Source URL: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/10/03/2034235/cloudflare-blocks-largest-recorded-ddos-attack-peaking-at-38tbps
Source: Slashdot
Title: Cloudflare Blocks Largest Recorded DDoS Attack Peaking At 3.8Tbps
Feedly Summary:
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses a significant distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack campaign impacting financial services, telecommunications, and internet sectors, with a peak attack size of 3.8 terabits per second. This unprecedented volume highlights the need for enhanced security measures in network infrastructure, especially in the face of evolving threats that utilize compromised devices.
Detailed Description:
The article outlines a particularly aggressive campaign of DDoS attacks that have raised alarms in the cybersecurity community due to their unprecedented size and frequency. Here are the key points:
– **Nature of the Attack**:
– This campaign featured a large volume of DDoS attacks that collectively lasted for a month.
– The most severe attack recorded a peak traffic of 3.8 terabits per second, setting a record for the largest publicly acknowledged DDoS attack.
– **Targeted Sectors**:
– The attacks primarily targeted key sectors such as financial services, internet infrastructure, and telecommunications.
– **Impact on Infrastructure**:
– The attacks flooded network and application layers (specifically L3/4), leading to significant disruptions for legitimate users.
– Many attacks were characterized as hyper-volumetric, overwhelming the targets by consuming available bandwidth and exhausting device resources.
– **Characteristics of the Attacks**:
– Over the course of the campaign, more than 100 attacks were recorded, with some exceeding two billion packets per second.
– Devices compromised in these attacks included various home routers, DVRs, and web servers, many of which were located in countries like Russia, Vietnam, the U.S., Brazil, and Spain.
– **Mitigation Efforts**:
– Cloudflare played a crucial role in mitigating these attacks, successfully neutralizing them autonomously and managing to handle the peak 3.8 Tbps attack which lasted approximately 65 seconds.
– **Security Implications**:
– This scenario underscores the pressing need for robust security frameworks to protect against advanced DDoS attacks.
– Organizations, especially those in vulnerable sectors, should consider adopting comprehensive DDoS mitigation strategies and improve overall network resilience.
This major incident serves as a critical reminder for security professionals to reevaluate their defenses and stay aware of the evolving tactics used by threat actors.