Report Finds Correlation Between Cryptocurrency Attacks and DDoS Attacks Over the Course of 2018
SANTA CLARA, Calif., NSFOCUS, a leader in holistic hybrid security solutions, today released its 2018 DDoS Attack Landscape report, which found that there is a direct correlation between cryptocurrency and DDoS attacks. The price of cryptocurrency dropped in 2018, leading to decreased profits from cryptomining. This, in turn, made DDoS attacks more attractive and increase month by month in 2018, signaling a correlation between the two attack types for profit.
In NSFOCUS’ 2018 DDoS Attack Landscape report, NSFOCUS analyzed the threat landscape after a landmark year of technological growth related to cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Industry 4.0. As technology and its influence continues to boom, the threat of attacks has continued to change – and escalate – in tandem. Understanding these ever-changing battlefields is critical to company safety and success in warding off dangerous attack events.
Key findings in the 2018 DDoS Attack Landscape report include:
- Attackers were more inclined to launch DDoS attacks when the short-term benefits from cryptomining activities declined in 2018.
- Of all internet attack types, 25% of attackers were recidivists responsible for 40% of all attack events. The proportion of recidivists in DDoS attacks decreased in 2018, making up about 7% of DDoS attackers that launched 12% of attack events.
- The total number of DDoS attacks in 2018 reached 148,000, down 28.4% from 2017, driven by effective protections against reflection attacks.
- Cloud services/IDCs, gaming, and e-commerce were the top three industries targeted by attackers.
- In 2018, the most frequently seen attacks were SYN flood, UDP flood, ACK flood, HTTP flood, and HTTPS flood attacks3, which all together accounted for 96% of all DDoS attacks.
- Of all DDoS attacks, 13% used a combination of multiple attack methods. The other 87% were single-vector attacks.
“The fluctuation of Bitcoin prices has a direct bearing on DDoS attack traffic,” said Richard Zhao, COO at NSFOCUS. “This, along with other report findings, can help us better predict and prepare for DDoS attacks. Attackers are after profits and as we watch bitcoin fluctuate, we will continue to see this correlation pop up. DDoS attacks have never stopped since making their debut – analyzing trends in this report helps companies keep up with the fluid attack and threat landscape.”
To download a copy of the 2018 DDoS Attack Landscape report, please visit https://nsfocusglobal.com/2018-ddos-attack-landscape/
About NSFOCUS, Inc.
NSFOCUS, Inc., a global network and cyber security leader, protects enterprises and carriers from advanced cyber attacks. The company’s Intelligent Hybrid Security strategy utilizes both cloud and on-premises security platforms, built on a foundation of real-time global threat intelligence, to provide multi-layered, unified and dynamic protection against advanced cyber attacks.
NSFOCUS works with Fortune Global 500 companies, including four of the world’s five largest financial institutions, organizations in insurance, retail, healthcare, critical infrastructure industries, as well as government agencies. NSFOCUS has technology and channel partners in more than 60 countries, and is a member of the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP), StopBadware.org, and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).
A wholly-owned subsidiary of NSFOCUS Information Technology Co. Ltd., the company has operations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
