Increased frequency of application layer DDoS assaults - an explanation of the factors contributing to this rise
The digital landscape is witnessing an alarming surge in application-layer DDoS attacks, particularly targeted at the financial sector, as revealed by recent research.
### Current Trends
The increase in these attacks has been substantial, with reports showing a 131% increase from the previous quarter and a 300% year-on-year rise overall. In the financial services sector specifically, application-layer attacks grew by 23% between 2023 and 2024.
These attacks are becoming increasingly precise, with a 58% increase in targeted assaults on financial firms’ APIs. These attacks mimic legitimate user behavior, making them harder to detect and defend against.
Hyper-volumetric and short, intense bursts of attacks are also on the rise, with attacks exceeding 1 terabit/second becoming more common. These intense but brief attacks aim to overwhelm systems quickly before defenses can respond.
### Causes of Increase
The rise in application-layer DDoS attacks is attributed to several factors. The ease and low cost of launching these attacks, as well as the availability of AI-powered attack tools, are significant contributors. Poorly secured IoT devices provide a vast botnet resource for attackers. Additionally, growing geopolitical tensions and strategic, stealthy targeting are motivating factors.
DDoS attacks are increasingly used to cover up or distract from more severe exploits, such as exploiting cloud misconfigurations, API flaws, and credential leaks during or following the flood.
### How Organizations Can Protect Themselves
To combat this rising threat, organizations need to implement a multi-layered approach to security. This includes real-time monitoring and identification, adaptive rate limiting and traffic filtering, reducing attack surface, using cloud-based and hybrid DDoS mitigation services, continuous penetration testing and vulnerability assessments, and incident response planning and collaboration.
Financial firms should work with cybersecurity organizations, law enforcement, and peers to share intelligence and coordinate defense strategies. E-commerce firms were the victim in 22.6% of application-layer DDoS attacks.
In conclusion, financial services firms are facing a sharp rise in sophisticated application-layer DDoS attacks driven by AI-enabled automation, vulnerable devices, and strategic, stealthy targeting. Defense requires a combination of real-time detection, adaptive mitigation, infrastructure hardening, continuous security testing, and collaboration with the wider security community to maintain resilience and protect trust and operations.
- The financial sector, given the surge in application-layer DDoS attacks, must prioritize cybersecurity measures within their technological infrastructure to safeguard their business operations.
- The business community should collaborate with cybersecurity organizations and peers in the financial sector to share intelligence and implement coordinated defense strategies against these increasing targeted attacks.
- As application-layer DDoS attacks grow more sophisticated, it's crucial for organizations to employ a multi-layered approach, leveraging real-time monitoring, adaptive rate limiting, traffic filtering, and continuous penetration testing to fortify their defenses.
