F5 researched the development of last year’s DDoS attacks. Though the amount of attacks dropped in 2021, the average incident was larger and more complex.
According to F5, the volume of global DDoS attacks decreased by 3 percent. Attacks were much larger in scale. The average size rose to more than 21 Gbps by the end of 2021 — four times more than in early 2020.
The past year also saw the largest attack ever recorded; a volume of 1.4 Tbps. The last attack to hold that title had a ‘mere’ volume of 253 Gbps.
Attack complexity increased as well. Multi-vector attacks rose. Protocol- and application-type DDoS incidents show an upward trend.
Biggest target
Financial institutions were the biggest target. Almost a quarter of all attacks were aimed at this sector, followed by telecom and education. The technology sector came in fourth. All four sectors account for roughly 75 percent of attacks.
Tip: ‘Cyberattacks are developed more quickly, damage is rising’