Key metrics from the 1H 2022 Netscout DDoS Threat Intelligence Report / ISSUE 9: FINDINGS FROM 1ST HALF 2022
China
Despite a slight decrease in DDoS attack frequency toward the end of 2021, adversaries unfortunately ramped up their nefarious activities in 1H 2022. Not content to simply rest on their laurels, attackers increasingly used powerful DDoS-capable botnets to launch TCP-based direct path attacks and often tied them to sociopolitical and entertainment events – think war, politics, religion, and sports.
The end result is that adversaries are constantly innovating, trying new attack methods, vectors, and motivations. EMEA experienced a 7 percent increase in DDoS attacks, with many of those tied to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The APAC region experienced about 8,600 DDoS attacks per day – or a new attack launched every 10 seconds. The LATAM region experienced an increase of 125 percent in botnet-based TCP floods. And North America experienced 1.04 million DDoS attacks in the six-month period, with adversaries increasingly targeting cloud-related service providers and even primary schools.
Max Multivector Attack
Max number of vectors seen in a single attack
17
Attack Vectors Used
1. chargen Amplification
2. CLDAP Amplification
3. DNS
4. DNS Amplification
5. ICMP
6. mDNS Amplification
7. memcached Amplification
8. MS SQL RS Amplification
9. NetBIOS Amplification
10. NTP Amplification
11. RIPv1 Amplification
12. rpcbind Amplification
13. SNMP Amplification
14. SSDP Amplification
15. TCP ACK
16. TCP SYN
17. UDP
Top 5 Attack Vectors
Ts
TCP SYN
Number of Attacks
109,219
Dn
DNS Amp
Number of Attacks
10,620
Ta
TCP ACK
Number of Attacks
6,909
Mh
MBHTTP Amp
Number of Attacks
6,483
Top Nine Vertical Industries Under Attack
The following industry chart shows the most targeted sectors in 1H 2022 by number of attacks.
| Rank | Vertical | Frequency | Max Attack | Max Impact | Average Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Data Processing Hosting and Related Services
|
46,513 | 480 Gbps | 137 Mpps | 1720 Minutes |
| 2 |
 Wired Telecommunications Carriers
|
42,047 | 378 Gbps | 73 Mpps | 972 Minutes |
| 3 |
 Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite)
|
1,993 | 337 Gbps | 73 Mpps | 2034 Minutes |
| 4 |
 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
|
1,197 | 189 Gbps | 32 Mpps | 1711 Minutes |
| 5 |
 Telecommunications Resellers
|
632 | 215 Gbps | 18 Mpps | 621 Minutes |
| 6 |
 Computer Training
|
86 | 61 Gbps | 5 Mpps | 6479 Minutes |
| 7 |
 Computer Systems Design Services
|
7 | 7 Gbps | 0 Mpps | 565 Minutes |
| 8 |
 All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing
|
2 | 0 Gbps | 0 Mpps | 635 Minutes |
| 9 |
 Electronics Stores
|
1 | 0 Gbps | 0 Mpps | 362 Minutes |