In the first half of 2024, organizations in the EMEA region were the primary targets of web DDoS attacks, accounting for over 90% of the attacks. The volume of network layer DDoS attacks also increased significantly, with EMEA experiencing a 293% growth in blocked DDoS volume per organization, compared to 116% in the Americas and 302% in APAC.

The Americas faced 58% of global attacks and 37% of the volume, while EMEA accounted for 23% of the attacks but mitigated 56% of the global volume. DNS DDoS attack activity quadrupled compared to the same period in 2023, with malicious DNS queries growing by 76% compared to the total number of queries observed in 2023.

Pascal Geenens, Radware’s director of threat intelligence, noted that high-intensity, volumetric attacks surged in the first half of 2024, with a growing focus on the application infrastructure. Geopolitical tensions, conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, and international events such as country elections, Eurovision, UEFA Euro, and the Olympics played a role in driving malicious activity.

It is anticipated that the attacks will continue to climb in the latter half of the year, as more threat actors embrace AI technology that is increasingly accessible. Additionally, hacktivist activity persisted, with 1,000 to 1,200 claimed attacks per month.

Ukraine was the most targeted country, followed by the United States, Israel, and India. The upcoming election in the United States and concerns about decelerating financial markets are expected to contribute to cyber disruptions.