Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Q3 2017 Akamai State of the Internet / Security Report Reveals Significant Increase in Web Application Security Attacks, Evolution of Attacker Strategies

01/12/2017

Q3 2017 Akamai State of the Internet / Security Report Reveals Significant Increase in Web Application Security Attacks, Evolution of Attacker Strategies Holiday shopping season may see new attack types leveraging IoT devices, mobile platforms

Cambridge, MA | November 28, 2017

Newly released data shows that web application attacks continued to rise significantly in both the quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year timeframes, according to the Third Quarter, 2017 State of the Internet / Security Report released by Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM). In addition, further evaluation of the Mirai botnet and WireX malware attacks suggests that attackers may leverage IoT and Android devices to build future botnet armies.

The report found that the number of web application attacks last quarter (Q3 2017) increased 69% in total from the same timeframe last year (Q3 2016). In the last quarter alone, web application attacks rose 30% as compared to the second quarter of 2017. Over the last year, a 217% increase in attacks sourcing from the U.S. was seen, with an increase of 48% in the last quarter as compared to the prior one.

SQL injection (SQLi) attacks continued to be heavily utilized by attackers as a part of the significant rise of web application attacks. This attack vector increased 62% since last year, and 19% since last quarter. The significant increase in web application attacks, particularly injection attacks like SQLi, should come as no surprise as the latest version of the OWASP Top 10 2017 that came out last week has injection (inclusive of SQLi) as the top ranked vulnerability category. This new iteration is the first major update to the OWASP Top 10 since 2013, when injection also resided in the top spot.

Perhaps more alarming was the result of taking a closer look at the Mirai botnet and encountering the introduction of WireX malware. While smaller than its predecessor, the Mirai malware strain, which uses Internet of Things (IoT) devices, was responsible for the largest attack seen in Q3 at 109 Gbps. The ongoing Mirai activity, coupled with the introduction of WireX, which commandeers Android devices, highlights the vast potential that exists for new sources of botnet armies.

The lure of easy access to poorly-secured end nodes and easily-available source code make it likely that Mirai-based attacks won't be fading in the near future, said Martin McKeay, senior security advocate and senior editor, State of the Internet / Security Report. Our experience suggests that an army of new potential attackers comes online every day. Couple with that, the ubiquity of Android software and the growth in the Internet of Things are amplifying the risk/reward challenges that enterprises face to tremendous levels.

By the Numbers: Other highlights from Akamai's Third Quarter, 2017 State of the Internet / Security Report include:

The use of Fast Flux DNS by botnets is examined, demonstrating why the use of rapidly changing DNS information helps attackers by making it harder to track and disrupt botnets and malware.

The number of DDoS attacks in Q3 increased by 8% quarter over quarter, highlighted by a 13% increase in the average number of attacks per target (36).

Germany, despite not being among the top five source countries for DDoS attack traffic in the previous quarter, had the largest number of attack traffic source IPs in Q3 - 58,746 - 22% of the global total.

Egypt, last quarter's leader for DDoS attack traffic (44,198) fell out of the top 5 in Q3.

Australia suffered the third most web application attacks (19,115,151) despite not even registering in the top 10 in Q2.

With the holiday shopping season upon us, Akamai expects that both the monetary and emotional aspects of attack dynamics will strongly influence behavior in the fourth quarter. Criminals are likely to leverage the fact that the final quarter of the year is critical for merchants, making the merchants much more likely to pay an extortion letter threatening an attack on Black Friday or Cyber Monday than at many other times of year.

As noted in the Attack Spotlight, the code base from Mirai is still being used and is evolving, added McKeay. In addition, criminals are getting better at hiding their command and control structures, using techniques like Fast Flux DNS. It would not be surprising if, during this holiday season, we see new attacks such as those based on IoT devices or mobile platforms.

Through the SOTI/Security Report, as well as more in-depth research reports, Akamai brings you cutting-edge insight into the ever-changing landscape of attacks and attack tools - delivering information to help you and your team protect your organization.

A complimentary copy of the Q3 2017 State of the Internet / Security Report is available for download at akamai.com/stateoftheinternet-security. Download individual figures, including associated captions here.

