Survey data shows hackers are getting higher yields from targeted, determined attacks
Neustar, Inc., a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information services, today released its bi-annual Global DDoS Attacks and Cyber Security Insights Report, affirming DDoS attacks continue to be an effective means to distract and confuse security teams while inflicting serious damage on organisations. The report highlights that organisations experienced a 27 per cent increase in the number of breaches per DDoS attack, despite suffering similar attack levels in the same period last year.
Data from the report shows attackers are achieving higher levels of success against organisations they only hit once: 52 per cent of organisations reported a virus associated with a DDOS attack, 35 per cent reported malware, 21 per cent reported ransomware and 18 per cent reported lost customer data. Over a twelve-month period, 75 per cent of respondents recorded multiple DDoS attack attempts following an initial assault on their organisation’s network. The resulting breach ratio increases as the number of DDoS attacks increases, but the net result is it only takes one attack to breach an organisation’s defences. Findings suggest that cybercriminals are focused on taunting defences, probing network vulnerabilities and executing more targeted strikes, instead of making noise with a singular, large attack.
“Not only are hackers becoming craftier and more dangerous, but they’re also becoming more opportunistic,” said Nicolai Bezsonoff, Vice President, Neustar Security Solutions. “The importance of always-on vigilance and investment in DDoS security technology is essential for organisations looking to adapt and evolve their defences. Protecting an organisation’s infrastructure and customer data against threats is paramount in the current digital landscape.”
Key findings from the report include:
- Organisations have a lot to lose – even if attacked only once
o 92 per cent of those attacked just once reported theft of intellectual property, customer data and/or financial assets and resources
o 89 per cent acknowledged some form of associated activity, including data theft, dangerous ransomware, and network compromise with DDoS attacks
o 36 per cent saw malware activation during DDoS attacks as part of multi-tactic assaults
- Internet of Things (IoT) devices remain a tempting target for DDoS attacks
o 76 per cent of organisations that have IoT devices in active operation were attacked
o Of those 76 per cent, nearly one-third suffered network compromises or damage to physical equipment
o 40 per cent of respondents are actively focused on finding ways to prevent IoT devices from becoming compromised
- Attacks and breach activities were not contained to large organisations
o Over 50 per cent of mid-sized organisations encountered an average of three breach incidents (malware, ransomware, virus, etc.)
o Mid-sized organisations were hit the hardest with 60 per cent experiencing an attack
o On average, DDoS attacks caused organisations $4.3M in revenue generation risk
Organisations are continuing to make DDoS protection a budget priority, with layered defences and web application firewalls (WAFs) listed as a top investment. Respondents noted that on average their organisations have at least two components of DDoS protection that can include appliance hardware, cloud services, and hybrid deployments. Notably, protection against application layer threats has increased significantly with Web Application Firewall (WAF) solution deployments nearly tripling in the past year. Using WAF to protect the most exploited layer in the network stack reflects organisations drive for the right combination of defences to protect against growing concerns associated with DDoS attacks.
Top motivators for increased budget spend on DDoS protection include:
- Preserving customer confidence and brand reputation
- Prevention of associated attacks, including ransomware
- Proactively strengthen existing protection
“Organisations need to continuously diversify their security strategy for DDoS – it’s no longer ‘good enough’ to accept a pre-packaged solution as the cornerstone of your security portfolio,” said Barrett Lyon, Vice President of Research and Development, Neustar Security Solutions. “Writing application code is difficult, but it is also fraught with security failings and attacker know this. Organizations are making investments in layered protection, including the deployments of WAF solutions, to level the playing field and decrease the time cybercriminals will have to execute a successful attack.”
Methodology: Neustar and Harris Interactive conducted the global, independent research of 1,010 directors, managers, CISOs, CSOs, CTOs, and other C-suite executives to find out how DDoS attacks affect their organisations and what measures are in place to counter these threats. The respondents span many industries, including technology, financial services, retail, healthcare and energy.
Join Neustar on October 24 for the first International DDoS Awareness Virtual Conference to learn how organisations can protect themselves against cyber threats and fight DDoS attacks.
The full Global DDoS Attacks and Cyber Security Insights report can be downloaded here.
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