DDoS attacks hit the headlines recently after X was reportedly hit by one such issue when hosting an interview between Donald Trump and Elon Mus but it’s hardly the only target, new research has claimed.
A new Gcore Radar Report says both the number, and the severity, of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks increased over the last few months of 2024, as well as over the last year.
The report claims the number of DDoS attacks rose by almost half (46%) in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year. In the second quarter of 2024, there were at least 445,000 reported DDoS incidents - which when compared to the previous six months (August to December 2024), the number of DDoS attacks increased by a third (34%).
Gaming and gambling
But it’s not just the number of attacks that grew - the severity also increased.
Gcore says the most powerful attack in the first half of 2024, reached 1.7 Tbps - whereas in 2023, it was 1.6 Tbps.
However, it’s worth mentioning network security pros A10 Networks reported a 3.45 Tbps attack against an Azure customer, back in November 2021. Furthermore, in October 2020, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) reported a 2.5Tbps attack against “thousands of Google’s IP addresses”.
In any case, Gcore says the gaming and gambling industry remain the ones most affected by DDoS attacks, suffering roughly half (49%) of all recorded incidents. Apparently, the highly competitive nature, and the high financial stakes, involved in gaming and gambling, make it a popular target for cybercriminals.
The attacks against the technology industry doubled over the recorded period, reaching 15% of total incidents. Financial services, telecom, and e-commerce, round off the top five with 12%, 10%, and 7%.
Via The Hacker News
More from TechRadar Pro
- DDoS attacks saw a huge surge in the first part of 2024, with one particular country badly hit
- Here's a list of the best malware removal tools around today
- These are the best endpoint security tools right now
