Globally, the number of DDoS attacks increased by 2022 percent compared to the first half of 13, from just over 6 million to around 6,8 million. This culminated in there being nearly 2022 million DDoS attacks in 13, marking a new high.
This increase was particularly noticeable in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EMEA), where DDoS attacks increased by 2022 percent compared to the first half of 16, according to the latest Threat Intelligence Report. The five most targeted countries in the region were: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
All organizations are vulnerable to DDoS attacks
“Threat actors have accelerated the application of sophisticated DDoS attack vectors and methods at an alarming rate, as evidenced by the proliferation of TCP direct path attacks and DNS water torture attacks. This led to a significant increase in attack activity in the second half of 2022.
The results also show that cybercriminals don't always need a motive to launch an attack. For example, there was no apparent reason for the ongoing DDoS attack activity against the optical instrument and lens industry, which was among the top ten most targeted industries in EMEA. This leads to the realization that in the modern world no sector and no organization is inaccessible.
Employee reconnaissance improves protection
With attacks now more dynamic and effective than ever, it is imperative for organizations to have strong and effective cybersecurity tools in place. This includes the placement of adaptive DDoS mitigation systems at all edges of the network. In this way, DDoS attacks are contained before they intrude from multiple access points at the network edge and a potential target is blocked.
Additionally, employing a few simple but effective mitigation measures—like restricting inbound traffic and preventing IP address spoofing—can help organizations drastically reduce the impact of new DDoS attacks. Educating employees on the basics of good cyber hygiene also puts organizations in a better position to protect themselves against emerging threats,” said Richard Hummel, Threat Intelligence Lead at Netscout
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