DDoS-for-hire websites make a comeback despite FBI crackdown, according to Nexusguard Threat Report

Telcos and communications service providers (CSPs) will need to take advanced precautions against “bit and piece” DDoS attacks

 

SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES – Media OutReach –
25 June 2019 – DDoS attacks “for hire” made a comeback in the beginning of the
year, with booter-originated attacks rebounding to more than double their
amounts in Q4 2018, according to Nexusguard’s “Q1 2019 Threat Report.” Despite the earlier FBI
crackdown, the DNS amplification types of DDoS attacks continued to be a
favorite of DDoS-for-hire websites, soaring more than 40 times their volume
compared to last quarter. The resurgence of DDoS-as-a-service and the growing
botnets reinforce the evolving cyber threat of DDoS attacks for enterprises and
communications service providers (CSPs).

The quarterly report, which measures thousands of DDoS attacks
around the world, revealed DNS amplification attacks were also the most
frequently employed against CSPs and telcos in Brazil this quarter. One of the
largest banks in South America bore the brunt of these Brazilian DNS
amplification attacks–more than 17% of all attacks. “Bit and piece” types of attacks,
or DDoS attacks that were smaller than one Gbps in size, continued to cause
issues in the beginning of 2019 by becoming more automated and targeted,
bypassing detection. Nexusguard researchers warn that CSPs will need to
approach these evolved attacks with scalable, cloud-based DDoS detection and
mitigation in order to reduce potential damages. CSPs that fall victim to
bit-and-piece attacks and unknowingly pass on malicious traffic will risk undermining
customer confidence.

“Due to the increasing demand for DDoS attack services and the
boom in connected devices, hackers for hire have doubled and DDoS campaigns are
not going away for organizations,” said Juniman Kasman, chief technology
officer for Nexusguard. “Businesses will need to ensure their attack
protections can seamlessly evolve with new vectors and tactics that attackers
seek out, which ensures service uptime, avoids legal or reputational damages,
and preserves customer satisfaction.”

Nexusguard
findings confirm the continued shift to the leverage of mobile devices in
attacks, which has created a new breed of botnets that caused the maximum
attack durations to spike to more than 40,000 minutes at a time, or more than
27 days. People who experience sluggish performance, surges in data usage or
noticeable decrease in smartphone battery life may be seeing warning signs of
malware. Smartphone users should keep devices up to date with the latest
patches, uninstall suspicious apps and run anti-virus software as a few ways to
stay safe from malware.

Nexusguard’s
quarterly DDoS threat research gathers attack data from botnet scanning, honeypots,
CSPs and traffic moving between attackers and their targets to help companies
identify vulnerabilities and stay informed about global cyber security trends. Read
the full “Q1 2019 Threat Report” for more details.

About Nexusguard

Founded in 2008, Nexusguard is a leading
cloud-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) security solution provider
fighting malicious internet attacks. Nexusguard ensures uninterrupted internet
service, visibility, optimization and performance. Nexusguard also enables
communication service providers to deliver DDoS protection solution as a
service. Visit www.nexusguard.com for more information.