Distributed service denial attacks (DDOS) exceed many traditional cyber-men and are no longer a tool but a “dominant geopolitical weapon”, according to the Netscout network security company.
The global DDOS activity increased by 12.7% in the second half of 2024 compared to the first half, totaling nearly 9 million attacks, according to the firm.
A DDOS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal web traffic of a server, a service or a targeted network by crushing the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flow of Internet traffic.
The largest increases were in Latin America and in the Asia-Pacific regions, with around 30% and 20% increase compared to the first half, respectively.
NetScout said there were a total of 7.9 million DDOS attacks in the first half of 2024, with a combined total of 16.8 million for the full year, up almost 30% compared to the 13 million attacks recorded by the company in 2023.
The attackers used the Internet disturbance tool to “exploit moments of national vulnerability to amplify chaos and erode confidence in institutions,” said researchers.
The report described DDOS attacks as “guided digital weapons of precision” capable of disturbing infrastructure at critical moments, stressing how they were deployed during socio -political conflicts, elections, demonstrations and political disputes.
Weekly ddos statistics, 2024. Source: NetScout
AI is a supercharging of DDOS attacks
The DDOS-For-Hire services, including boots and stresses, are “more powerful than ever”, they added, because cybercriminals exploit AI and automation to bypass Captcha, with automation “progressing towards capacities such as behavior behavior and attack adjustments in real time”.
Researchers have concluded that the DDOS attacks “are no longer just a question of gross bandwidth”, adding that they are “adaptive, persistent and deeply anchored in modern and geopolitical cyber-conflicts”.
“The transition to high-power corporate infrastructure, turnkey recognition, the rise of automation improved by AI and the expansion of DDOS-Pour-Location services means that attackers evolve faster than ever.”
The role of DDOS attacks evolves, said recently in Forbes, the director of technology for the safety technology of the Corero network, added: “By automating tasks which were once at the high intensity of labor or necessary for specialized skills, AI reduces the barrier to the entry for attackers.”
In relation: Cryptographic crime in 2024 probably exceeded $ 51 billion, much higher than reported: Chainalysis
A DDOS attack targeted Elon Musk X’s social media platform in August, aimed at disturbing his interview with the candidate of the time, Donald Trump.
X was again targeted in March when a massive cyber attack prevented some users from accessing the platform.
A hacking group with links with Russia called “Dark Storm” claimed the responsibility of the DDOS attack on the Musk platform, saying that it was not politically motivated.
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