100Gbps DDoS attacks are starting to get mundane

Over the last couple of years, the size and scale of DDoS attacks has increased rapidly. A new report by Arbor Networks reports the first half of 2016 has seen a surge in both the frequency and power of these online attacks, with the most extreme attack reaching a bandwidth of 579Gbps.

The group claims ther are now an average of 124,000 DDoS attacks per week, with the US, China and Korea being the top targets. In the first six months of 2016, a total of 274 attacks reached 100Gbps, versus 223 for the full calendar year of 2015, with 46 attacks reaching over 200Gbps, versus 16 in 2015.

Most attacks are a lot smaller though, the report mentions a 1Gbps DDoS attack is enough to throw most businesses offline.

The most powerful attack reached 579Gbps, which is a huge jump of 73 percent in peak attack size based on 2015 records.

"DDoS remains a commonly used attack type due to the ready availability of free tools and inexpensive online services that allow anyone with a grievance and an internet connection to launch an attack," the report says. "This has led to an increase in both the frequency, size and complexity of attacks in recent years."

Unfortunately for most businesses, a 1Gbps DDoS attack is often enough to throw them offline, resulting in service disruption and lost income. The average attack size between January and June this year was 986Mbps -- a 30 percent increase over 2015 -- and the average attack size is projected to reach 1.15Gbps by the end of this year.

Source: ZD Net