"Attackers Increasingly Turning to DDoS as a Ransom Vector"

During a new survey conducted by the Neustar International Security Council (NISC), the researchers discovered that nearly half (44%) of organizations had been targeted or fallen victim to a ransom-related distributed denial of service (RDDoS) attack in the past 12 months.  Interestingly, during the same period, a lower proportion (41%) of organizations were targeted by a ransomware attack, suggesting cybercriminals are increasingly using DDoS attacks as a means of extorting money from victims.  The researchers stated that rather than spending a lot of time and careful planning on infecting an organization’s network with malware or ransomware, cyber-criminals are taking an easier approach and using DDoS as a ransom vector.  The research indicates that this is an effective ransom tactic.  More than half (70%) of organizations hit by RDDoS were targeted multiple times, and 36% admitted they paid the ransom. This compares to 57% of those infected by ransomware being targeted multiple times, with the same proportion (36%) choosing to pay the ransom.  The researchers noted that while RDDoS threats have traditionally targeted online industries, attackers are increasingly turning their attention to other sectors, including financial services, government, and telecoms.  Worryingly, less than a quarter (24%) of cybersecurity professionals said they were ‘very confident’ in their organization’s knowledge of how to respond to an RDDoS attack. The respondents listed ransomware (70%), DDoS (68%), and targeted hacking (66%) as the most increasing cyberthreats to their organization.

Infosecurity reports: "Attackers Increasingly Turning to DDoS as a Ransom Vector"