Cybercriminals launched approximately 5.4 million Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks in the first half of 2021, increasing 11% over 1H2020 figures, according to a study by cybersecurity company, Netscout Systems, Inc.
Findings from the Threat Intelligence Report, a bi-annual study by Netscout that analyzed the impact of cyberattacks on public and private institutions worldwide, suggest that 2021 records may surpass records of 11 million DDoS attacks.
The report further reveals that the rising spate of cybercriminal attacks has made it a global cybersecurity crisis with far-reaching impact on critical internet gateways
“The report further reveals that the rising spate of cybercriminal attacks has made it a global cybersecurity crisis with far-reaching impact on critical internet gateways.”
Netscout’s Active Level Threat Analysis System (ATLAS) Security Engineering and Response Team (ASERT) “expects this long tail of attacker innovation to last, fueling a growing cybersecurity crisis that will continue to impact public and private organizations.”
In the wake of Colonial Pipeline, JBS, Harris Federation, Australian broadcaster Channel Nine, CNA Financial, and several other high-profile attacks, according to the findings, “the impact of DDoS and other cybersecurity attacks has been felt worldwide.
“As a result, leading governments are introducing new programs and policies to defend against attacks, and policing organizations are initiating unprecedented collaborative efforts to address the crisis.”
Netscout reports that during 1H2021, cybercriminals weaponized and exploited seven newer reflection/amplification DDoS attack vectors putting organizations at greater risk. “This attack vector explosion spurred an increase in multivector DDoS attacks with a record-setting 31 attack vectors deployed in a single attack against one organization.”
DDoS Attacks: The Findings
Other key findings from the NETSCOUT 1H2021 Threat Intelligence Report include:
Richard Hummel, Netscout threat intelligence lead says that “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.”
He says that “Ransomware gangs added triple-extortion DDoS tactics to their repertoire. Simultaneously, the Fancy Lazarus DDoS extortion campaign kicked into high gear threatening organisations in multiple industries with a focus on ISPs and specifically their authoritative DNS servers.”
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