NETSCOUT SYSTEMS has released its 13th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR) offering direct insights from network and security professionals at the world’s leading service provider, cloud/hosting and enterprise organisations. The report covers a wide range of topics, from DDoS attacks and major industry trends such as SDN/NFV and IPv6 adoption to key organisational issues such as incident response training, staffing and budgets. Its focus is on the operational challenges network operators face daily from cyber threats and the strategies adopted to address and mitigate them.
“Attackers focused on complexity this year, leveraging weaponisation of IoT devices while shifting away from reliance on massive attack volume to achieve their goals. Attackers have been effective, and the proportion of enterprises experiencing revenue loss due to DDoS nearly doubled this year, emphasising the significance of the DDoS threat,” said Darren Anstee, NETSCOUT Arbor Chief Technology Officer. “The results of the WISR survey, together with our ATLAS data, demonstrate why an integrated multi-layer defence from the data centre to the cloud is required.”
THREAT LANDSCAPE: The exploitation of IoT devices and innovation from DDoS attack services are leading to more frequent and complex attacks.
- Size: Fifty-seven percent of enterprise and forty-five percent of data centre operators saw their internet bandwidth saturated due to DDoS attacks.
- Frequency: There were 7.5 million DDoS attacks in 2017, according to data from Arbor’s ATLAS infrastructure which covers approximately one-third of global internet traffic. Service provider respondents experienced more volumetric attacks while enterprises reported a thirty percent increase in stealthy application-layer attacks.
- Complexity: Fifty-nine percent of service providers and forty-eight percent of enterprise experienced multi-vector attacks, a twenty percent increase over last year. Multi-vector attacks combine high volume floods, application-layer attacks and TCP-state exhaustion attacks in a single sustained offensive, increasing mitigation complexity and attacker’s chance for success.
CONSEQUENCES: Successful DDoS attacks are having greater operational and financial impact.
- Fifty-seven percent cited reputation/brand damage as the main business impact, with operational expenses second.
- Fifty-six percent experienced a financial impact between $10,000 and $100,000, almost double the proportion from 2016.
- Forty-eight percent of data centre operators said customer churn was a key concern following a successful attack.
DEFENCE: Network and security teams, the guardians of the connected world, are challenged by an active and complex threat landscape, as well as persistent staffing issues.
- Eighty-eight percent of service providers utilise Intelligent DDoS Mitigation Solutions and thirty-six percent utilise technology that automates DDoS mitigation. Increased investment in specialised tools automation is driven by the sheer number of attacks faced in service provider networks.
- Attack frequency is also driving demand for managed security services. Thirty-eight percent of enterprises relied on third-party and outsourced services, a jump from twenty-eight percent the previous year. Only fifty percent carried out defensive drills, and the proportion of respondents carrying out drills at least every quarter fell twenty percent.
- Fifty-four percent of enterprises and forty-eight percent of service providers have difficulty hiring and retaining skilled personnel.
Additional Resources
- Download the full report here (registration required).
- Register for the NETSCOUT Arbor webinar series for a deeper dive on the WISR key findings.
- Visit the NETSCOUT Arbor blog for insight on various aspects of the report.
- Like us on Facebook and follow @ArborNetworks on Twitter for more key findings.
Survey Scope & Demographics
- The WISR survey data is based upon 390 responses from a mix of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 service providers, hosting, mobile, enterprise and other types of network operators from around the world.
- Two-thirds of all respondents identify as security, network or operations professionals.
- Report includes data regarding observed events in 2017 and projections the coming year.
About NETSCOUT
NETSCOUT SYSTEMS, INC. assures digital business services against disruptions in availability, performance, and security. Our market and technology leadership stems from combining our patented smart data technology with smart analytics. We provide real-time, pervasive visibility, and insights customers need to accelerate, and secure their digital transformation. Our approach transforms the way organizations plan, deliver, integrate, test, and deploy services and applications. Our nGenius service assurance solutions provide real-time, contextual analysis of service, network, and application performance. Arbor security solutions protect against DDoS attacks that threaten availability, and advanced threats that infiltrate networks to steal critical business assets. To learn more about improving service, network, and application performance in physical or virtual data centers, or in the cloud, and how NETSCOUT’s performance and security solutions, powered by service intelligence can help you move forward with confidence, visit www.netscout.com or follow @NETSCOUT and @ArborNetworks on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
