More than two in five (43 per cent) businesses who were victim to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on their IT system believe their competitors were behind it. According to research by the IT security product company Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, rival firms are considered more likely culprits than cybercriminals, which were cited as suspects by fewer than two in five (38 per cent) victims.
Kaspersky Lab’s 2016 IT Security Risks study found that industrial sabotage was considered to be the most likely reason behind a DDoS attack, coming out higher than political conspiracy and personal vendettas against a business. Only one in five attack victims (20 per cent) blamed foreign governments and secret service organisations; with the same proportion (21 per cent) suspecting disgruntled former employees. That survey is annual in 2016, it asked more than 4,000 representatives of small, medium (50 to 999) to and large businesses (1000-plus) from 25 countries on their views on IT security and real incidents they had to deal with.
When assessing the global picture, more than half (56 per cent) of DDoS victims in Asia Pacific blame competitors, and over a quarter blame foreign governments (28 per cent). Personal grudges carry more suspicion in the region too; one in three (33 per cent) points the finger at former staff. However, only a third (37 per cent) of businesses in Western Europe suspect foul play by their competitors with a fifth (17 per cent) blaming foreign governments.
As for attitudes by business size, businesses at the smaller end of the scale are more likely to suspect their rivals of staging an experienced DDoS attack. 48 per cent of SMB representatives believe this to be the case compared to only 36 per cent of enterprises. In contrast, respondents from big companies put more blame on former employees and foreign governments.
Russ Madley, Head of B2B at Kaspersky Lab UK, says: “DDoS attacks have been a threat for many years and are one of the most popular weapons in a cybercriminals’ arsenal. The problem we face is that DDoS attacks can be set up cheaply and easily, from almost anyone, whether that be a competitor, a dismissed employee, socio-political protesters or just a lone wolf with a grudge. It’s therefore imperative that businesses find an effective way to safeguard themselves from such attacks.”
