New data indicates a rising frequency and sophistication of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, costing businesses nearly a quarter million dollars per incident.

Zayo Group released its biannual DDoS Insights Report, reporting an 82% increase in attack frequency from 2023 to 2024. Attack volume surged from 90,000 incidents in 2023 to 165,000 in 2024, as cybercriminals utilize AI and the growing number of IoT devices to implement quicker and more complex attacks.

“We’re seeing attackers use larger botnets of compromised IoT devices and AI to drastically increase the scale of attacks,” said Max Clauson, Senior Vice President of Network Connectivity at Zayo. “As the sophistication of DDoS attacks continues to grow, cybercriminals are finding ways to exploit cloud services, higher bandwidth availability, and new vulnerabilities in software and network protocols. Both the public and private sector need to invest heavily in DDoS mitigation to continue to protect critical infrastructure and ensure long-term data security.”

Key findings show that finance has the highest year-over-year attack volume growth, increasing from 3.5% in 2023 to 7% in 2024. While telecommunications remains the most targeted sector, its share of attacks declined to 42% from 48% the previous year. Cloud and SaaS companies accounted for 11% of attacks, with healthcare experiencing a 223% growth and manufacturing incidents increasing substantially as well.

The financial impact of DDoS attacks is considerable. At an estimated $6,000 per minute and an average duration of 39 minutes, businesses endure losses of nearly $234,000 per attack. Cybercriminals often time their attacks for maximum disruption, particularly during business hours. The emergence of DDoS-as-a-Service is anticipated to enable individuals with minimal technical skills to execute such attacks, possibly leading to an increase in both frequency and variety of attack methods.

DDoS attacks pose a challenge for organizations of all sizes, causing financial, operational, and reputational damage and requiring significant resource allocation for mitigation and recovery. As AI and automation evolve, organizations must prioritize proactive DDoS protection.