According to the latest NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report, the number of DDoS attacks worldwide fell from 5,4 million in the first half of 2021 to 4,4 million in the second half of the year. While the total number of attacks also fell in Germany in the last half of the year, innovative and adaptive DDoS attacks continued to cause disruptions and network failures.
“Cybercriminals brought a new focus by launching direct path attacks via botnets and TCP-based flood. A balance between reflection/amplification attacks and direct-path DDoS attacks has been observed for the first time. This is also evident in Germany, where TCP-based attacks were among the top three attack vectors to burden the country.
600 percent more attacks on software manufacturers
In particular, significant increases in attacks were observed against the following industries: software manufacturers (increase of 606%), insurance agencies and brokers (increase of 257%), computer manufacturers (increase between 162 and 263% depending on the specific area within the industry), universities and universities (up 102%) and VOIP providers (up 93%). The electronics, computer and semiconductor industry was even among the top 10 targeted sectors in Germany.
The increase in attacks targeting this broad range of industries, combined with the increase in direct path attacks, suggests that attackers are targeting organizations rather than indiscriminately raiding them in hopes of success. In addition, DDoS botnet activity has increased significantly, almost all of which are direct path attacks. This shows that the attackers are no longer faking the source of the attacks. Instead, they send attack traffic directly from the bot nodes to the target.
Sophisticated DDoS attacks on companies
Another trend in the second half of 2021 is that the number of targeted and sophisticated DDoS attacks on companies has increased significantly. Attackers are also increasingly turning their attention to DDoS extortion, focusing on specific industries such as finance.
Up-to-date best practices such as investing in an effective DDoS protection system, employing specialists to defend against DDoS attacks and regularly checking protection systems are essential. This is the only way companies in Germany can protect their digital assets and find their way in the constantly evolving cyber security landscape.”
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