Cybersecurity researchers recommendbandwidth protection against IoT botnets

SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES - Media OutReach- September 13, 2018 - The average DDoS attack quintupled in size to more than26 Gbps and the maximum attack size quadrupled to 359 Gbps compared to the sameperiod last year, according to Nexusguard's "Q22018 Threat Report." The quarterly report, which unbiasedlyevaluates thousands of worldwide DDoS attacks, attributes the dramatic rise toIoT botnets and Satori malware exploits, which is a variant of the notoriousMirai malware. Communications service providers (CSPs) and vulnerableorganizations will need to enhance bandwidth protection if they hope to stayahead of the surging attack sizes.

Due to the increase in IoT-related malware exploits and the rampantgrowth of large-scale DDoS attacks, research conclusions point to the continueduse of IoT botnets. Cyberattacks hit the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well ascryptocurrency-related businesses, maximizing revenue loss. For example,attacks on the Verge Network (XVG) caused a loss of 35 million XVG tokens,valued at more than $1.7 million. Nexusguard analysts warn that CSPs andsusceptible operations should enhance their preparedness to maintain theirbandwidth, especially if their infrastructures don't have full redundancy andfailover plans in place.

"The biggest zero-day risks can stem fromvarious types of home routers, which attackers can exploit to create expansiveDDoS attacks against networks and mission-critical services, resulting injumbo-sized attacks intended to cripple targets during peak revenue-generatinghours," said Juniman Kasman, chief technology officer for Nexusguard. "Telcosand other communications service providers will need to take extra precautionsto guard bandwidth against these supersized attacks to ensure customer serviceand operations continue uninterrupted."

Hackers favored attacks using universaldatagram protocol (UDP), with more than 31 percent of all attacks leveragingthis volumetric strategy. The connectionless protocol helps launchmass-generated botnets, which also saps host resources and can ultimately makethem inaccessible. With nearly one-third of the worldwide Internet users, theU.S. and China held their spots as the top two sources of attack traffic,contributing 20 percent and more than 16 percent of attacks, respectively.

Nexusguard's quarterly DDoS threatresearch gathers real-time attack data from botnet scanning, Honeypots,internet service providers (ISPs) and traffic moving between attackers andtheir targets to help companies identify vulnerabilities and stay informedabout global cyber security trends. Read the full "Q2 2018 Threat Report"for more details.

About Nexusguard

Founded in 2008, Nexusguard is a leadingcloud-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) security solution providerfighting malicious internet attacks. Nexusguard ensures uninterrupted internetservice, visibility, optimization and performance. Nexusguard is focused ondeveloping and providing the best cybersecurity solution for every clientacross a range of industries with specific business and technical requirements.Nexusguard also enables communication service providers to deliver DDoSprotection solution as a service. Nexusguard delivers on its promise to provideyou with peace of mind by countering threats and ensuring maximum uptime. Visitwww.nexusguard.comfor more information.