A10 Networks finds over 15 million DDoS weapons in 2021

A10 Networks notes that in the 2H 2021 reporting period, its security research team tracked more than 15.4 million Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) weapons.

A10 says It is well-documented that the pandemic has seen a significant increase in cyber attacks, such as malware, ransomware and DDoS.

Threat actors have been active across a range of sectors, including services people use and depend on in their day-to-day lives, such as healthcare, education and finance.

Moreover, these actors have targeted critical infrastructure, including food supply chains, utilities and government agencies.

The company's threat intelligence recently examined the use of DDoS attacks to disrupt infrastructure and communications in Ukraine relating to Russia's ground attack in February.

In addition to finding an increase in DDoS attacks, A10's threat intelligence research also monitored a noticeable increase in the scope and intensity of cybercrimes.

Its findings reveal a 100% increase of more obscure potential amplification weapons year-over-year, such as Apple Remote Desktop, which A10 notes was used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Furthermore, attackers have exploited the Log4j vulnerability, with over 75% of Log4j scanners originating in Russia.

A10 cites advice from the Biden-Harris Administration in March amidst the ongoing conflict, which stressed the importance of bolstering security posture to protect companies from cyber attacks and state-sponsored cyber warfare.

While the advice was targeted at US organisations, A10 acknowledges that establishing zero trust principles as soon as possible is crucial for ensuring organisations globally are protected and that their networks are not being used to initiate attacks.

These, and other trends, are included in the 2022 A10 Networks DDoS Threat Report, which provides detailed insights, including the origins of DDoS activity.

This includes the growth of DDoS weapons such as the computers, servers and IoT devices that can potentially be used in DDoS attacks.

It also details information about botnets and the role of malware in the propagation of DDoS weapons and attacks, offering steps organisations should take to protect against these activities.

The company's security-led offerings for DDoS protection, TLS/SSL inspection of encrypted traffic and application delivery security capabilities afford organisations identity-based and context-based Zero Trust policies for specific enforced access.

"Recent events underscore the often devastating impact that cyber attacks have on governments and businesses around the world," A10 Networks CEO and president Dhrupad Trivedi says.

"A10 Networks tracks the origins of DDoS weapons activity, in addition to other attack vectors, in order to arm customers with useful threat intelligence.

"This is a critical component of a Zero Trust framework to help organisations better anticipate and mitigate cyber attacks, and also ensure networks are not inadvertently being weaponised."

A10 also recently received Frost - Sullivan recognition for its DDoS protection offerings and, along with several other vendors, was awarded the 2021 Frost - Sullivan Customer Value Leadership award for global DDoS mitigation, for excellence in best practices.

The company also joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA), furthering its investment in supporting its customers' cybersecurity requirements.

MISA is an ecosystem of independent software vendors and managed security service providers that have integrated their offerings to better defend against the increasing threat landscape.

More detailed results are available in the complete 2022 A10 Networks DDoS Threat Report.