DDoS Attacks Jumped 8x in March, GCC Nations Among Key Targets

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Cyberspace has become a frontline in the ongoing tensions triggered in the Middle East due to the Iran conflict. Since February 28, physical and digital infrastructures are being targeted more than ever to weaken the foundations of the economies hyper-dependent on them. The Middle East is an important target for adversaries as it critically intersects at global trade, energy production, and digital expansion.

According to StormWall, a cybersecurity firm, between March 1 and March 20, the number of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks recorded across the firm’s regional clients increased 8x compared to the same period a month ago. The attacks were concentrated across Israel accounting for 36% of the incidents, the UAE at 21% and Bahrain at 14%.

“The volume of DDoS traffic currently hitting the Middle East is unlike anything we’ve seen before — even during past periods of geopolitical tension,” said Ramil Khantimirov, the CEO and co-founder of StormWall. “This is a highly organised, targeted, and growing campaign that will likely continue to escalate.”

In layman’s terms, DDoS attacks translate to causing fraud traffic at an entry point and denying the actual users to enter, to disrupt operations. Perpetrators of DDoS attacks often target sites or services such as banks, credit card payment gateways or telecommunications to disrupt critical services.

In March, HE Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, head of cybersecurity for the UAE government, stated that the country was recording around 530,000 cyber incidents a day, up from roughly 270,000 before the latest escalation. These incidents include attempted intrusions, blocked threats, DDoS attacks and automated scanning.

The sharp escalation in attacks calls for mitigation and workaround strategies for organizations. Eliad Kimhy, Senior Security Researcher at Acronis, suggests, “Maintaining strong monitoring, visibility, and response capabilities during normal operations is critical, because those same capabilities are what will make the difference during periods of conflict.”

Morey Haber, Chief Security Advisor at BeyondTrust, urges organizations to assume the worst-case scenarios for everyone, and the solution is not a procurement checkbox that says, “We did this.” He states the need to inventory every vendor identity, every integration path, every support channel, every remote session, and every jurisdiction through which data may transit or be accessed. If you cannot map it, you do not control it, and lateral movement is the foundational attack vector in every supply-chain attack.