Nokia warns of record-breaking DDoS assaults

DIGIT reports that telecom networks are under unprecedented pressure as terabit-scale distributed denial-of-service attacks and stealth intrusions increasingly threaten global connectivity, according to Nokia's 11th annual Threat Intelligence Report.

The study found that attacks reaching 5-10 Tbps have become routine, occurring five times more frequently than before, fueled by compromised home broadband connections and insecure IoT devices.

"Security should not be an afterthought," said Jeff Smith, Nokia Deepfield's VP and GM, urging operators to embed DDoS protection into core infrastructure. The report also warns of a surge in stealthy "living-off-the-land" intrusions, where attackers use legitimate system tools to access sensitive data, including surveillance and subscriber systems.

Nearly two-thirds of telecom operators experienced such attacks, while 60% of costly breaches stemmed from insider actions or misconfigurations. To counter these evolving threats, 70% of telecom security leaders are turning to AI- and ML-driven analytics for faster detection and mitigation across their networks.