Methodology The Akamai Third Quarter, 2017 State of the Internet / Security Report combines attack data from across Akamai's global infrastructure and represents the research of a diverse set of teams throughout the company. The report provides analysis of the current cloud security and threat landscape, as well as insight into attack trends using data gathered from the Akamai Intelligent Platform. The contributors to the State of the Internet / Security Report include security professionals from across Akamai, including the Security Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), the Threat Research Unit, Information Security, and the Custom Analytics group.

About Akamai As the world's largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, Akamai makes it easier for its customers to provide the best and most secure digital experiences on any device, anytime, anywhere. Akamai's massively distributed platform is unparalleled in scale wi
LINK: https://www.akamai.com/uk/en/about/news/press/2017-press/akamai-releas...
See more stories from akami

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

18/06/2026

The Gauge: Poland | May 2026

The average daily TV screen time in May was 3 hours and 36 minutes, marking a clear decrease of 15 minutes compared to April. This trend proved to be much stron...

18/06/2026

Gracenote and PubMatic Bring Curated Live Sports and Content-Level Deals to Programmatic CTV

Integration embeds Gracenote content intelligence, including contextual segments...

18/06/2026

AJA Debuts Io Xpand Thunderbolt 5 Expansion Chassis for...

AJA Video Systems unveiled Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. As dema...

18/06/2026

Providius Announces Providius Direct for Faster AV-over-I...

New NVRT-driven workflow enables on-demand traffic mirroring and guided troubleshooting for AV teams, integrators, and support organizations ahead of InfoComm 2...

18/06/2026

Mavis Studio Brings New Muscle to Mobile Production on iP...

At InfoComm 2026, Mavis announced a major update to Mavis Studio, its live production app for the iPad, with new features designed to make professional AV produ...

18/06/2026

Harmonic Completes Divestiture of Video Business to Media...

Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtualized broadband solutions, today a...

18/06/2026

ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR Partner to Power the Futur...

ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR have announced a strategic partnership that establishes verified interoperability between NETGEAR Switches and key technologies fr...

18/06/2026

IBC2026 creates new pathways from innovation to real-worl...

IBC2026 is set to bring the global media, entertainment and technology community together at the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September, enabling industry players f...

18/06/2026

PLIANT TECHNOLOGIES DEBUTS CREWCOM FLEX THE WORLDS FIRST...

Pliant Technologies is proud to introduce CrewCom Flex , the world's first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom s...

18/06/2026

XR Sports Alliance Strengthens its Capabilities with New...

The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agen...

18/06/2026

Hollywood Filmmakers Launch AI Production Platform Cascade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/06/2026

ATVA Blasts Deltavision Media for Demanding 'Egregious' Retrans Fees

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/06/2026

MediaKind Completes Merger with Harmonic's Video Business

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/06/2026

AJA Unveils Io Xpand Thunderbolt 5 Expansion Chassis At InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/06/2026

Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship

Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship The Berklee professor, bassist, and composer will use the fellowship to debut Dreams of Knowing, an interdisci...

18/06/2026

Arqiva secures WTA Tier-4 accreditation

Arqiva's Crawley Court and Chalfont Grove teleports re-certified at highest World Teleport Association standard 18 June 2026, Winchester, UK - Arqiva, the ...

18/06/2026

Apple announces changes to iOS in Brazil - UPDATE - Posted on 18 June 2026

Apple today announced changes impacting iOS apps in Brazil that reflect a recent agreement with Brazil's competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo ...

18/06/2026

Sync and Stream: GeForce NOW Connects to Members' Game Libraries Across Devices

Play favorite titles from popular game libraries, keep progress synced and jump ...

18/06/2026

At Cannes Lions, NVIDIA Partners Reshape Advertising and Marketing With AI

The digital era gave the advertising and marketing industry speed; the AI era is giving it autonomous operations. For companies building next-generation techn...

17/06/2026

EVS Achieves EcoVadis Gold Medal, Ranking in Top 5% of Companies Globally

EVS has announced it has received the EcoVadis Gold Medal for sustainability performance, ranking among the top 5% of companies globally in the Technology/Mid-S...

17/06/2026

Chyron Releases Weather 2.4 with Updated DataFlow Module

Chyron has released Weather 2.4, an update to its weather suite for broadcasters and meteorologists. The release focuses on enhancements to the DataFlow module,...

