The 8 Most Devastating DDoS Attacks of 2022 and What We Can Learn from Them

Hi there! As a cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience in cloud data security, I closely follow the latest threats like DDoS attacks that put our digital world at risk. 2022 unfortunately saw some record-setting DDoS campaigns that caused major disruption across sectors.

In this post, I’ll provide an expert overview of 8 highly impactful DDoS incidents from the past year. I’ll share key details on how the attacks were executed, who was affected, and the aftermath. Most importantly, I’ll arm you with security takeaways to better prepare for the future.

Let’s get started!

February 2022: Russia Weaponizes DDoS in Ukraine Invasion

Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in February gave us a sobering look at how DDoS can be used as an offensive cyber weapon.

In the days leading up to tanks rolling across the border, several Ukrainian government and military sites were slammed by DDoS attacks. The victims included the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Privatbank, and Oschadbank. The assaults flooded sites with garbage traffic, grinding them to a halt.

Experts agree these were strategic attacks sponsored by Russia’s state security services. The goal was likely to sow chaos and distract Ukraine’s cyber defenses ahead of the physical assault.

This first-of-its-kind hybrid warfare combining DDoS and kinetic military strikes marks a dangerous new precedent. All organizations, especially in government and defense, must prepare for DDoS coinciding with physical attacks.

Key Lesson: Expect more blended cyber/physical conflicts – secure critical infrastructure against multi-pronged assaults.

April 2022: Cloudflare Mitigates Unprecedented 15 Million Requests Per Second

In April, network security firm Cloudflare blocked an absolutely massive DDoS attack against an unnamed customer. This assault peaked at 15.3 million requests per second – one of largest volumes ever recorded.

The perpetrators abused botnets and unsecured memcached servers to bombard the target from all angles. Just look at this devastating scale:

Cloudflare‘s systems automatically detected the attack and absorbed the malicious traffic before it overwhelmed the customer‘s servers. The customer had 100% uptime despite the massive assault.

This attack highlights why intelligent, cloud-based DDoS protection is so critical. On-premise defenses simply can‘t handle attacks of this speed and size.

Key Lesson: Leverage smart cloud mitigation services to stay online even against terabit DDoS barrages.

June 2022: Google Cloud Armor Customer Hit with 46 Million Requests Per Second

Mere months later, Google‘s Cloud Armor DDoS Protection blocked another staggering attack – 46 million requests per second against a single customer.

This highly complex assault involved over 5,000 IP addresses across 132 countries. The perpetrators exploited vulnerabilities in memcached servers and IoT botnets to achieve an unprecedented scale.

Cloud Armor’s automated threat detection spotted the spike immediately. The customer continued normal operations, shielded from the storm.

These back-to-back record attacks prove today‘s DDoS tactics are advancing at an astonishing rate. Organizations absolutely require intelligent, real-time cloud defenses to survive.

Key Lesson: Implement robust, cloud-based DDoS protection and monitoring to counter sophisticated, high-volume attacks.

September 2022: Attackers Down Activision Blizzard Gaming Servers for 3.5 Hours

In September, a major DDoS attack disrupted Activision Blizzard‘s popular online games including Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Diablo.

The assault prevented players from accessing the games for over three and a half hours. Activision notified users of the outage via Twitter, stating they were investigating "large-scale DDoS attacks" on their servers.

Even huge gaming networks with massive infrastructure aren‘t immune to prolonged outages from DDoS barrages. Timely customer communication is crucial during prolonged attacks.

Key Lesson: DDoS can cause costly multi-hour disruptions. Stay in touch with users during outages and have backup servers ready.

July 2022: Albanian Gov Sites Knocked Out by Suspected Iranian Hackers

In July, a widespread DDoS attack hammered Albanian government websites for days, shutting down public services like taxes, pensions and social welfare.

Microsoft helped Albanian authorities respond to the incident, which is believed to have been sponsored by Iranian state hackers. The motive remains unclear – Albania supports Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

This shows government sites remain prime targets for politically motivated DDoS attacks by nation-state groups. Partnerships with private tech firms are invaluable for fast recovery.

Key Lesson: Build relationships with cybersecurity leaders to quickly counter and recover from state-sponsored DDoS.

August 2022: Estonia Hit with DDoS Onslaught After Removing Soviet Monuments

In August, a barrage of DDoS attacks struck Estonian public and private sector sites soon after the country removed Soviet-era monuments.

Russia had publicly warned Estonia not to remove the statues. The prolific Russian hacker group Killnet claimed responsibility for the digital assault, stating they would "subject Estonia to hell."

This demonstrates how DDoS is being used for political coercion and retaliation. Organizations should prepare for DDoS blowback from geopolitical decisions that anger malicious groups.

Key Lesson: Beware DDoS retaliation for actions that upset ideological opponents – secure sites proactively.

Q2 2022: United States Targeted in 43% of Global DDoS Attacks

The United States suffered a staggering 43% of all DDoS attacks worldwide in Q2 2022 according to Kaspersky. This indicates American enterprises across the board are being aggressively targeted by cybercriminals.

One high-profile attack knocked the IRS‘s tax return e-file system offline for hours. The Russian hacktivist group Killnet claimed responsibility. As geopolitical tensions rise, U.S. organizations are at heightened risk of DDoS disruption.

Key Lesson: Enterprises in adversarial nations like the U.S. need broad DDoS protections amid volatile geopolitics.

Q3 2022: 21 Million DDoS Attacks Slam Russia After Ukraine Invasion

After Russia invaded Ukraine, some serious payback came in the form of DDoS attacks. Russian telecom firm Yandex reported 21 million DDoS attacks hit around 600 Russian organizations in Q3 2022 alone.

FSB Bank, Alfa Bank, and Sberbank were among the top targets. The disruptions included banking failures and supply chain interruptions. Groups like the Ukrainian IT Army claimed responsibility.

This illustrates how invader states should expect massive domestic DDoS retaliation. Russian enterprises must prepare to operate under siege.

Key Lesson: Aggressor nations will face reciprocal cyber targeting – local organizations need robust DDoS preparations.

Key Takeaways: Building Comprehensive DDoS Defenses

These major incidents reveal DDoS is stronger than ever as a preferred tool for hackers, hacktivists, and state-sponsored groups. Based on learnings from 2022‘s record attacks, here are my expert recommendations for developing comprehensive DDoS defenses:

• Deploy web application firewalls (WAF), DDoS mitigation services, and network monitoring to quickly detect and absorb attacks at scale.

• Practice incident response regularly including communications, technical remediation, legal cooperation, and PR.

• For high-risk sectors, use multi-provider load balancing to eliminate single points of failure.

• Stay updated on threats through timely cyber intel sharing with vendors, partners, governments and industry groups.

• Cultivate relationships with cybersecurity firms who can provide assistance before, during and after an attack.

• Educate executives and employees on DDoS risks and preparedness.

• Maintain redundant infrastructure and backups so critical systems remain available if primary tools are disrupted.

• Evaluate risks tied to emerging technologies like IoT that expand the threat landscape.

By taking a proactive stance and learning from past incidents, we can work together to create a more secure digital ecosystem. While DDoS attacks will continue and evolve, preparation and cooperation will enable us to withstand and recover from even the most devastating assaults.

I hope this overview has provided helpful context on the DDoS landscape and actionable steps to defend your organization. Please reach out if you need any assistance building your DDoS strategy and defenses – I‘m always glad to help colleagues stay protected. Stay safe out there!