With coronavirus defining the worldwide health crisis, this year has posed the greatest challenge we have faced ever since world war II. But for cybercriminals, it was nothing short of an unequalled business opportunity as they fully utilized the situation to their advantage.
8.4 million Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks took place in 2019, indicating more than 23,000 attacks per day. Despite the technological advances and the widespread acknowledgment of the significance of cybersecurity, 2020 has witnessed a considerable increase in DDoS attacks.
In the first half of 2020, there was a 151% increase in the number of DDoS attacks as compared to the first half of 2019. This figure represents the growing volume and intensity of network-type cyber attacks as organizations adapted to the work from home culture and employees’ dependence on the internet increased.
With thousands of organizations around the world having been targeted and threatened by cybercriminals, DDoS attacks have risen so sharply in 2020 that even the FBI issued a warning to all the US companies.
Record-breaking DDoS Attacks of 2020
DDoS attacks are growing bigger, frequent and more intense than ever before. There has been a noticeable spike in large DDoS attacks across all industries in 2020. The 2.3 Tbps (terabytes-per-second) attack targeting an Amazon Web Services client in February is listed as the largest DDoS attack ever recorded.
The previous known record for a DDoS attack was set by a 1.2 Tbps attack targeting GitHub Inc. in March 2018. A report revealed that if it were not for the 2.3 Tbps DDoS attack on Amazon Web Services, the new record would be set by the 1.44 Tbps DDoS attack targeting a website hosted by an unnamed hosting provider in June.
May 2020 witnessed more than 929,000 DDoS attacks targeting online platforms and services, setting a record for the largest number of attacks taking place in a single month. 4.83 million DDoS attacks occurred in the first half of 2020, marking a 15% increase. The attack frequency jumped 25% during the peak pandemic lockdown months, lasting from March through June.
The Cost of Loss Incurred Due to DDoS Attacks
How much loss should an organization expect when they’re hit with a DDoS attack?
In addition to stealing personal and financial information, hackers can also cause damage to the company in many other ways including loss of company value, reputational damage and business disruption.
According to recent research which was conducted on over 300 security professionals from a range of industries including cloud, government, finance, media, and online gaming:
- 91% of respondents said that DDoS attacks cost their organizations up to $50,000.
- 78% indicated that the number one most damaging effect of these attacks is the loss of customer trust and confidence.
- 85% believe that DDoS is a precursor or smokescreen for data breach activity.
- 71% informed that their organizations have experienced a DDoS attack.
Not all DDoS attacks cost only money. In certain cases, employees may not be able to access the systems during an attack. In cases where web servers run e-commerce sites, customers may not be able to buy any products, avail of any services or receive any assistance.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late!
We live in an era where network connectivity is no longer just a desire but a basic necessity in order to be productive. Whether you are working or researching, everyone relies on the network to get the job done. Businesses depend on connectivity for smooth operations and growth.
Regardless of what is happening around the world, hackers are constantly trying to find a way to steal your assets or sensitive data. Cybercriminals have rapidly become one of the fastest-growing and most dangerous forms of modern criminals.
DDoS attacks have become one of the favourites and most frequently used approaches amongst cybercriminals. They have evolved into an extremely serious threat and can effectively disrupt businesses as well as governments.
While security teams are working relentlessly to find efficient and seamless solutions to prevent DDoS attacks, it is essential for network operators, researchers, vendors, and regulators alike to work together and implement best practices to reduce these attacks.
Tips to reduce the risk of DDoS attacks:
- Making sure your organization has appropriate protection tools installed to prevent networks and applications.
- Keeping all the systems and software up to date with the latest security patches.
- Training employees with security awareness training to give them knowledge about cybersecurity prevention.
- Getting vulnerability assessment and penetration testing on a regular basis to examine for any security loopholes in your organization’s IT infrastructure.
