Akamai Technologies effectively countered one of the most extensive and advanced distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks it has faced to date.
The attack, targeting a major financial services company in Israel, lasted for nearly 24 hours and resulted in Akamai blocking approximately 419 terabytes of malicious traffic.
The DDoS campaign began at 8:05 UTC on July 15, employing a globally distributed botnet that simultaneously targeted over 278 IP addresses. This multi-vector attack utilized various methods, including UDP flood, DNS reflection, and PSH+ACK.
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Key characteristics of the attack include:
This attack’s sustained nature and high volume are particularly noteworthy, as most DDoS attacks typically last only minutes.
This attack is part of a growing trend of DDoS threats, particularly in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region. Akamai’s research indicates that the number of DDoS attack events in EMEA has been rising steadily since early 2019, with higher peaks than in other regions.
The sophistication and resources deployed in this attack suggest a potentially state-backed threat actor, given the geopolitical context and focus on the financial sector in Israel. This raises concerns about the potential for similar large-scale attacks against organizations worldwide.
The targeted financial institution had recently switched to Akamai’s Prolexic platform, which proved crucial in mitigating the attack. This highlights the importance of robust, cloud-based DDoS protection solutions, especially for organizations in high-risk sectors or regions.
Akamai warns that organizations relying solely on on-premises DDoS mitigation appliances or shared protection from hosting providers may be particularly vulnerable to attacks of this magnitude.
As the threat landscape evolves, businesses are advised to re-evaluate their DDoS defenses and consider more comprehensive, scalable solutions.
As attackers continue to refine their techniques and increase their capabilities, businesses must stay vigilant and invest in advanced, adaptable security measures to protect against these evolving threats.
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