Qrator Labs’ Q3 Insight: DDoS Attacks Target Finance

Qrator Labs has published a report on DDoS attacks for the third quarter of 2023, which found the financial sector to be the most vulnerable, having been the target of 42.06% of all recorded attacks. Following in susceptibility were the realms of e-commerce, bearing the brunt of 29.80% of attacks, and the IT sector with telecommunications, enduring 6.05%. The educational technology sphere and the media industry also found themselves among the affected, securing the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Throughout the initial nine months of 2023, banks were the most frequent targets of such incursions, accounting for 27.74% of all instances. They were trailed by online classifieds boards and virtual education platforms, which constituted 16.16% and 9.5% of all attacks, respectively.

Image: Qrator

The duration of DDoS attacks witnessed an escalation in the third quarter, with the average attack persisting for 66 minutes, a rise of 19 minutes over the previous quarter. August was marked by an unprecedented assault on the transportation and logistics sector for the year, continuing over 71 hours, bearing the hallmarks of a commissioned onslaught. In September, an attack targeting the food service sector lasted over 22 hours and was recorded among the five most intensive attacks, reaching a zenith of power exceeding 100 Gbps.

In their efforts to circumvent blockades, malefactors have commenced the utilization of IP addresses near the victim’s region, leading to an augmentation in the number of blocked addresses by more than 116%, from 18.5 million to a staggering 40.15 million. The majority of these interdicted addresses are attributed to Russia, the United States, and China.