A new report released from NETSCOUT called DDoS Threat Intelligence Report sheds light on the evolving landscape of cyber-threats, which notes an increase in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks worldwide, reaching over 7 million incidents in the latter half of 2023, a 15% increase from the previous period.

The report finds that hacktivist groups, such as NoName057(016) and Anonymous Sudan, have intensified their activities, transcending geographical boundaries to pursue ideological agendas.

Furthermore, Anonymous Sudan’s attacks on prominent platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram underscore the intersection of cyber and geopolitical interests, aiming to influence decisions regarding services like Starlink in Sudan.

DNS water torture attacks, targeting critical Internet infrastructure, have surged dramatically since 2019. Designed to overwhelm authoritative DNS servers, these attacks witnessed a staggering 553% increase from the first half of 2020 to the second half of 2023, posing significant threats to digital ecosystems.

NETSCOUT’s findings highlight the gaming and gambling sectors as prime targets for DDoS attacks due to their substantial financial value and competitive dynamics. With gaming-related enterprises bearing the brunt of over 100,000 attacks and gambling entities facing more than 20,500 incidents in 2023, the need for robust cybersecurity measures is paramount.

Recommended reading

• Report: DDoS Attacks on Financial Services Industry Up 154%
• Newsquest Facing a DDoS Attack
• Anonymous Sudan Claims DDoS Attack on OpenAI

“Global adversaries have become more sophisticated in the past year attacking websites and overloading servers to lock out customers and inflict digital chaos to influence geopolitical issues,” said Richard Hummel, senior threat intelligence lead, NETSCOUT. 

“The relentless barrage of DDoS threats drives up costs and creates security fatigue for network operators. They cannot safeguard their digital assets without the proper advanced DDoS protection leveraging predictive, real-time threat intelligence.”