Gcore's latest DDoS Radar Report reveals a staggering 56% year-over-year (YoY) increase in DDoS attacks from Q3 to Q4 2024. The report also highlights a record-breaking 2 Tbps attack, emphasizing the growing scale and sophistication of these cyber threats.
Among the hardest-hit sectors, financial services experienced a 117% rise in attacks, while gaming remains the most-targeted industry. As DDoS threats intensify, organizations must deploy robust and adaptive mitigation strategies to safeguard their operations.
Key Takeaways: The Future of DDoS Defense
DDoS Attacks Are More Frequent and Sophisticated
A 17% growth in total attacks and an all-time high 2 Tbps attack signal the need for advanced security measures.
Financial Services Under Siege
With 117% more attacks, financial institutions require enhanced threat intelligence and proactive mitigation.
Shorter, High-Intensity Attacks Dominate
Attackers increasingly use rapid burst tactics to evade detection, challenging traditional defense methods.
Geopolitical Tensions Drive Attack Patterns
Understanding regional threat sources helps fortify defenses in high-risk zones.
DDoS Attacks Surge to New Heights
Comparing Q3-Q4 2024 to the same period in 2023, DDoS attack frequency surged by 56%, reinforcing the long-term growth of cyber threats.
Why Are DDoS Attacks Increasing?
Gcore's analysis attributes the spike in attacks to several factors:
DDoS-for-Hire Services: Easy access to attack tools lowers barriers for cybercriminals.
Expanding IoT Vulnerabilities: Poorly secured IoT devices fuel large-scale botnets.
Geopolitical Conflicts: Political and economic motivations drive targeted cyberattacks.
Evolving Attack Strategies: Multi-vector and application-layer attacks complicate mitigation efforts.
Largest DDoS Attack Reaches 2 Tbps
The largest recorded attack in Q3-Q4 2024 peaked at 2 Tbps, targeting a global gaming company. This represents an 18% increase from the previous peak of 1.7 Tbps in Q1-Q2 2024.
Impact of Terabit-Level DDoS Attacks:
Can cripple real-time services, causing widespread outages and financial losses.
Pose a significant risk to businesses reliant on continuous online operations.
Require high-capacity mitigation solutions to neutralize threats in real time.
Gaming & Financial Sectors Under Attack
Gaming: Still the Top Target, But Attack Share Drops
Gaming industry attacks fell from 49% to 34% of total incidents.
Possible reasons for the decline:
Improved DDoS defenses in gaming platforms.
Shift in attacker focus to financial services.
Financial incentives remain a key driver.
Financial Services See Alarming Growth in DDoS Attacks
Attack share jumped from 12% to 26%.
The sector's high-value assets make it an attractive target for ransomware and extortion attacks.
Evolving Attack Methods: The Rise of ACK Floods
Network-Layer Attacks:
UDP Floods remain the dominant attack vector, accounting for 60% of all network-layer incidents.
ACK Floods are increasing, now making up 7% of total attacks.
Application-Layer Attacks:
L7 UDP Floods account for 45%.
L7 TCP Floods are rising, reaching 37% as attackers refine their evasion tactics.
Shorter, More Disruptive DDoS Attacks
One of the most significant trends in H2 2024 is the decrease in attack duration:
The longest attack lasted just five hours, down from 16 hours in the previous period.
Attackers increasingly use short, high-intensity bursts to:
Disrupt services before detection mechanisms activate.
Mimic legitimate traffic to bypass traditional security measures.
Serve as decoys for more severe cyber threats, such as ransomware.
Geopolitical Influence on DDoS Attacks
Cybercriminals exploit geopolitical conflicts to launch attacks against financial institutions, critical infrastructure, and high-value enterprises.
Key Attack Origin Regions:
US & Netherlands: Major sources for both network and application-layer attacks.
Brazil: Emerging hub for network-layer threats.
China & Indonesia: Significant contributors to global DDoS attack volume.
Defending Against the Next Wave of DDoS Attacks
Gcore’s DDoS Protection platform offers 200+ Tbps filtering capacity across six continents, delivering real-time mitigation to neutralize emerging threats. With DDoS attacks becoming more frequent and sophisticated, businesses must implement proactive, AI-driven security solutions to protect their digital assets.
