Gcore’s newest DDoS Radar report analyzes assault knowledge from Q3–This fall 2024, revealing a 56% YoY rise within the complete variety of DDoS assaults with the most important assault peaking at a report 2 Tbps. The monetary companies sector noticed probably the most dramatic improve, with a 117% rise in assaults, whereas gaming remained the most-targeted business. This era’s findings emphasize the necessity for strong, adaptive DDoS mitigation as assaults change into extra exact and frequent. Let’s dive into the numbers.
Key takeaways: the way forward for DDoS protection
Listed here are the 4 key takeaways from Gcore Radar:
- DDoS assaults are growing in quantity and class. The 17% development in complete assaults and new peak quantity of two Tbps spotlight the necessity for superior safety.
- Monetary companies face rising dangers. With a 117% improve in assaults, this sector requires heightened security measures.
- Shorter, high-intensity assaults are actually the norm. Conventional mitigation approaches should adapt to speedy burst assaults that may evade detection.
- Geopolitical components affect assault patterns. Understanding assault origins will help strengthen defenses in high-risk areas.
DDoS assault frequency will increase to new excessive
The report highlights a sustained improve in assault frequency. In comparison with Q3–This fall 2023, DDoS assaults have risen by 56%, underscoring the long-term development pattern.

Gcore identifies a number of technological and environmental components which are probably contributing to the rising variety of assaults:
- Quick access to assault instruments: DDoS-for-hire companies and botnets have lowered the barrier for launching assaults.
- Increasing IoT vulnerabilities: Poorly secured IoT units proceed to gasoline bigger botnets.
- Geopolitical and financial tensions: Political conflicts and monetary motivations drive focused assaults.
- Extra subtle assault methods: Multi-vector and application-layer assaults make mitigation tougher.
Largest assault reaches 2 Tbps
The biggest recorded assault in Q3–This fall 2024 hit 2 Tbps, focusing on a significant world gaming firm. This represents an 18% improve from the earlier peak of 1.7 Tbps in Q1–Q2 2024.
Whereas large-scale assaults like these are sometimes mitigated rapidly, their damaging potential continues to develop. Terabit-level assaults may cause widespread service outages and monetary losses, significantly for companies reliant on real-time operations.

Monetary companies face assault surge, however gaming stays the highest goal
Gaming stays the most-attacked sector, although its share of complete assaults dropped from 49% in Q3–This fall 2023 to 34%. Attainable explanations embrace:
- Improved DDoS safety forcing attackers to shift focus
- Ongoing motivation for assaults as a consequence of aggressive gaming and monetary incentives
- Excessive income impression from service downtime
Additionally notable is the uptick in assaults on monetary companies, rising from 12% to 26% of complete incidents. The sector’s heavy regulation, vital on-line companies, and susceptibility to ransom-based assaults make it a main goal.
The complete Gcore Radar report shares business knowledge for media and leisure, retail, telecommunications, know-how, and different industries.
Rise of ACK floods and shorter bursts
The distribution of DDoS assaults throughout the community and software layers throughout H2 2024 highlights a higher prevalence of network-layer assaults.

On the community layer, UDP flood assaults stay the most typical technique, accounting for 60% of all network-layer assaults. Nevertheless, ACK flood assaults are on the rise, now making up 7% of complete assaults. These assaults mimic professional visitors, making mitigation tougher.
On the software layer, L7 UDP flood assaults accounted for 45%, whereas L7 TCP flood assaults rose to 37%. Gcore notes that the latter is gaining traction as a consequence of its skill to evade conventional filtering mechanisms.
Shorter however extra disruptive assaults
Some of the notable shifts is the lower in assault period. The longest recorded assault in Q3–This fall 2024 lasted simply 5 hours, in comparison with 16 hours within the earlier interval.
Shorter, high-intensity burst assaults have gotten extra widespread. These assaults:
- Disrupt companies rapidly whereas avoiding sustained detection.
- Mimic professional visitors patterns, making mitigation extra complicated.
- Function smokescreens for different cyberattacks, together with ransomware.


Geopolitical influences
Geopolitical tensions and financial rivalries proceed to form the DDoS panorama, with politically motivated assaults focusing on monetary companies, vital infrastructure, and high-value enterprises. In the meantime, areas with dense web infrastructure—such because the Netherlands, the US, and China—function each launch factors and battlegrounds for cybercriminal teams leveraging botnets, proxy networks, and DDoS-for-hire companies.
The report identifies key areas contributing to DDoS assault visitors:
- The US and the Netherlands are prime sources for each assault layers.
- Brazil is a rising hub for network-layer assaults.
- China and Indonesia each contribute considerably to world assault volumes.

Obtain the total report for application-layer assault geographic knowledge.
Gcore DDoS Safety: mitigating the brand new wave of assaults
Gcore DDoS Safety leverages 200+ Tbps filtering capability throughout six continents to neutralize assaults in actual time. As DDoS threats evolve, organizations should undertake proactive protection methods to safeguard their digital belongings.
Observe: This text is expertly written and contributed by Andrey Slastenov, Head of Safety at Gcore.