In 2023, DDoS attacks surged globally, increasing by 63% compared to the previous year, StormWall’s annual report shows.
Hackers employed advanced tactics more commonly in 2023, StormWall experts warn. In particular, multi-vector attacks have increased significantly. Their popularity surged by 108% compared to 2022, as both for-profit criminals and hactivists began targeting multiple infrastructure layers simultaneously in DDoS attacks in 2023.
StormWall’s report also shows a 28% increase in attacks targeting the DNS protocol, the use of smoke-screening growing by 54% and deep proliferation of VM-based botnets capable of launching large-scale attacks — 43% of attacks used botnets in 2023, StormWall report shows.
Geopolitics shaped the DDoS threat landscape in 2023
Much of this results from Geopolitics. Political tensions drove a surge in DDoS threats in 2023, particularly in nations like the USA, China, India and EU countries. Many attacks also targeted organizations in Russia and the UAE. The influence of geopolitics became particularly pronounced in the fourth quarter of the year — this aligns with the start of the Israel-Palestine conflict in October.
Israel was targeted unusually heavily
Looking at attack distribution geographically, the United States led in DDoS attack frequency (12.3%), followed by China (10.6%) and India (9.2%). France and the UK also faced substantial attack shares. The MENA region, especially Israel (4.2%), witnessed increased cyber activities linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Financial industry was the most targeted, but government services are not far behind
The influence of political factors on the DDoS landscape is reflected in the most attacked industries, StormWall’s report notes. In 2023, DDoS attacks targeted multiple sectors, but the finance sector was hit the hardest (26%), followed by government services (21%) and retail (14%). Critical infrastructure sectors, including transportation and energy grids, faced increased threats as well, StormWall notes.
The government sector in particular experienced a 108% increase in attacks, becoming the second most targeted vertical. This concentration of attacks on government services is highly unusual, StormWall report notes.
We’re seeing more advanced DDoS attacks than ever, StormWall data shows. As threat actors are targeting everything — governments, businesses, public institutions, it is crucial to raise awareness about the DDoS landscape and better understand the risks and attack vectors, as we go into 2024.
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