Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., a prominent global player in communication infrastructure, has unveiled its annual Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Insights Report, shedding light on the alarming rise of DDoS attacks and their profound impact across various sectors during the first half of 2023.
The first six months of 2023 have witnessed an astonishing 200% surge in DDoS attacks compared to the entire year of 2022, attributed to a complex interplay of factors such as escalating digitization, global political unrest, and the continued prevalence of remote work.
In a concise summary of the report’s key findings:
- Rapid Acceleration of Attacks: DDoS attacks surged by a staggering 314% from H1 2022 to H1 2023. In certain industries, the growth exceeded a mind-boggling 1,300%.
- Q2 2023 Reached a Fever Pitch: The second quarter of 2023 alone saw a 387% spike in attack activity, driven by attackers harnessing the power of AI and automation.
- Industries Under Fire: Telecommunications firms emerged as prime targets due to their pivotal role in delivering communication and Internet services. They bore the brunt of these attacks, accounting for nearly half of all assaults, with over 37,000 incidents recorded in H1 2023. Education and Cloud/SaaS companies followed closely behind in terms of attack frequency.
- Largest Attacks: Retail, telecommunications, and media entities faced the most substantial attacks, with an average attack size of 3 Gbps, sufficient to disrupt one to two offices depending on the organization’s size. The telecom sector experienced the largest aggregate attack at a colossal 978 Gbps. This marks a shift from 2022 when the telecommunications and government sectors were the primary targets.
- Attack Durations: Government entities faced the longest attacks in this period, a departure from the healthcare sector’s experience in 2022. Across all industries, the average attack duration surged by 216% from Q1 to Q2, with the finance sector witnessing the most significant leap, from 41 to 108 minutes.
DDoS attacks remain the most prevalent form of cyberattacks targeting an organization’s online presence. These malicious assaults flood a target’s Internet connection with fake or unauthorized traffic, paralyzing genuine user traffic. Even relatively small attacks can lead to hours of downtime, resulting in significant financial losses, customer erosion, and reputational damage.
The financial toll is formidable, with unprotected organizations grappling with an average cost of $200,000 per DDoS attack, as reported by HubSpot. Smaller businesses are not spared, with recovery expenses averaging $120,000.
Anna Claiborne, SVP of Packet and Product Software Engineering at Zayo, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “When your business will get hit by a DDoS attack is a game of probability. With a huge rise in attacks in 2023 and more attacks over 100Gbps, the odds are not in your favor. Running any business on the Internet without DDoS protection is a risk, and you have to ask yourself if it’s one worth taking.”
To delve deeper into the report’s insights and explore how Zayo can fortify your business against cyber threats, visit Zayo’s DDoS Protection Resources.
