Partner Content: “The barrier to launching an attack is lower than ever”: Mitigating increasing DDoS attacks in EMEA

Richard Meeus, EMEA Director of Security Technology and Strategy at Akamai, shares insights from the company’s recent State of the Internet Report, focusing on the growing complexity and prevalence of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in the EMEA region.

Akamai's recent State of the Internet Report, Fighting the Heat: EMEA’s Rising DDoS Threats, highlights significant shifts in DDoS attacks within EMEA in the past year. The rate of DDoS attacks in the region is increasing more rapidly than in other global regions.

The conjecture is that much of this regional shift is due to geopolitical tensions and a number of elections occurring this year. These factors are likely to elevate the risk of DDoS attacks even further. There has been a rise in both the number of DDoS attack vectors employed by cybercriminals and the length of those attacks, with more than one-third of DDoS events used multiple attack vectors, as many as 12.

"What’s unusual is the rise of hacktivism, a tactic popularised almost a decade ago but now re-emerging with greater intensity. This is particularly linked to geopolitical tensions, such as the conflicts in the region, which have fueled a new wave of activism using DDoS as a means of protest.", said Richard Meeus.

EMEA exceeds North America in DDoS

For the first time since tracking DDoS attacks, Akamai reports that EMEA has overtaken North America in the volume of DDoS attacks, wiith over a third of all DDoS attack events globally now occuring in EMEA.The sectors most targeted by these attacks vary, but there are clear patterns. "Financial services and political organisations are frequent targets. For example, the group KillNet, which has been active in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, targeted German institutions following the country’s decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Their list included government websites, financial services, and other prominent public sector sites.", said Richard Meeus.

Meeus emphasises that the public sector, particularly in countries like Ukraine, has been a major focus of these attacks "We’ve been supporting key assets in Ukraine, such as the president’s website, which at one point was receiving a million requests per second. Public sector organisations are common targets because of their prominence and the potential for widespread impact, as well as the media attention the attack will receive."

DDoS attacks becoming more sophisticated

The Akamai report also finds that DDoS attacks have evolved not just in frequency but also in sophistication. "We’ve seen a noticeable increase in the number of attack vectors used in a single event, sometimes up to 12 different methods. This makes it incredibly challenging for defenders, who must block all malicious traffic without affecting legitimate users or requests” he says.

Meeus stresses the importance of precision in defense strategies, especially given the scale of some attacks. "Defenders must be extremely accurate. Blocking legitimate traffic could mean doing the attacker’s job for them, which is why maintaining service availability while blocking attacks is crucial."

”Akamai offers a range of services depending on the needs of our customers. For instance, we’ve built a global cloud network, the most distributed on the planet, with over 4,100 points of presence worldwide. This network can absorb any size of DDoS attack, acting as an intelligent shield that protects our customers’ websites,” Meeus says.

Looking ahead, Meeus predicts that the volume and complexity of DDoS attacks will continue to rise. He also pointed out that while larger organisations may have robust defenses, smaller entities, especially in the public sector, might struggle. "There’s a growing focus on ensuring that public sector organisations have comprehensive coverage and the necessary cyber hygiene to protect themselves."

Strategies for mitigating DDoS attacks

As the landscape of DDoS attacks continues to evolve, Meeus offered some best practices for organisations to mitigate these threats. "DDoS is an asymmetric threat - it’s cheap to launch but comparatively expensive to defend against. Organisations need to consider placing cloud services in front of their assets to absorb attacks. The scale and capacity of cloud services are critical for dealing with the massive volumes of traffic that DDoS attacks can generate."

He concluded by highlighting the increasing availability of attack tools and the corresponding need for sophisticated defenses. "With DDoS as a service now easily accessible, the barrier to launching an attack is lower than ever. This means that organisations must invest in tools that can withstand these threats, ensuring that their services remain resilient and available, no matter the scale of the attack."

Meeus also touched on the importance of protecting DNS services, which have become a more prominent target. "DNS underpins everything we do on the internet and its importance cannot be overstated. If your DNS goes down, so does everything else, regardless of how well protected your website might be. We’ve seen a significant rise in attacks targeting DNS, emphasising the need for organisations to protect this critical component of their infrastructure."

Overall, Meeus highlighted the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between attackers and defenders. "As organisations get better at defending against one type of attack, attackers shift their focus to something else. It’s a continuous battle, but with the right strategies and tools, organisations can stay ahead of the curve."

Click here to read Akamai's full ‘State of the Internet Report, Fighting the Heat: EMEA’s Rising DDoS Threats .

This article is sponsored by Akamai