• NETSCOUT report claims Distributed Denial of Service attacks are on the rise
• Such attacks are increasingly being used as political weapons
• Notorious Russian Group NoName057(16) targeted European countries in the second half of 2024

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are reportedly becoming a tool of choice for politically motivated cybercriminals, new research has revealed.

Sociopolitical events like civil protests, elections, and policy disputes are increasingly playing out through digital platforms, and DDoS attacks are an effective way to erode trust in institutions and critical services, NETSCOUT research claims.

These intrusions are aimed at a wide range of industries, and are difficult to defend against as they require constant vigilance and advanced cybersecurity strategies, as shown by a recent Pro-Russian hacking group targeting critical infrastructure and public services through DDoS attacks which disrupted key utilities and companies.

The scale of the surge

A DDoS attack is a technique in which an attacker will flood a server with an enormous amount of traffic, overwhelming the site and making it impossible to access. The malicious traffic can cripple websites and infrastructure, and can cause serious financial and reputational damage.

The nature of these attacks means they are very often politically motivated, as opposed to ransomware attacks, for example, which are unsurprisingly largely carried out for financial reasons.

According to the research, the second half of 2024 saw almost 9 million DDoS attacks, a 12.75% increase from the first six months. Israel in particular saw a 2,844% increase in attacks, seeing a high of 519 in one day.

The above mentioned Russian hacking group, NoName057(16), focused primarily on government services in the UK, Belgium, and Spain. Georgia also saw a 1,489% increase in attacks in the lead up to the “Russia Bill”, highlighting its use as a political weapon.

“DDoS has emerged as the go-to tool for cyberwarfare,” stated Richard Hummel, director, threat intelligence, NETSCOUT.

“NoName057(16) continues to be the leading actor for politically motivated DDoS campaigns targeting governments, infrastructure, and organizations. In 2024, they repeatedly targeted government services in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Spain.”

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