Cloudflare blocked 38.5 billion cyberattacks against civil society organizations

As noted by Silicon Angle, Cloudflare Inc. reported mitigating 38.5 billion cyberattacks targeting civil society organizations over the past year, with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) floods accounting for 81.7% of the malicious traffic. This data, derived from Cloudflare's Project Galileo, highlights the significant and sustained online threats faced by non-profits, human rights groups, and independent media.

The majority of attacks against these organizations were DDoS floods, with a notable difference in duration compared to attacks on Cloudflare's broader customer base. While most DDoS incidents affecting general customers resolve within 10 minutes, those targeting civil society groups often persisted for days or even weeks. This prolonged nature suggests a deliberate strategy by attackers to circumvent automated defenses by sending traffic in intermittent bursts. Media organizations were disproportionately targeted, absorbing 40.5% of website exploit attempts despite representing only 22.7% of the organizations in the program. Journalists in exile faced threats at nearly four times the rate of other media organizations.

Phishing attempts also remained a significant concern, with nearly 10% of screened emails containing potential phishing material, indicating an increasing sophistication in attack methods, potentially aided by AI. The report also documented 183 internet disruptions, with 85 attributed to government actions, often coinciding with elections or protests. These findings underscore the vulnerability of civil society groups, many of which operate with limited cybersecurity budgets, to persistent and evolving online threats.

Source: Silicon Angle