{"id":14445,"date":"2017-01-26T08:43:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T08:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/?p=14445"},"modified":"2018-04-26T11:10:44","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T10:10:44","slug":"attacker-innovation-and-iot-exploitation-fuel-ddos-attack-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/2017\/01\/26\/attacker-innovation-and-iot-exploitation-fuel-ddos-attack-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Attacker innovation and IoT exploitation fuel DDoS attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arbor Networks<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0the security division of NETSCOUT, has\u00a0released its 12th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR). The report covers a range of issues from threat detection and incident response to managed services, staffing and budgets. Its focus is on the operational challenges Internet operators face daily from network-based threats and the strategies adopted to address and mitigate them.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s report shows the stakes have changed for network and security teams. The threat landscape has been transformed by the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) botnets. As IoT devices proliferate across networks, bringing tremendous benefits to businesses and consumers, attackers are able to weaponise them due to inherent security vulnerabilities. This year\u2019s report goes in-depth, covering how attackers exploit and recruit IoT devices, how IoT botnets enabled by Mirai source code operate and offers practical advice on how to defend against them.<\/p>\n

The largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack reported this year was 800 Gbps, a 60% increase over 2015\u2019s largest attack of 500 Gbps. Not only are DDoS attacks getting larger, but they are also becoming more frequent and complex. This increased scale and complexity has led more businesses to deploy purpose-built DDoS protection solutions, implement best practice hybrid defenses and increase time for incident response practice \u2013 all positive developments in an otherwise gloomy threat environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe survey respondents have grown accustomed to a constantly evolving threat environment with steady increases in attack size and complexity over the past decade,\u201d said Darren Anstee, Arbor Networks Chief Security Technologist. \u201cHowever, IoT botnets are a game changer because of the numbers involved. There are billions of these devices deployed and they are being easily weaponised to launch massive attacks. Increasing concern over the threat environment is reflected in the survey results, which show significant improvements in the deployment of best practice technologies and response processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key findings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Innovation and Exploitation Fuel DDoS Attack Landscape:\u00a0The emergence of botnets that exploit inherent security weaknesses in IoT devices and the release of the Mirai botnet source code have increased attacker ability to launch extremely large attacks.<\/p>\n

Scale:\u00a0The massive growth in attack size has been driven by increased attack activity on all reflection\/amplification protocols, and by the weaponization of IoT devices and the emergence of IoT botnets.<\/p>\n