DDoS attacks targeting commerce, gaming and financial services in APAC

FS-ISAC, the member-driven, not-for-profit organisation that advances cybersecurity and resilience in the global financial system, and Akamai Technologies, the cloud company that powers and protects life online, have released new research on distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks threatening the financial services sector and its customers.

The report, DDoS: Here to Stay, revealed that over one-third (35%) of all DDoS attacks in 2023 globally were aimed at the wider financial services industry, which has surpassed the gaming sector as the most-attacked vertical worldwide. 

Source: Akamai's DDoS: Here to Stay, produced in conjunction with FS-ISAC. Sectors targeted by DDoS in APAC. 

The financial services sector was the most targeted sector in the AMER and EMEA regions, and the third-most attacked sector in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), after commerce and gaming. Of all DDoS attacks in APAC that targeted financial services, 91% focused on banking, compared to 63% globally. Driven by a dramatic surge in the power of botnets and hacktivism motivated by the Russia-Ukraine War, the financial services industry as a whole experienced a 154% increase in DDoS attacks between 2022 and 2023.

Hacktivists and DDoS attacks can disrupt business operations, leading to a loss of credibility, customer trust, and financial damage. Moreover, DDoS attacks may serve as a smoke screen for other malicious activities, such as data theft or cyber espionage.

The report details several of the major incursions of 2023, including the largest DDoS attacks ever launched against Akamai’s customers in the US, Europe, and APAC. Notably, Akamai successfully mitigated a record-breaking attack in APAC by employing a combination of more than 225 frontline responders, a dedicated defence capacity platform, and optimised DDoS incident response plans. Although attack traffic peaked at 900.1 Gbps and 158.2 Mpps, no collateral damage was reported.

Major findings include:

- DDoS attacks are quickly becoming one of the most prevalent types of cyberthreats, experiencing rapid growth in both number and volume over the past year. There were significant jumps in the number of attacks during the second and third quarters of 2023.

- Larger firms and banks with strong brand recognition are more likely to be targeted, as attackers aim to create the appearance of widespread disruption and disinformation. However, they are also the most likely enterprises to have strong mitigations in place.

“While DDoS is an age-old problem, there is a renewed focus driven by heightened geopolitical tensions as nation-states and hacktivists seek to disrupt operations and break trust in the global financial system,” said Teresa Walsh, Chief Intelligence Officer and MD, EMEA, at FS-ISAC. 

“These DDoS campaigns are becoming more persistent and increasingly multivector as they target all areas of the financial sector, including wealth management, banking, credit cards, digital payments, and insurance.”

“DDoS attackers use a variety of techniques to annoy, harass, and extort companies,” said Steve Winterfeld, Advisory CISO at Akamai. 

“These attacks cost little to launch and can do serious damage to a company’s brand. DDoS: Here to Stay explains why the financial sector will continue to see attacks from a variety of threat actors and demonstrates why organisations must prioritise robust cyber hygiene, optimise cyberdefences, and ensure compliance with evolving regulations.”

The collaboration on this report is a product of Akamai’s foundational participation in FS-ISAC’s Critical Providers Program, which was launched in 2022 to bolster the financial sector’s supply chain security.

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