NSFOCUS Releases 2012 Threat Report Highlighting DDoS Trends Over Past Year

Research finds DDoS attack times shorter, more frequent; Application-layer attacks now the most common method of intrusion

BEIJING, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NSFOCUS, a global provider of solutions and services for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) mitigation, today released its annual Threat Report detailing attack trends over the past year as observed by the company’s Security Research Academy, an in-house team of anti-DDoS analysts. The report paints a picture of the complex information security landscape, showing that systems and application administrators are experiencing higher threat levels than ever before. Highlights of the findings include:

• DDoS attack times have gotten shorter, with more than half completing within 10 minutes, down from an average duration of 21 minutes over the first half of 2012, and 93.2 percent lasting 30 minutes or less; however, they have become more frequent, with 49.3 percent of victims suffering DDoS attacks twice or more.
• Application-layer (Layer-7) attacks, which can cause high damage, are now the most common type, comprising 42.7 percent of total DDoS attacks, up from 24.3 percent that were observed in the first half of 2012.
• Newly emerging cloud and virtual infrastructure vulnerabilities have doubled in 2012 from previous years.

“The initiation of shorter, more frequent attacks can actually lead to a more difficult-to-defend condition for targeted businesses,” said Frank Ip, vice president of U.S. operations for NSFOCUS. “Each attack can become more dynamic, with the potential to disable not only a company’s website, but also its mission-critical applications and databases. Further, DDoS attack methodology can change based on how the target reacts, resulting in a constant cat-and-mouse game.”

The NSFOCUS annual Threat Report reveals that 2012 was a year of evolving and disturbing trends in information security. The report aims to help business managers at all levels educate themselves on these trends so they can work to ensure their policies and defenses are strong enough to guard against an enemy that is becoming more cunning and powerful.

To obtain your copy of the report, visit http://www.nsfocus.com/en/2013/SecurityReport_0514/130.html

About NSFOCUS

NSFOCUS is a proven global leader in active perimeter network security for service providers, data centers, and corporations. It focuses on providing network security solutions. More detailed information is available at http://www.nsfocus.com.