Core Insights - The primary driver of DDoS activity is geopolitical and ideological conflict, with hacktivism evolving into a persistent threat in 2025 [10] - Cyberattack activity has dramatically escalated in 2025, with increasing sophistication, speed, and scale of threats facing organizations globally [2][11] DDoS Attack Trends - Network-layer DDoS attacks increased by 168.2% year over year, with peak attack volumes reaching almost 30 Tbps, indicating a resurgence of brute-force volumetric attacks [3] - Web DDoS attacks surged by 101.4% compared to 2024, with most high-impact attacks lasting less than 60 seconds, making traditional defenses less effective [4] - In the second half of 2025, the average Radware customer experienced over 25,351 network-layer DDoS attacks, averaging 139 attacks per day [7] Targeted Industries and Regions - The technology sector accounted for 45% of all network-layer DDoS attacks, a significant increase from 8.77% in 2024 [7] - North America was the most targeted region, accounting for 63.1% of all network-layer DDoS attacks globally, followed by the Middle East (16.1%) and Europe (13.7%) [7] - EMEA accounted for 57% of all Web DDoS attacks, while APAC saw a 485% year-over-year increase in Web DDoS activity [8] Application and API Attacks - Malicious web application and API transactions rose by 128% year over year, confirming the application layer as the primary battleground for modern cyberattacks [5] - Vulnerability exploitation accounted for 41.8% of observed application-layer attacks, rising to nearly 58% in Q4 2025 [8] Bad Bot Activity - Bad bot activity increased by 91.8%, driven by generative AI tools that lowered the barrier for attackers [9] - In the first half of 2025, bad bot activity reached 89.2% of the total volume observed in all of 2024 [16] Conclusion - The threat landscape is evolving rapidly, with attackers leveraging automation, AI, and multi-vector strategies to disrupt operations at scale [11]
Radware 2026 Global Threat Report Shows DDoS Attacks Jump 168% as Cyber Threats Escalate Across Networks and Applications