Dive Brief:
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The number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks grew 380% in Q1 2017 over Q1 2016, according to new data from Nexusguard. The company gathers data using botnet scanning, Honeypots, ISPs and tracking traffic between the attackers and targets.
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The first quarter of 2017 also saw more brutal attacks than last year. For example, a 275Gbps attack took place in February and an attack lasting 4,060 minutes occurred over the Chinese New Year, Nexusguard reports.
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The percentage of days with large attacks also grew substantially between in Q1. In March, there was a 64% increase over last year of the number of sizeable attacks, which are considered attacks larger than 10Gbps.
Dive Insight:
DDoS attacks are getting consistently more lethal and prevalent. One amplifier is the use of botnets to launch DDoS attacks, which have helped cybercriminals the attacks much larger.
But it's not just botnets that make the attacks easier to launch. Arranging a DDoS attack through the black market can cost between $5 for a 300-second attack to $400 for a 24-hour attack, according to research released in March by Kaspersky Lab. The average cost to arrange a DDoS attack via the black market is about $25 an hour.
Though not always destructive, DDoS attacks can sometimes be used as a distraction to launch a more crippling attack that can target data. The rise of DDoS attacks has been so dramatic, they are now on the Department of Homeland Security’s radar. In February, a DHS Science and Technology Directorate revealed DHS is funding new research to stop DDoS attacks.
