Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are on the rise, with over a third (33%) of organisations facing a DDoS attack in 2017 – compared to 17% in 2016.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are on the rise, with over a third (33%) of organisations facing a DDoS attack in 2017 – compared to 17% in 2016. Cybercriminals are increasingly using DDoS attacks as a way to gain access to valuable and lucrative corporate data, and not just to cripple a victim’s services. This rapid development in the cyberthreat landscape has meant that all businesses are potential DDoS attack targets – from very small businesses through to enterprises.
According to Kaspersky Lab’s Global IT Security Risks Survey 2017*, 50% of businesses claim that the frequency and complexity of DDoS attacks targeting organizations like theirs is growing every year. Indeed, 33% of organisations experienced an attack in 2017 – double the amount in 2016, demonstrating the importance of increased awareness and protection against DDoS attacks, which show no sign of slowing down.
Of those affected, 20% were very small businesses, 33% SMBs and 41% enterprises – demonstrate that all types and size of organisations are at risk. Although figures for this year show that companies are more likely to experience just one attack – in 2016, 82% faced more than one DDoS attack, compared to 76% this year – the consequences are no less severe, resulting in significant business disruption. 26% of the organisations that have been hit by DDoS attacks reported a significant decrease in performance of services, and 14% said there was a failure of transactions and processes on affected services.
As well causing immediate and visible operational issues, many companies also claim that DDoS attacks are being used to cover-up other types of incident – leading to severe financial and reputational damage. In the first half of 2017, over half of those respondents affected by a DDoS attack (53%) claimed that it was used as a smokescreen. Half (50%) reported that the attack hid a malware infection; 49% said that it masked a data leak or theft; and 42% said that the DDoS attack was used to cover up a network intrusion or hacking. Another 26% of businesses reported that the attack was hiding financial theft.
“The threat of being hit by a DDoS attack – either standalone or as part of a greater attack arsenal – is showing no signs of diminishing. It’s not a case of if an organization will be hit, but when. With the problem growing and affecting every type and size of company, it is important for organizations to protect their IT infrastructure from being infiltrated and keep their data safe from attack. Working with the right partner will ensure that companies can cope with all levels and complexities of DDoS incident, as the attacks only continue to get stronger and more sophisticated,” comments Kirill Ilganaev, Head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection at Kaspersky Lab.
To help businesses defend themselves from DDoS attacks – regardless of attack origin – Kaspersky DDoS Protection provides a complete, integrated solution that includes everything a business needs to minimise the threat of DDoS attacks. The solution keeps businesses running smoothly by protecting them from the most sophisticated and high-volume attacks. Further information is available here.
*The IT Security Risks research is an annual survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab in conjunction with B2B International. In 2017 we asked more than 5,200 representatives of small, medium (50 to 999) and large (1000+) businesses from 29 countries about their views on IT security and the real incidents that they have had to deal with.
