Attack Trends Report Q1 2024

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Not sure if there is anyone out there who doesn’t know the lead-in music composed and conducted by John Williams for Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws. The soundtrack with its two-note ostinato represents the shark. It was a theme so simple that Spielberg initially thought it was a joke by the composer. Nearly 50 years since its inception, it still evokes a feeling of dread, fear and impending danger.

Like the fictional shark attacks in the ocean, cyber attackers are lurking on the surface threatening to attack at any moment, but there’s not always an obvious musical lead-in to alert you that it’s coming.

Yet, as quickly as we create innovative ways to prevent cyber threats from disrupting lives, attackers are working on ways to bypass those measures. That’s why it’s imperative for us to stay at least one step ahead of those rising threats.

Plus, as global conflicts intensify and state-sponsored cyber-attacks escalate, organizations must navigate a landscape rife with vulnerabilities that are frequently exploited for financial gain and strategic advantage. The advent of advanced bots and AI technologies demands relentless innovation in defensive strategies to safeguard critical digital assets and maintain operational resilience.

Enter Edgio’s Quarterly Attacks Trends Report. We launched the first edition last fall for the fourth quarter to provide an overview of the current threat landscape and how you can stop hackers in their tracks. This time, the report that focuses on the first quarter of 2024 digs a little deeper to give you a better representation of the current climate and how to address it.

Edgio is not just about telling you about the problem. As trailblazers in what may seem like a rogue environment sometimes, we believe in taking it all the way to a solution. Did you know that Edgio’s WAF solution prevented over 10.5 billion attacks against our customers’ applications in 2023?

The Q1 report explores the trends using five primary, relevant themes in 2024, so that you get a well-rounded picture of what the landscape looks like and get a viable roadmap to help you navigate toward success:

• API Sprawl Still Running Rampant
• Residential Networks: The Gateway to Cybercrime
• Why Bad Bots Are Not the Only Problem
• AI in Threat Intelligence
• WAAP Best Practices

While preparing this latest report, the dataset was expanded to reflect a comprehensive picture of the rise in cyber-attacks. The expanded reach includes data from the Bot Management, Rate Limiting, and Web Application Firewall. In researching AI’s influence specifically, over 40,000 news articles from 2,000+ news sources were used.

One of the topics covered was bad bots and why they are not the only problem. We found this out by identifying a whopping 1.3 million unique bots!

Traditional methods like IP blocking are ineffective against modern bots that use sophisticated tactics like rotating IP services. Today’s most effective bot detection strategies combine request, client, and behavioral fingerprinting. Instead of simple blocking, techniques such as misleading bots or requiring CAPTCHAs are employed to manage bots without negatively impacting genuine users.

This insight is just a taste of all the great information we have in our report. From AI to API, we have you covered!

All along our mission in creating this report was to give readers the freedom they deserve to innovate, grow, and conduct business securely. As we work on expanding our technology and services, we will continue to expand the data we share in this report.

It’s safe to go back in the water with Edgio’s new Quarterly Attack Trends Report Q1!

You can download the report HERE.