The cybersecurity sector has experienced a significant increase in attacks, with a 154% rise year-over-year. This surge can be attributed in large part to the emergence of cyber hacktivist groups and the growing power of botnets.

Of all the DDoS attacks, approximately 35% targeted financial services, surpassing the gaming industry which previously held the top spot. Teresa Walsh, Chief Intelligence Officer and Managing Director, EMEA at FS-ISAC, highlighted that financial services companies are prime targets due to the potential severe reputational risks and loss of trust in the global financial system that can result from even momentary disruptions in their operations.

The attack reached its peak at 633.7 gigabits per second and 55 million packets per second. The increase in DDoS activity has been largely driven by hacktivist groups seeking to disrupt institutions amid escalating geopolitical tensions, starting with the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 and later the Israel-Hamas conflict in October of the same year.

According to a report, these groups often prefer DDoS attacks due to the conspicuous nature of the resulting impacts, as stated by Conor McLaren, Principal Adversary Hunter at Dragos.