Report Shows DDoS Attacks Rising, More Manufacturers Targeted

 

“The rise in AI, IoT devices, and for-hire botnets has led us into a new era, where DDoS attacks are a permanent and highly disruptive reality for all organizations,” explains Max Clauson, SVP of Network Connectivity at Zayo. “In this ‘new normal,’ cybersecurity can no longer operate as a standalone, reactive function. If organizations fail to prepare, they risk costly disruptions.

As organizations race to automate and scale, adversarial actors are evolving alongside them, shifting from brute-force noise to tactical, destructive strikes. The report found that the average attack size increased almost 70 percent from the year prior, while the average duration decreased to 20 minutes, down from 39 minutes the previous year. 

 

In fact, 89 percent of attacks now conclude in under 10 minutes. As attacks grow more precise, intense and harder to detect, real-time automated defense is increasingly essential to safeguard critical connectivity. 

 

The report also found that the primary targets of attacks have shifted. DDoS campaigns have historically targeted telecommunications and network providers, with attacks on central traffic hubs capable of triggering widespread downstream disruption. 

 

Now, telecoms accounts for just 24 percent of DDoS attacks in 2025, down from 42 percent in 2024. In return, end-user industries — enterprises, education, and the public sector — have moved further into the crosshairs, where downtime quickly turns into real operational, financial or reputational impact.   

 

With respect to manufacturing, the report found that this sector experienced an average attack size of 11.6 Gbps, the largest across all industries. In automation-heavy environments, even short bursts at this scale can halt production lines and create outsized operational losses.