anonymous Sudan, as well as lone hackers and small collectives, are increasingly using DDoS to target those ideologically opposed to them.
Furthermore, the report also notes that DNS water torture attacks have been on the rise since the end of 2019. DNS query floods designed to overwhelm authoritative DNS servers experienced a massive 553% increase from 1H2020 to 2H2023.
Rather than targeting one website or server, adversaries go after entire systems, resulting in even more damage.
The gaming and gambling sectors have emerged as primary targets for DDoS attacks, given their substantial financial value and the goal of disrupting competitors, especially during online esports tournaments. Historically, 80-90% of all DDoS attacks are related to gaming and gambling.
NETSCOUT assessed attacks on enterprises in these sectors, determining that more than 100,000 DDoS attacks were deployed against those in gaming, and over 20,500 were made against those tied to gambling in 2023.
Richard Hummel, senior threat intelligence lead, NETSCOUT, said: “Global adversaries have become more sophisticated in the past year attacking websites and overloading servers to lockout customers and inflict digital chaos to influence geopolitical issues. The relentless barrage of DDoS threats drives up costs and creates security fatigue for network operators. They cannot safeguard their digital assets without the proper advanced DDoS protection leveraging predictive, real-time threat intelligence.”
