Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are escalating at an alarming rate, as unveiled in a revelation by Cloudflare researchers and the recent data indicates that these attacks posing an increasingly severe threat to online services and infrastructure worldwide.

Cloudflare, a leading cybersecurity company, reports mitigating over 14.5 million DDoS attacks since the beginning of 2024, averaging an astounding 2,200 attacks per hour.

Analysis of DDoS attack metrics over the past decade reveals a concerning trend.

The growth in attack size is not linear but exponential, with the curve becoming steeper in recent years.

This exponential increase is observed Cloudflare researchers across multiple metrics:-

• Bits per second (bps): Skyrocketed from 309 Gbps in 2013 to a staggering 5.6 Tbps in 2024, marking a 20-fold increase.
• Packets per second (pps): Surged from 230 Mpps in 2015 to 2,100 Mpps in 2024, a 10-fold rise.
• Requests per second (rps): Experienced the most dramatic growth, soaring from 6 Mrps in 2020 to an unprecedented 201 Mrps in September 2024, representing a 70-fold increase since 2014.

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Evolving Attack Strategies

The exponential growth in attack magnitude is attributed to several factors:-

1. Shift in Attack Sources: Attackers are transitioning from IoT-based botnets to more powerful VM-based botnets, leveraging the superior computational capabilities of cloud-hosted virtual machines.
2. Exploitation of Cloud Resources: Cybercriminals are increasingly utilizing anonymized access to cloud infrastructure, often using stolen payment details, to deploy smaller yet more efficient botnets capable of launching massive attacks.
3. Advanced Attack Techniques: The emergence of new attack methods, such as the HTTP/2 Rapid Reset attack, has enabled attackers to generate unprecedented volumes of requests, catching many defense systems off guard.

This exponential growth in DDoS attack capabilities presents significant challenges for organizations and cybersecurity professionals:-

• Increased Vulnerability: As attacks grow in size and sophistication, previously adequate defense mechanisms may become obsolete, leaving more systems vulnerable.
• Economic Impact: The potential for service disruptions and downtime increases, potentially leading to substantial financial losses for targeted organizations.
• Need for Advanced Protection: Traditional DDoS mitigation strategies may no longer suffice, necessitating more robust, automated, and scalable defense solutions.

As DDoS attacks continue to evolve and grow in magnitude, it is crucial for organizations to stay vigilant and invest in cutting-edge protection measures.

The exponential growth trend observed in recent years suggests that the threat landscape will only become more challenging, requiring constant adaptation and innovation in cybersecurity strategies to safeguard digital assets and maintain online service availability.

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The post DDoS Attack Growing Bigger & Dangerous, New Report Reveals appeared first on Cyber Security News.

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