Tech News
DDoS Attacks Skyrocket and Hacktivist Activity Surges Threatening Critical Global Infrastructure According to Netscout’s 1h2024 Threat Intelligence Report
NETSCOUT SYSTEMS recently released findings from its 1H2024 DDoS Threat Intelligence Report, citing a dramatic 43% increase in the number of application-layer attacks and a 30% increase in volumetric attacks, especially in Europe and the Middle East. Attack duration varied with 70% lasting less than 15 minutes. The escalation of attacks involves a range of threat actors, including hacktivists targeting critical infrastructure in the banking and financial services, government, and utilities sectors. These attacks pose significant threats by disrupting vital civilian services in countries that oppose hacktivists’ ideologies. Key industries, already facing frequent and intense multi-vector attacks, experienced a 55% increase over the past four years.
“Hacktivist activities continue to plague global organizations with more sophisticated and coordinated DDoS attacks against multiple targets simultaneously,” stated Richard Hummel, director, threat intelligence, NETSCOUT. “As adversaries use more resilient, take-down-resistant networks, detection and mitigation are more challenging. This report gives network operations teams insights to fine-tune their strategies to stay ahead of these evolving threats.”
Attack Sophistication Strains Networks Worldwide
DDoS attacks continue to evolve, using innovative technologies and approaches to disrupt networks. During the 1H2024, NETSCOUT observed several significant trends, including:
- NoName057(16), a pro-Russia hacktivist group, increased its focus on application-layer attacks, particularly HTTP/S GET and POST floods, leading to a 43% rise compared to 1H2023.
- Bot-infected devices increased by 50% with the emergence of the Zergeca botnet — and the continued evolution of the DDoSia botnet used by NoName057(16) — which uses advanced technologies like DNS over HTTPS (DoH) for command-and-control (C2).
- Distributed botnet C2 infrastructure leveraging bots as control nodes enabling more decentralized and resilient DDoS attack coordination.
These attacks have triggered widespread disruptions, affecting industries on a global scale. Service slowdowns or outages can cripple revenue streams, delay critical operations, hinder productivity, and significantly elevate organizational risks.
Attackers Targeting New Networks
NETSCOUT also found that the emergence of new networks and autonomous system numbers (ASNs) play a pivotal role in increased DDoS activity. Over 75% of newly established networks are involved with DDoS activities, both as targets or abused participants in furthering attacks on others, within the first 42 days of coming online, as adversaries launch attacks using resilient nuisance networks and bulletproof hosting providers. Organizations need to plan for DDoS protection when splitting off a portion of a network to a new ASN rather than assume automatic protections from upstream service providers.
NETSCOUT’s global internet visibility is backed by decades of experience working with the world’s largest service providers and enterprises. It collects, analyzes, prioritizes, and disseminates data on DDoS attacks from 216 countries and territories, 470 vertical industries, and over 14,000 ASNs. Powered by its ATLAS platform, the company gains insights from more than 500 terabits per second (Tbps) of internet peering network traffic.
Tech News
Cloudera and Muroon Announce Strategic MoU
In a strategic move to advance enterprise digital enablement and support the technological ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030, Cloudera, the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI, has agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MuroonI the technology and digital enablement subsidiary of Tawuniya.
The proposed collaboration aims to evaluate opportunities to help organizations across the region modernize their technology capabilities, accelerate digital transformation, and unlock long-term business value. By leveraging Cloudera’s products and services, the engagement will explore how Cloudera’s hybrid data platforms and AI-driven analytics can help to boost Muroon’s expanding IT and digital enablement objectives.
Under the proposed partnership, Muroon and Cloudera will aim to collaborate on delivering secure data exchange and modern cloud architecture. Integrating Cloudera Anywhere Cloud™ principles, the proposed collaboration will explore ways to deliver a consistent cloud experience, enabling organizations to deploy AI and analytics workloads across private data centers and cloud environments with unified governance and security.
The proposed alliance creates complementary roles for both organizations. Muroon will leverage its delivery capabilities, consulting expertise, implementation services, across the Tawuniya ecosystem and the wider region. Cloudera will look to provide technology leadership, platform expertise, solution architecture, and technical enablement.
Ahmad Shakora, General Vice President of META, Cloudera, said:
“Our proposed collaboration with Muroon represents an important milestone in empowering regional organizations with modern hybrid data and AI architectures. Through Cloudera’s ability to bring AI and analytics to data anywhere it resides, combined with Muroon’s deep digital enablement and implementation capabilities, we aim to accelerate innovation, ensure secure data management, and actively contribute to the digital economy goals of Saudi Vision 2030.”
Faisal Bakhsh, Vice President of Business Development and Services Delivery at Muroon, added:
“As the technology arm of Tawuniya Group, Muroon is dedicated to delivering cutting-edge digital solutions that drive operational efficiency and business growth. Exploring this partnership with Cloudera allows us to harness world-class hybrid data and AI platforms to expand our service capabilities, facilitate secure data exchange, and deliver transformative value to our ecosystem and clients across Saudi Arabia.”
