Zayo Reports 82% Surge In DDoS Attacks Due To AI And IoT Expansion

A new report shared by the American telecommunications company Zayo this Thursday revealed a significant surge of 82% in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks between 2023 and 2024.

According to the information shared in the press release, the volume of attacks registered went from 90,000 in 2023 to 165,000 in 2024.

The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Insights Report published by Zayo states that one of the main reasons for this peak is the use and expansion of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and cybercriminals taking leverage of it.

“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,” said Max Clauson, Senior Vice President of Network Connectivity at Zayo. “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.”

The study considered data from Western Europe and North America—where the company operates—and included 17 industries for analysis. One of the most affected sectors in 2024 was the Financial, cybersecurity experts noted an attack increase from 3.5% in 2023 to 7% in 2024, estimating a financial toll of $6,000 per minute

The telecommunications sector remains the most targeted covering 42% of the analyzed attacks. And Healthcare experienced a 223% growth in attacks between both years. The report also highlights hackers’ increasing interest in targeting Cloud and SaaS companies in 2024. Experts said that the trend of attacks is likely to continue in 2025.

Since 2023 other cybersecurity firms like FortiGuard Labs have warned about malicious actors attacking IoT devices and launching devastating DDoS attacks. A recent study published in October last year revealed that cybersecurity professionals have reported increased stress as cyberattacks surge faster than safety measures and resources.