Report: DDoS Attacks Are up 80% in Q2 2016

A new threat report released by a security solutions firm has revealed that the second quarter of 2016 has seen an increase in the number of DDoS attacks by up to 83%.

DDoS attacks are among the most notorious cyberattacks in the current climate. Basically, anyone with money and a vendetta can instigate a DDoS attack for a cheap price. The ease of triggering a DDoS attack has shown to be true, with over 182, 900 DDoS attacks seen by security solutions firm Nexusguard.

The increase of an eye-watering 83% can be pointed to the likes of nationalist hactivists who attack businesses, researchers say.

The most targeted country is shown to be Russia, with one Russian ISP catering to enterprises receiving over 40% of DDoS attacks observed during a two-day period. Russia came 7th on the top 10-most targeted in the first quarter this year, which means the country saw a drastic increase of 1992% of attacks compared to Q1 2016.

China came second and saw a 50% increase from Q1. The United States rounded up the top 3.

Related read: Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Are up 125% Every Year, Report Reveals

Brazil, a growing economic powerhouse is also among the top 10 targeted countries but attacks targeting the South American nation have declined by more than half from the first quarter of 2016. However, researchers are predicting a surge in Q3 2016 with the upcoming Olympics in Brazil, a prime target for hacktivists who are looking into implementing new DDoS attack methodologies, researchers stated.

The results come as a surprise, according to Nexusguard chief scientist Terrence Gareau, who did not expect to see an increase in the second quarter of 2016.

“We were surprised to see an increase in DDoS attacks this quarter, especially as hackers experiment with ransomware, phishing schemes and other data-grabbing methods for monetary gain,” Gareau stated.

He further added that Q3 will almost certainly see a surge in attacks, due to two prominent events that are certain to be followed globally.

Organizations can expect cyberattacks to continue growing in frequency this year, especially with more attention on the Summer Olympics and the November election season in the US.

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