New Report Highlights the Rising Threat and Scale of DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are escalating at an unprecedented pace, posing a severe and growing threat to global online services and infrastructure. Cloudflare researchers have unveiled alarming trends, underscoring the increasing size, frequency, and sophistication of these attacks.

Staggering Surge in DDoS Activity

Cloudflare, a leading cybersecurity firm, reported mitigating over 14.5 million DDoS attacks in 2024 alone—an average of 2,200 attacks per hour. Analysis over the past decade reveals an exponential rise in attack metrics, painting a concerning picture for businesses and cybersecurity professionals alike:

• Bits per second (bps): Grew from 309 Gbps in 2013 to 5.6 Tbps in 2024—a 20-fold increase.
• Packets per second (pps): Rose from 230 Mpps in 2015 to 2,100 Mpps in 2024—a 10-fold surge.
• Requests per second (rps): Jumped dramatically from 6 Mrps in 2020 to an astounding 201 Mrps in September 2024, marking a 70-fold increase since 2014.

New Strategies Amplify Attack Power

The exponential growth in DDoS attack capabilities is driven by evolving strategies and resources:

1. Powerful VM-Based Botnets: Attackers are shifting from IoT-based botnets to virtual machine (VM)--based botnets, leveraging the computational power of cloud-hosted virtual machines.
2. Cloud Exploitation: Cybercriminals are abusing anonymized access to cloud infrastructure, often funded with stolen payment details, to deploy smaller, more efficient botnets capable of massive attacks.
3. Advanced Techniques: Methods like the HTTP/2 Rapid Reset attack enable attackers to generate unprecedented volumes of traffic, overwhelming even advanced defence systems.

Challenges for Cybersecurity

This surge in DDoS activity presents significant challenges:

• Increased Vulnerabilities: Existing defence mechanisms are often inadequate against the growing scale and complexity of attacks.
• Economic Impact: Service disruptions and downtime caused by DDoS attacks can lead to substantial financial losses for businesses.
• Demand for Advanced Defenses: Traditional mitigation methods are no longer sufficient, necessitating automated and scalable solutions.

The Path Forward

As DDoS attacks continue to evolve, organizations must prioritize robust and adaptive cybersecurity measures. Investments in cutting-edge protection strategies and constant vigilance are essential to safeguard digital assets and maintain service availability.

With the exponential growth of attack capabilities showing no signs of slowing, the cybersecurity landscape demands continuous innovation and adaptation to stay ahead of emerging threats.