Understanding the Evolving Threat of DDoS Attacks in 2024

You can access the full report here Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024

The Rise of Network and Application Layer Attacks

Beginning in mid-March 2024, there was a noticeable rise in network DDoS attacks, peaking at approximately 4,500 attacks per day by June. These attacks primarily targeted medium-sized applications, with a significant shift towards application layer attacks.

Unlike traditional network-level attacks, application layer attacks are more stealthy, sophisticated, and difficult to mitigate. These attacks, which range from 100,000 to 1 million packets-per-second, are aimed directly at specific web applications, revealing the relentless nature of attackers trying to evade volumetric DDoS protection tactics. Without adequate protection, these applications would experience significant availability issues.

The increased focus of DDoS attacks on the application layer rather than the more traditional network layers has created a greater risk of impact on business availability. This shift has affected critical services such as online banking and airline check-ins, highlighting the need for robust application layer protection

The Emergence of Application Loop Attacks

A new type of cyberattack, known as the "loop attack," is targeting the protocols that are essential for internet communication. This vulnerability affects application-layer protocols that rely on the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), such as TFTP, DNS, and NTP, as well as legacy protocols like Echo, Chargen, and QOTD.

The loop attack triggers an endless loop of error messages between servers, leading to severe degradation of service and network quality. Unlike traditional UDP-based floods, loop attacks do not amplify traffic volume with each spoofed packet but can still cause significant disruption by trapping multiple servers in a never-ending communication loop.

This attack highlights the vulnerabilities within our network protocols and underscores the need for continuous vigilance and robust security measures to protect against such sophisticated threats.

Mitigation Efforts and Actionable Insights

To combat the increasing threat of DDoS attacks, it is crucial to minimize the exposure of your applications over the public internet. This reduces the attack surface area and helps protect against potential threats. For applications that must be exposed, adopting a defense-in-depth strategy is essential. Ensure that network layer DDoS protection is in place to protect these applications. Specifically for web applications, deploying a web application firewall is vital to provide comprehensive application layer protection.

Integrating DDoS simulations into the software development lifecycle and making them a regular part of security operations is also recommended. This ensures that applications and workloads have the appropriate level of protection and can scale effectively to handle potential attacks.

The Impact of DDoS Attacks in India

In 2024, India continued to be heavily impacted by DDoS attacks, particularly in the gaming sector. The number of DDoS attacks per customer in India has more than doubled since 2020, with mid-size throughput attacks reaching around 1,000 attacks per day on the gaming sector alone. This accounted for approximately 20% of all attacks in the APAC region during that period.

The finance, technology, and government sectors were also major targets. The attack volume per customer increased from 1.4 Gbps to 2.4 Gbps. Layer 4 (L4) attacks were the most prevalent type of DDoS attack in the APAC region and globally.

DNS query floods were the most common type of application-level DDoS attacks in India. Hacktivists, who use cyberattacks to express their political, social, or ideological views, were a major source of these attacks. There was a notable spike in DDoS activity in June 2024, coinciding with India's national elections.

To mitigate these threats, it is essential to implement robust DDoS protection solutions, secure the network and application infrastructure, harden the DNS infrastructure, and prepare an incident response plan. Here are some actionable insights:

• Implement a DDoS Protection Solution: Secure the network and application infrastructure, harden the DNS infrastructure, and prepare an incident response plan.
• Security Measures: Implement security measures such as firewalls, load balancers, and routers to secure the network and application infrastructure.
• DNS Hardening: Implement security measures such as DNSSEC and DNS filtering to harden the DNS infrastructure.

By following these actionable insights, organizations can better protect themselves against the increasing threat of DDoS attacks and ensure the availability and security of their critical services.

Leveraging Azure DDoS Protection

To effectively combat DDoS attacks, customers can leverage Azure DDoS Protection. This service provides comprehensive protection against DDoS attacks by continuously monitoring traffic and automatically mitigating threats. Azure DDoS Protection integrates seamlessly with Azure services, offering enhanced security for your applications and ensuring business continuity even during an attack.

Azure DDoS Protection provides several key features:

• Always-on Monitoring: Monitors traffic 24/7 and automatically mitigates attacks once detected.
• Adaptive Tuning: Learns your application's traffic patterns and adjusts profiles in real-time.
• Attack Analytics: Provides detailed reports during and after attacks, with logs for real-time monitoring.
• Attack Alerts: Configurable alerts for attack start, stop, and duration, integrating with operational software.
• Rapid Response: Access to the DDoS Rapid Response team for attack investigation and post-attack analysis.
• Platform Integration: Integrated into Azure with easy configuration through the Azure portal.
• Turnkey Protection: Simplified setup that protects all resources on a virtual network immediately.
• Multi-Layered Defense: Works with Azure WAF to protect both network (Layer 3 and 4) and application layers (Layer 7).

It is important to note that Azure DDoS Protection primarily provides protection against layer 3 and 4 DDoS attacks. To achieve comprehensive application layer protection, customers can supplement Azure DDoS Protection with Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF). Azure WAF offers robust security features to protect web applications from common threats and vulnerabilities at the application layer.

By utilizing Azure DDoS Protection and Azure WAF, organizations can protect their digital assets and maintain high availability of their services. For more detailed insights and to learn how to implement Azure DDoS Protection, visit Azure DDoS Protection Overview | Microsoft Learn

Conclusion

The Microsoft 2024 Security Report underscores the evolving nature of DDoS attacks and the need for continuous vigilance and robust security measures. As attackers become more sophisticated, it is essential for organizations to stay ahead of the curve by implementing comprehensive DDoS protection strategies and regularly testing their defenses through simulations and security operations.

For more detailed insights, you can access the full Microsoft 2024 Security Report Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024