U.S. a favorite target for DDoS attacks, study shows

YARMOUTH, Maine—Approximately 65 percent of all distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are directed at the US or UK, according to the data analyzed by Atlas VPN, which noted that cybercriminals are taking advantage of vulnerabilities created with more people working remotely during the pandemic.

The report shows that:

•  65% of all DDoS attacks target US and UK
• The United States was a target of 35% of all DDoS attacks in June 2021.
• The United Kingdom comes second as it fell victim to 29% of all DDoS attacks.
• China was attacked by 18% of all DDoS attacks in June 2021.
• The most assaulted industry was the computers and internet sector, targeted by 83% of all DDoS attacks.
• The games industry is the second most attacked sector as it suffered 9% of all DDoS attacks.
• Gambling sites experienced 6% of all DDoS attacks in June 2021.

As noted above, the U.S. was a target of 35% of all DDoS attacks in June 2021. “Cybercriminals have launched DDoS attacks against Amazon Web Services, Google, and other prominent US-based companies in the past,” VPN noted. “However, as these businesses have extensive resources, they withstood the attack without noticeable disruptions.”

The United Kingdom fell victim to 29 percent of all DDoS attacks. “As the UK has many huge businesses, they often are targeted by hackers for valuable data or even a ransom,” VPN said. “Threat actors claim that they would not stop a DDoS attack unless their ransom demands are met.”

China was attacked by 18 percent of all DDoS attacks in June 2021, followed by Japan and Germany were each struck by about 3 percent of all DDoS attacks.

The most attacked industry was the computers and internet sector, targeted by 83 percent of all DDoS attacks. Domain providers, web hosts, and internet service providers often become the victims of DDoS attacks. By suspending their systems, hackers also disrupt all other companies using attacked business services.

VPN explained that some businesses are more heavily targeted due to the damage they would cause if hackers disrupted their service, noting, “At other times, cybercriminals launch DDoS threats because of the competitive nature of the attacked industry itself. DDoS attacks are a severe threat. They lead to the interruption of the website or service, which could cause massive financial damages to the business. To stop the assault, hackers often request a ransom, making it even harder for the company.”

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