Tech News
Kaspersky: scammers ride the iPhone 18 hype with fake deals and stores
At the start of the two sales waves for the new iPhone 18 models, the buzz has extended far beyond customers and Apple enthusiasts, scammers are also attempting to capitalize on the hype. Kaspersky experts have identified fake websites promoting nonexistent offers designed to deceive users for the new devices. These scam sites have been discovered in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Portuguese and others.
One of the identified websites offers users the opportunity to “purchase” new devices, complete with technical specifications and a 25% discount. Among the available payment methods, customers are also encouraged to pay in Bitcoin. Its deceptively credible interface is designed to lower the guard of users, prompt them to enter personal information and transfer funds – but in reality, the only thing buyers might receive is financial loss.
Example of a fake website offering to purchase iPhone 18 Pro with Bitcoins
Another fake website invites users to pre-order iPhone 18 Pro devices in a variety of colors, including some that differ from those officially announced by the company at launch, and to select their preferred storage capacity. To make the offer even more enticing, the site claims that customers do not need to pay the full amount upfront and can supposedly settle the remaining balance later. In addition, the “seller” promises a full refund if the purchase is canceled – a claim that should not be trusted.
At the next stage, the fake website requests users’ personal information, including their full name, phone number, email address, city of residence and even their WhatsApp contact details, which may later be used by cybercriminals as part of social engineering schemes. Buyers are then asked to provide their bank card details. Ultimately, every step of the process is designed to extract as much information as possible, which may later be stolen, while victims’ bank accounts may be drained of funds.
“We have seen scam offers emerge around high-profile device launches for years. Consumer excitement can give cybercriminals an additional advantage and improve their chances of profiting. We strongly advise users to be extremely cautious when choosing where to shop and to make purchases only through official and trusted retailers. Offers that seem too good to be true, as well as product selections that are broader than or differ from those officially announced by the company, should be treated as clear warning signs,” says Olga Altukhova, Senior Web Content Analyst at Kaspersky.
To enjoy new devices without worrying about cyberthreats, Kaspersky advises users to:
Enable multi-factor authentication and monitor accounts: activate 2FA on IDs and financial apps and regularly review statements for unauthorized activity.
Always purchase new products through official and reputable stores to avoid falling victim to fraudulent offers.
Check the authenticity of websites before entering personal data. Double-check URL formats and organizations name spellings.
Secure your payment information. Use dedicated virtual cards or a dedicated payment service for online purchases to avoid exposing your credit card or bank account information.
Use a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Premium that blocks phishing links. To ensure advanced protection against increasingly complex cyber threats, Kaspersky actively amplifies its consumer solutions with AI-powered scam protection – a unified suite of technologies that combines machine learning-based anti-phishing algorithms, real-time behavior monitoring, accompanied by Data Leak and Identity Theft checkers.
Tech News
INTRODUCING ORBITAL – AN AI-POWERED OPERATING SYSTEM FOR MODERN MARKETING
TEAM LEWIS today announced version one of Orbital (OS1), a secure AI operating system. It is designed for multi-market organizations to connect insight, creativity, messaging and public-facing delivery.
Built by marketers for marketers, Orbital brings together data from across PR, CRM, paid media and web activity. It gives teams a clearer view of the factors shaping reputation, demand and AI visibility — and helps them respond with greater speed and confidence.
Marketing teams have access to more data than ever, but turning that information into action, fast, remains difficult. Fragmented platforms, dispersed teams and growing expectations around measurement have made it harder to see the full picture. Orbital has been developed to help close that gap.
Version one of the platform is structured around three connected areas:
Intelligence
Orbital works with each organization’s own data and context to identify the signals influencing reputation, demand and AI visibility.
Creativity
It helps teams turn insight into high-quality creative work at pace and at scale. It also keeps the judgement and originality that strong marketing needs.
Delivery
Orbital also supports the people representing an organization — from media interviews to keynote presentations and leadership moments — helping them communicate clearly and confidently.
Rather than replacing existing marketing infrastructure, Orbital is designed to work alongside it, through API integrations. Client data remains isolated within secure, enterprise-grade environments, supporting the governance and residency requirements expected by regulated industries.
Fairil Yeo, EVP of AI & Growth at TEAM LEWIS, said:
“The advantage increasingly lies with organizations that can act quickly on what they already know. Orbital is designed to shorten the distance between insight and action — helping marketing and communications teams work more effectively across markets, channels and teams.”
Yvonne van Bokhoven, Chief Operating Officer at TEAM LEWIS, added:
“Technology can connect information, but it cannot replace judgement. Orbital gives our specialists a clearer view of what matters, more quickly. The decisions — and the responsibility for making them well — remain human.”
Orbital is now available as part of TEAM LEWIS’s global offering. Its first release, Orbital OS1, establishes the foundation for an ongoing development programme, with further capabilities planned for future releases.
At a glance
- One connected system for marketing intelligence, creativity and delivery
- Uses data from PR, CRM, paid media and web activity
- Designed for complex, regulated and multi-market organizations
- Secure, enterprise-grade client environments
- Designed to complement existing marketing infrastructure
- Combines AI capabilities with specialist human judgement
- Orbital OS1 is the first release in a continuing platform roadmap
For further information, visit teamlewis.com/orbital.
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