The Nexusguard 2023 Annual DDoS Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolving landscape of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In 2023, the digital ecosystem witnessed a significant shift in cyber threats, with unprecedented attacks reshaping perceptions of DDoS risks. Hacktivism emerged as a key driver, as groups orchestrated attacks for political purposes, impacting government and essential service sectors.
Despite a 54.74% decline in the total count of attacks, the average attack size increased by 233.33% compared to the previous year. This indicates a strategic shift towards more impactful assaults, with the largest attack reaching 700 Gbps, representing a 30.92% increase from the prior year's peak.
While UDP-based attacks remained the most common, there was a decrease of 58.29% in their frequency. TCP-based attacks and amplification attacks also experienced declines of 37.20% and 54.94% respectively. Additionally, application-layer attacks witnessed a 19.20% reduction.
The newly added 5-year trend analysis in the report provides statistical evidence of correlations between global events and fluctuations in DDoS activity. Geopolitical tensions, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and NATO expansion bids, have been directly linked to the rise of DDoS attacks. These events have triggered cyber retaliation, leading to a significant increase in DDoS incidents.
