DDoS attacks increase as AI lowers attack barriers
Distributed Denial of Service attacks have surged by 55%, reportedly enabled by artificial intelligence that lowers barriers to launching attacks. Financial institutions and transportation services experienced nearly 400% increases in attack volume, driven by AI automation, DDoS-for-hire services, and compromised IoT botnets.
What happened
Layer 7 Web DDoS attacks increased by 55% in 2024, with Radware reporting that artificial intelligence has lowered the barrier to entry for attackers.
Financial institutions and transportation services suffered an almost 400% increase in DDoS attack volume. A combination of AI-driven automation, evolving DDoS-for-hire services, augmented IoT botnets, and geopolitical conflicts has led to more frequent and sophisticated attacks.
Reported impact
Distributed Denial of Service attacks targeting critical IT infrastructure and services have increased by 55% over the last four years, with potential for greater impact.
Index analysis
NETSCOUT tracks active DDoS campaigns from over 65 known threat actors, including NoName057 and RipperSec, and detected misbehaving subscribers, infected hosts, and compromised IoT devices generating outbound DDoS attacks.
Governance controls
NETSCOUT enhanced its Arbor Threat Mitigation System with AI/ML functionality to detect and block malicious traffic, utilizing a hybrid strategy combining cloud-based analysis of 550 Tbps of Internet traffic with software-based AI/ML in its solutions.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.