DDoS attacks increase in Q2, 2018: Study

Verisign Distributed Denial of Service Trends, observed attack trends of July–September, Q2 2018. This report provides a unique view into the attack trends that include attack statistics, behavioral trends and future outlook. Compiled on the basis of observations and insights about attack frequency and size obtained from mitigations enacted on behalf of customers from Verisign DDOS Protection Services.

Verisign observed the following key trends in Q2 2018:

• Number of attacks - 35% increase as compared to Q1 2018 (April 1, 2018- June30, 2018)
• Peak attack size - (Volume) 42 Gigabits per second (Gbps), (Speed) 4.7 Million packets per second (Mpps)
• Average peak attack size - 5.7 Gbps which is 111% increase compared to Q2 2017, but a 49%decrease in the average of attack peak sizes, 26% of attacks over 5 Gbps
• Most common attack mitigated - 56% of attacks were User Datagram Protocol (UDP) floods; 20% of attacks employed multiple attack types with 52% of attacks employed at least two different attack types

DDoS Attacks Increase in Size and Number

Verisign observed that 58% of DDoS attacks were over 1 Gbps. When comparing Q2 2018 to Q1 2018, Verisign saw a 35% increase in the number of attacks, and a 49% decrease in the average of attack peak sizes. Year-over-year the average of attack peak sizes increased 111%. Verisign additionally observed that 62% of its customers who experienced DDoS attacks in Q2 2018 were targeted multiple times during the quarter. Overall, DDoS attacks remain unpredictable and vary widely in terms of speed and complexity.

Multi-Vector DDoS Attacks Remain Constant

52% of DDoS attacks mitigated by Verisign in Q2 2018 employed multiple attack types. Verisign observed attacks targeting networks at multiple layers and attack types that changed over the course of a DDoS event. Today’s DDoS attacks require continuous monitoring to optimize mitigation strategies.

Types of DDoS Attacks

UDP flood attacks were the most common attack vector in Q2 2018, accounting for 56% of total attacks in the quarter. The most common UDP floods included Domain Name System (DNS), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) amplification attacks.

Largest Volumetric Attack and Highest Intensity Flood Attack

The largest volumetric DDoS attack observed by Verisign in Q2 2018 was a UDP fragment flood that peaked at approximately 42 Gbps and 3.5 Mpps and lasted approximately 3 hours. The highest intensity DDoS attack observed by Verisign in Q2 2018 was a multi-vector attack that peaked at approximately 38 Gbps and 4.7 Mpps and lasted for approximately 2 hours. The attack consisted of a wide range of attack vectors including DNS, NTP and SNMP Amplification attacks and TCP SYN and TCP RST floods.

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