First half DDoS attacks up 11 percent over last year

In the first half of 2021, cybercriminals launched approximately 5.4 million DDoS attacks, representing an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2020.

The latest threat intelligence report from NETSCOUT shows that in the first half of the year cybercriminals weaponized and exploited seven new reflection/amplification DDoS attack vectors putting organizations at greater risk.

The increase in attack vectors also triggered an increase in multi-vector DDoS attacks with a record-setting 31 attack vectors deployed in a single attack against one organization.

By customizing their strategies cybercriminals have evolved their attack efforts to bypass cloud-based and on-premise static DDoS defences to target commercial banks and credit card processors.

The largest DDoS attack of the period, against a German ISP, was 1.5 Tbps, representing a year-on-year increase of 169 percent. DDoS is also being used in conjunction with ransomware, as extortionists are adding DDoS to their attack plans to ratchet up the pressure on victims and increase stress on security teams.

"Cybercriminals are making front-page news launching an unprecedented number of DDoS attacks to take advantage of the pandemic's remote work shift by undermining vital components of the connectivity supply chain," says Richard Hummel, threat intelligence lead at NETSCOUT. "Ransomware gangs added triple-extortion DDoS tactics to their repertoire. Simultaneously, the Fancy Lazarus DDoS extortion campaign kicked into high gear threatening organizations in multiple industries with a focus on ISPs and specifically their authoritative DNS servers."

You can find out more and get the full report on the NETSCOUT site.

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