INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security

Multi-terabit strong DDoS attacks have become increasingly frequent . In Q3 , Cloudflare automatically detected and mitigated multiple attacks that exceeded 1 Tbps . The largest attack was a 2.5 Tbps DDoS attack launched by a Mirai botnet variant , aimed at the Minecraft server , Wynncraft . This is the largest attack Cloudflare has ever seen from the bitrate perspective . It was a multi-vector attack consisting of UDP and TCP floods . However , Wynncraft – a massively multiplayer online role-playing game Minecraft server where hundreds and thousands of users can play on the same server – didn ’ t even notice the attack since Cloudflare filtered it out for them .

Geopolitical tensions are reflected in cyberattacks . Cloudflare ’ s data centres saw attacks targeting Taiwanese companies increase nearly 20x and when looking at the war in Ukraine , the company saw that attacks on Russian websites surged 24x compared to last year .

Highlights of the DDoS Report

General DDoS attack trends

Overall in Q3 , Cloudflare has seen :

• An increase in DDoS attacks compared to last year

• Longer-lasting volumetric attacks , a spike in attacks generated by the Mirai botnet and its variants

• Surges in attacks targeting Taiwan and Japan

Application-layer DDoS attacks

• HTTP DDoS attacks increased by 111 % YoY but decreased by 10 % QoQ

• HTTP DDoS attacks targeting Taiwan increased by 200 % QoQ ; attacks targeting Japan increased by 105 % QoQ

• Reports of Ransom DDoS attacks increased by 67 % YoY and 15 % QoQ

Network-layer DDoS attacks

• L3 / 4 DDoS attacks increased by 97 % YoY and 24 % QoQ

• In Q3 , Cloudflare saw a 4x increase in network-layer DDoS attacks attributed to the Mirai botnet . This underscores why securing IoT devices is critical

• The gaming / gambling industry was the most targeted by L3 / 4 DDoS attacks , including a massive 2.5 Tbps DDoS attack

Ransom DDoS attacks

Ransom DDoS attacks are attacks where the attacker demands a ransom payment , usually in the form of Bitcoin , to stop / avoid the attack .

• Q3 saw ransom DDoS attacks increase for the third quarter in a row . September 2022 saw almost one out of every four respondents report receiving a ransom DDoS attack or threat .

• In Q3 , 15 % of respondents reported being targeted by HTTP DDoS attacks accompanied by a threat or a ransom note . This represents a 15 % increase QoQ and 67 % increase YoY of reported ransom DDoS attacks . p

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