Do you interact with customers via the web? Do you sell products online? If so, you’re technically a web-based business (even if you have lots and lots of “offline” business too). And you need to know about this scary statistic from the previous year.
CDNetworks performed a massive analysis of more than 45 billion cyberattack attempts during 2022. Its findings were both sobering and encouraging. But let’s start with this 87%.
Based on the title alone, would you think we’re about to say 87% of businesses faced an attempted cyberattack in 2022?
Good guess, and we wish that was all. But no: CDNetworks found that 87% of web-based businesses faced two or more cyber threats at the same time!
What’s worse, 65% encountered “three or more simultaneous threats.”
If you think your business is immune to cyberattack attempts, think again.
Now let’s get into the data and figure out what all this means for you.
Good News: Billions of Attacks Blocked
One of the top-line conclusions in the report was that there were more than 45 billion — yes, with a “B”— web application attacks in 2022. Well, the truth is there were more than that. Because CDNetworks’ calculation is only counting the attacks that they detected and blocked.
It’s good news that the good guys blocked more than 45 billion attacks last year. Still, the sheer scale of these attacks is pretty scary. We don’t have a way to know how many attacks got through, but the number isn’t zero.
These attacks are also on the rise: 45 billion was an increase of over 96% from the previous year.
Over 160 Million DDoS Attacks Stopped
CDNetworks also detected and stopped over 160 million DDoS attack incidents, or around 439,000 every single day. This was an increase of more than 100% year over year.
DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks aren’t the sort of thing that usually targets a small business directly. These are the attacks where the bad guys overwhelm a target with so much bogus internet traffic that the site, server, or network can’t keep up with legitimate requests.
You’ve seen these before: some of the big outages affecting AWS or other mega-brands have been DDoS attacks.
While it’s possible someone could target your small business with this kind of attack, it’d be pretty rare. These attacks are all about disruption rather than stealing information. So unless you’ve made any tech-savvy enemies, you’re probably not directly at risk.
But here’s the thing: many of the digital tools you use to make business happen could be at risk.
What You Can Do
Some of these big types of attacks seem so huge, so large-scale, that you might be wondering what you can even do to stay safe.
The good news is that the advice we’re always giving is still good advice here:
- Use strong passwords: Don’t let the bad guys into your systems by leaving the door practically unlocked. Password managers are a big help here.
- Keep software up to date: Many of these web application and DDoS attacks exploit vulnerabilities in older software, firmware, and operating systems. If you keep all your systems up to date, those vulnerabilities won’t be there anymore to be exploited.
- Invest in backup and disaster recovery: This way, even if the worst happens, you can rebuild.
- Work with a trusted IT partner: Don’t try to go it alone. Work with professionals who live and breathe this stuff, so you don’t have to.
If you’re looking for a managed IT partner, one that understands the threats of today’s cybersecurity landscape, we’re here for you. Reach out to our team today!