Targeted attacks against backend systems have replaced botnet-powered traffic
floods as the main concerns for security staff at telcos and large ISPs.
Only one in five of the 132 senior telco security experts quizzed by DDoS
security and network management specialists Arbor Networks reported the largest
attacks they observed as lying within the one-to-four Gbps range last year,
compared to 30 per cent in 2008. The most potent DDoS attacks recorded in 2009
hit 49Gbps, a relatively modest 22 per cent rise from the 40Gbps peak reached in
2008.
