DDoS Attacks Targeting Businesses Doubled in the Last Year

Posted on October 12, 2017 at 12:35 PM

DDoS Attacks Targeting Businesses Doubled in the Last Year

Kaspersky experts confirmed that over 30% of organizations suffered a DDoS attack in 2017.

A report published by the cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Lab, confirmed that cybercriminals were increasingly using Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) techniques to launch attacks.

In 2017, an estimated 33% of organizations worldwide fell victim to a DDoS attack. This means that the number of attacks has doubled since the estimated 17% of targeted organizations in 2016.

The attacks did not discriminate in organizations and targeted businesses both big and small. Of the targeted organizations, 20% were small businesses, 33% were SMBs, and 41% were enterprises.

Half of all businesses reported that the frequency and complexity of DDoS attacks targeting organizations like theirs are growing every year, highlighting the need for more awareness and protection against them, according to Kaspersky Lab.

In 2016, 82% of the targeted companies confirmed that they suffered more than one DDoS attack, while in 2017, 76% of targeted companies stated that they faced at least one attack.

According to Kaspersky Lab, DDoS attacks are a popular method amongst cybercriminals which allows them access to sensitive corporate data. DDoS attacks also enable the attacker to cripple the victim’s services. DDoS attacks usually result in a significant business disruption.

Of the 2017% targeted companies, 26% reported a severe decrease in performance following the attacks, and 14% reported failed transactions as a result of affected services.

Over 53% of affected companies reported that the DDoS they suffered was used as a smokescreen to cover up various other cyber attacks. In a worrying new trend, 50% of affected companies confirmed that the DDoS attack was used to hide a malware infection, while 49% stated that the DDoS attack hid data breaches. An additional 42% of victims reported that the DDoS attack hid a network infiltration or hacking, and 26% stated that the DDoS attack hid the financial theft.

These numbers were published in the Kaspersky Lab’s annual IT Security Risks survey. The survey included responses from 5 200 representatives from companies of all sizes over 29 different companies.

The head of Kaspersky’s DDoS protection unit, Kirill Ilganaev, stated that DDoS attack threats, either standalone attacks or part of an attack arsenal are growing in popularity. According to Ilganaev, the latest numbers confirm that it is no longer a question of whether a business will be affected, but when. The growing problem should be a siren call to businesses, big and small to take steps in protecting their IT infrastructure and to put several DDoS protections in place to keep their data and infrastructure safe from attacks.

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DDoS Attacks Targeting Businesses Doubled in the Last Year
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DDoS Attacks Targeting Businesses Doubled in the Last Year
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A report published by the cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Lab, confirmed that cybercriminals were increasingly using Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) techniques to launch attacks.
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Koddos
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