Arbor Networks, a firm specializing in Web security and protection against online attacks, has released new data which suggests that Gamers are now a major source of DDoS attacks.
The report looked at data encompassing the last 10 years, which shows an increase in Distributed Denial of Service attacks against companies over the last year, compared to the year before. Back in 2011, DDoS attacks accounted for around 100 gigabits per second. By 2014, that figure had reached over 400 gigabits per second, with four times as many attacks using over 100Gbps year-on-year.
“There’s been a massive jump in the number of very large attacks going on out there,” said Darren Anstee, a senior analyst for the company. “In 2014 we saw more volumetric attacks, with attackers trying to knock people offline by saturating their access to the internet.”
He went on to say that of the companies they contacted when carrying out the research, over 40% reported that they were the victim of over 21 separate attacks per month. He said that changes in technology could be one of the reasons behind the increase, while the ease with which they can be carried out has also contributed to the rise. However, he also explained that the data suggests companies are becoming better at spotting the signs of such attacks at an earlier stage.
One of the groups responsible for a number of high-profile attacks in 2014 was Lizard Squad. The group, which has saw some of its members arrested following attacks on Microsoft and Sony over the Christmas period, caused widespread problems for gamers when it managed to force Sony and Microsoft to take both PSN and Xbox Live down on Christmas day. While Microsoft managed to recover from the attacks relatively quickly, Sony continued to experience intermittent problems for some time. Sony later apologized to consumers, offering compensation for the inconvenience.
Dale Morgan
@spamdangled
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