17/06/2026

VSiN Launches Best Bets TV, a 24/7 FAST Channel

VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, has announced the launch of Best Bets TV, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel. The 24/7 channel is currently avail...

17/06/2026

Snapchat and Team Whistle Launch World Cup Creator Program Across Miami, New York, and Los Angeles

DAZN's Team Whistle and Snap Inc. have announced a creator program centered ...

17/06/2026

LiveU Supporting Broadcast and Public Safety Operations for Summer of Soccer

LiveU is providing video transmission technology for broadcasters, production companies, and public safety agencies across North America's busy Summer of So...

17/06/2026

NATAS Announces Two New Board Members and COO Promotion

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has announced that Laurens Grant and Jacob Ullman have joined its Board of Directors. Chief of Staf...

17/06/2026

Akta Brings AI-First Cloud Video Workflows to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Akta, the AI-First SaaS video platform for modern broadcast and streaming operations, today announced that its video platform is now generally available on Orac...

17/06/2026

SVG Students to Watch: Nicholas Stafford, Texas Southern University

This recent graduate from Houston found inspiration in technical directing and now eyes a future career in sports production...

17/06/2026

InfoComm 2026: Audio-Technica Brings New Wireless, Networked Audio, and Certified Conferencing Solutions

Audio-Technica (booth C7959) arrives at InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas with a slate ...

17/06/2026

SNS Positions AI Suite as On-Premise Answer to Video Indexing and Search Demands

SNS has published a guide addressing growing demand for AI-powered video indexing, transcription, facial recognition, and searchable metadata across media libra...

17/06/2026

Providius Announces Providius Direct for Network Troubleshooting on NETGEAR Pro AV Switches

Providius has announced Providius Direct, a workflow for investigating network i...

17/06/2026

NEP Launches NEP Platform Software Orchestration System, Selects Bridge Technologies VB440

NEP Group has announced the commercial availability of NEP Platform, a software ...

17/06/2026

BBright White Paper: SRT vs. RIST for Professional Video Contribution and Distribution

A new white paper examining Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) and Reliable Interne...

17/06/2026

Bango Research: 51% of Gen Z Say Highlights Are Replacing Live Games

New research from subscription bundling platform Bango finds that younger sports fans are increasingly consuming sport through highlights, clips, and social med...

17/06/2026

SMPTE Opens Entire Standards Library to Public at No Cost

SMPTE has announced that its complete Standards catalog is now freely available to the global media technology community, including all published SMPTE Standard...

17/06/2026

MediaKind Completes Merger with Harmonic's Video Business, Creating Independent Video Infrastructure Heavyweight

Harmonic has completed the sale of its Video Business to MediaKind for $145 mill...

17/06/2026

Omaha Productions to Produce 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event Coverage for ESPN

Omaha Productions will produce the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vega...

17/06/2026

SoundBridge 3.1.0 now available

New features, changes & bug fixes SoundBridge have just released another update for their remote collaboration-focused DAW - reviewed here in SOS March 2026...

17/06/2026

Fryette launch the Valvulator Mini

Valve-based front end for digital & modelling rigs The latest addition to Fryette's product range delivers a packed-down, pedalboard-friendly version of...

17/06/2026

The Biggest UK Pro Audio Show In 20 Years!

GearExpo UK - 27 June 2026 Sound On Sound are proud to announce GearExpo UK, a major new recording and music technology exhibition in London! This is the bi...

17/06/2026

Genelec introduce the 9402A System Management Device

SAM monitoring line-up gains Dante and AES67 support The latest expansion of Genelec's UNIO monitoring ecosystem introduces a new device that provides D...

17/06/2026

The R&SPR300 portable receiver from Rohde & Schwarz sets new standards in spectrum monitoring

The R&S PR300 portable receiver from Rohde & Schwarz sets new standards in spect...

17/06/2026

Elt Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial opportunities in electronic warfare and defense

Elt Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial...

17/06/2026

NABLF Graduates Its 2026 Broadcasting Leadership Training Class

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

ABC and ESPN Score Most-Watched NBA Finals Since 1998

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

Smartly, Roku Bring Social Performance Tools to CTV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

Pliant Technologies Debuts Crewcom Flex at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...