Join Craig Lusher from our Secure team as he takes a deep dive in the latest DDoS stat from the first quarter of the year
The quarterly numbers
It’s been a quiet start to the year in terms of the number of DDoS attacks being launched against Continent 8 customers. In the first three months of 2024, we recorded just 58 attacks across 14 customers compared to the 184 recorded during the same period in 2023.
The year started with 17 attacks recorded in January, almost doubling to 30 in February before dropping back down to 15 in March – this compares with 116, 34 and 34 in January, February and March 2023 respectively.
The fluctuation in attack numbers over the first three months of the year suggests varying attack campaigns targeting different customers. Interestingly, the highest number of attacks were launched against customers based in Kahnawake.
The intensity of attacks was far less ferocious than in previous quarters where we registered attacks over 1Tbps – in 1Q24 it was a far more manageable 3Gbps. Throughout the quarter, the average size of attack was <1Gbps which is a record low for Continent 8 in recent years.
While the size of attacks is on the low side, the disparity between the largest and the average is significant and suggests that while most attacks were smaller there were some outliers (including the 3Gbps attack) that increased the average in February and March.
Of the customers attacked over the first three months of the year, one customer was subject to 25 attacks making it the most targeted. This indicates that specific customer was victim to a persistent targeted attack, which is why we recommend organisations deploy our DDoS Mitigation Service.
It also highlights that some organisations are at greater risk than others and may require additional protective measures depending on the products and services they offer and the markets they are active in.
While the scale of attacks was moderate by global standards, their frequency and duration are cause for concern. That total attack duration for Q1 amounted to 36.6 hours, with the longest attack lasting a total of 2.1 hours resulting in an average attack length of 38 minutes for the quarter.
Such durations can strain resources for unprotected customers and potentially lead to significant disruptions if critical systems or services are targeted.
DDoS protection – a must-have
Despite a drop in the number of DDoS attacks on our customers in the iGaming and sports betting industry, the need for DDoS protection is still paramount, especially for customers who are more susceptible and vulnerable to attack. This is certainly the case as we move toward a summer of major sports events including the Olympics and UEFA Euro 2024.
DDoS protection should form part of a wider, multi-layered approach to cybersecurity that also includes WAF/WAAP protection, backup solutions, MDR/EDR services, VAPT assessments, mobile device and phishing defence as well as SIEM and SOC resources.
This is the only way to have multiple protections in place for each attack type, including DDoS, and to ensure the greatest level of resilience.
Of course, our data and analysis should also be used to inform cybersecurity strategies moving forward and for resource allocation for DDoS mitigation efforts.
Continent 8’s DDoS protection
Our DDoS solution continues to evolve and in recent months we have amplified our scrubbing capacity to 2.5+Tbps, as well as increased our scrubbing centres geographically deployed across multiple continents. Locations include Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Miami, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo.
Key features of our mitigation solution:
To learn more about how Continent 8 can help defend your organisation against DDoS attacks, contact a member of the team via sales@continent8.com or fill out the form on our Contact Us page
