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HOW NATION-STATE DDOS ATTACKS IMPACT US ALL

Global organizations and geopolitical entities must adopt new strategies to
combat the growing sophistication in attacks that parallel the complexities of
our new geopolitical reality.

Gary Sockrider, Director, Security Solutions, Netscout

April 10, 2024

3 Min Read
Source: Dragon Claws via Alamy Stock Photo


COMMENTARY

Today, it's rare for a month to pass without reports of new distributed
denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks driven by geopolitical instability. Now, a
single attack can include numerous countries and networks. While the war
between Russia and Ukraine and elections in NATO countries like Poland drive
geopolitically focused DDoS attacks, it's important to understand that these
threats were present long before these conflicts, and will be around long after.
But why are these attacks against governmental institutions so prominent, and
why do they impact all of us in the first place? 



That is partially because changes in political leadership often correlate
directly with a spike in DDoS attacks. For example, in Poland, DDoS attack
volume increased fourfold within days of its new government being sworn into
office. These spikes often result from hacktivist groups (e.g., KillNet,
Noname057, Anonymous Sudan) opposing the viewpoints of newly elected officials.
They impact the rest of us because DDoS attacks must cross multiple Internet
service providers (ISPs) to reach the intended victim. 



Unfortunately, even an attack that is effectively mitigated will use up valuable
resources on any ISP network it reaches. We refer to this as the "DDoS tax,"
which increases the cost of network operation, making it more expensive for
everyone. In fact, global ISPs reported a 500% global increase in HTTP/S
application layer attacks since 2019, and 17% growth in DNS
reflection/amplification volumes in the first half of 2023. Furthermore, it is
alarming that carpet-bombing attacks, a technique that simultaneously targets
entire IP address ranges, increased by 110% from the first to the second half of
2022, with most attacks occurring against ISP networks.



The bottom line is that there is no escape from DDoS attacks on governmental
institutions, and threat intelligence needs to be taken more seriously because
of how universal the threat can be when it comes to compromising global ISP
networks and additional IT infrastructure. Therefore, it is key for governmental
entities to suppress DDoS attacks before they can begin.




COMPREHENSIVE AND ADAPTIVE DEFENSES FOR EVOLVING DDOS ATTACKS

With nation-states, bad actors often directly target Internet infrastructure to
take out critical communications, ecommerce, and other vital infrastructure
dependent on Internet connectivity. That means attackers target ISP networks to
purposefully degrade Internet connectivity. Further, these bad actors typically
have vastly more resources at their disposal than other attackers. They
constantly innovate and explore new and more powerful DDoS attack vectors,
evidenced by the creation of new ones every year, such as DNS Water Torture and
Carpet Bombing. All the while, as DDoS defenses become more effective, bad
actors continue to sidestep these defenses with new DDoS attack vectors and
methodologies. These advanced techniques invariably find their way into the
hands of criminal gangs and even individual hackers, who turn them against any
entity from whom they can profit.

With the increased persistence of cybercriminals and the growth in complexity of
DDoS attacks, the foundation for a comprehensive DDoS protection solution should
identify and stop all types of DDoS attacks before they impact the availability
of business-critical services. With today's growing frequency and complexity of
DDoS attacks, a multilayer defense strategy is now no longer nice to have, but a
requirement. New techniques such as adaptive DDoS strategies, which change
vectors based on the defense that is presented, reinforce the need for better
agility and efficiency when it comes to managing these increasingly complex
attacks.



In the end, threat actors will continue using DDoS attacks as a way to further
disrupt and inflame sociopolitical tensions around the world. Security
professionals need to consider both local and international conflicts when
assessing the DDoS risk factors associated with nation-state attacks. The
unfortunate reality is that bad actors continue to find new ways to orchestrate
attacks through evolving methodologies. As such, global organizations and
geopolitical entities must adopt new strategies right now, such as advanced DDoS
defense and suppression, to combat this growing sophistication in attacks that
parallel the complexities of our new geopolitical reality.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Gary Sockrider

Director, Security Solutions, Netscout

Gary is an industry veteran, bringing over 20 years of broad technology
experience including routing and switching, wireless, mobility, collaboration,
and cloud but always with a focus on security. His previous roles include
solutions architect, security SME, sales engineering, consultancy, product
management, IT and customer support. Prior to joining Netscout in 2012, he spent
12 years at Cisco Systems and held positions with Avaya and Cable & Wireless.



See more from Gary Sockrider
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