The rise of DDoS in global conflicts
With societies increasingly dependent on online services, the front lines of geopolitical conflict are no longer limited to physical borders. Increasingly, state-sponsored actors and politically motivated groups are turning to cyber tactics to assert influence, sow disruption, or make public statements. Among these tactics, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks have emerged as a low-cost, high-impact tool — capable of overwhelming critical infrastructure with malicious traffic in a matter of seconds.
DDoS attacks are not new, but their role in geopolitical tensions has grown significantly. Unlike espionage-focused intrusions that seek to steal data or disrupt covertly, DDoS campaigns are often loud, visible, and immediate. They target the availability of online services — government portals, news outlets, financial systems, and public utilities — undermining trust and creating confusion during politically sensitive moments.
According to industry reports, over 8.9 million DDoS attacks were recorded in the second half of 2024 alone — a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Spikes in attack volume frequently align with elections, policy announcements, and civil unrest, indicating a growing use of these attacks as tools of influence rather than financial gain.
The simplicity and effectiveness of DDoS attacks make them especially appealing in an era where global tensions play out in the digital arena. They require no insider access, no data exfiltration, and no physical presence — just a flood of traffic, often rented on demand, to bring public-facing services to a halt.
Why are DDoS attacks more dangerous than ever?
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks have become a preferred method of disruption for a simple reason: they’re cheap, fast, and highly visible.
With just a small investment, attackers can rent powerful tools online and launch an attack within minutes. These traffic floods don’t need to break into a system or steal data — they just need to overwhelm it, making the service unavailable to users. And when the timing is right — during an election, a budget announcement, or a political crisis — the impact is amplified by media attention and public reaction.
One of the biggest challenges is that the end users often don’t realise it is an attack at all. When a hospital portal stalls or a public transport app fails, users blame the service provider, not the invisible attacker. This creates an instant loss of trust. In critical sectors like healthcare, finance, or government, even a few minutes of downtime can have serious consequences. The longer the attack, the more public uncertainty it creates.
The attackers are aware of this. For example, India’s presidential website was hit with a 19-hour DDoS in May 2024. In the Netherlands, more than 50 public services were taken offline over a week-long campaign, reportedly as political retaliation. These prolonged disruptions show how attackers are pushing the limits — and how unprepared many services still are.
How are DDoS attackers getting more advanced?
DDoS attacks used to be fairly basic: send a lot of traffic, crash a website, and move on. But that’s no longer the case. Attackers are becoming more sophisticated, using smarter tools and longer attack windows to cause greater disruption.
Instead of relying on just one traffic source, today’s attackers use botnets — large networks of hijacked devices like home routers, webcams, or IoT gadgets — to send huge volumes of traffic from all over the world. These devices are often poorly secured, making them easy to control and hard to trace.
Attackers also use automation and machine learning to make their traffic harder to block. Scripts can now bypass CAPTCHAs, change packet patterns in real time, and respond to mitigation efforts mid-attack. This makes it much more difficult for defenders to detect and stop the traffic effectively.
Even more worrying is how easy it’s become to launch an attack. So-called “booter” or “stresser” services offer user-friendly dashboards where customers can choose a target, set an attack time, and pay with cryptocurrency. Some of these services even suggest targets based on news trends, helping attackers time their hits for maximum impact.
This evolution means DDoS is no longer just a nuisance — it’s a real threat to critical services. Hospitals, banks, public transport, and government websites all rely on constant uptime. A few minutes of downtime can delay care, block payments, or stop emergency communications. And when these services go dark during tense political moments, public trust takes a hit — exactly what politically motivated attackers want.
How to build a resilient DDoS defence plan?
With DDoS attacks becoming more common — and more targeted — having a defence plan is no longer optional. It’s a key part of digital resilience, especially for public services and critical infrastructure. The good news? A strong plan doesn’t have to be complex. It just needs to be proactive, layered, and suit the needs of your network. Here’s what a resilient defence stack looks like:
• Real-time monitoring
The sooner you detect unusual traffic patterns, the faster you can respond. Continuous and automated monitoring of your network helps you spot spikes, anomalies, or early signs of an attack before they impact services. FastNetMon, for example, identifies threats within seconds and alerts you immediately when things get out of normal parameters.
• Automated mitigation with intelligent controls
Once an attack is detected, fast mitigation is critical. Set rate limits to throttle abusive traffic at the source. Use BGP FlowSpec to define fine-grained filtering rules and apply them across your network dynamically. In more severe cases, Remote Triggered Black Hole (RTBH) filtering can drop malicious traffic upstream, keeping it off your infrastructure entirely.
• Blocklist-based filtering
Blocklists help filter known malicious IPs or networks before they cause damage. FastNetMon supports automatic updates of community-driven and commercial blocklists, enabling you to drop bad traffic at the edge — often before it even enters your environment.
• Scrubbing centre automation
In some cases, redirecting traffic through a scrubbing centre is the best way to mitigate a DDoS attack. Automating this process ensures that clean traffic is routed back to your systems quickly, without manual delays. The goal is seamless mitigation that preserves user experience even during high-volume attacks.
In modern conflict, a flood of traffic can cause as much disruption as a data breach — or more. Protecting uptime isn’t just about IT anymore. It’s about maintaining trust, stability, and public confidence during the moments that matter most.
About FastNetMon
FastNetMon is a leading solution for network security, offering advanced DDoS detection and mitigation. With real-time analytics and rapid response capabilities, FastNetMon helps organisations protect their infrastructure from evolving cyber threats.
For more information, visit https://fastnetmon.com