In the first quarter of 2024, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region soared by 183% compared to the same period last year, according to a report by StormWall.
The cybersecurity firm, which specialises in protecting against such attacks, analysed incidents affecting its clients in the MENA region and released its findings, shedding light on a significant rise in cyber threats.
Energy Sector Under Siege
The energy sector was the second most affected industry, accounting for 18% of the attacks and experiencing a 206% year-on-year surge. Hackers have increasingly targeted critical infrastructure, focusing on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and energy management systems (EMS). These attacks aim to disrupt operations and threaten the continuity of energy supplies, posing a significant risk to regional stability and security.
Escalating Botnet Capacity
The report highlighted a worrying growth in botnet capacity within the MENA region. The average number of botnet nodes quadrupled from 4,000 to 16,000 during the first quarter of 2024. This increase has enabled attackers to execute more potent DDoS attacks, including carpet bombing assaults, which have surged by 264% year-on-year. Carpet bombing attacks inundate a wide range of IP addresses within a network, overwhelming the entire infrastructure with malicious traffic.
Targeted Countries
The United Arab Emirates (21%), Saudi Arabia (18%), and Iran (14%) were the most frequently targeted countries in the MENA region during this period. Iran and Israel’s high rankings, with Israel accounting for 12% of attacks, underscore the prevalence of politically motivated cyber-attacks in the current DDoS threat landscape.
Attack Vectors and Protocols
An analysis of the attack vectors revealed that 83% of the incidents targeted the HTTP and HTTPS protocols, making them the most common methods used by attackers. TCP and UDP protocols followed, constituting 10% of the attacks, while DNS-based attacks saw a notable increase from 3% last year to 5% in the first quarter of 2024.
Conclusion
The dramatic rise in DDoS attacks in the MENA region underscores the critical vulnerabilities within the energy sector. As the backbone of regional economies, the energy industry’s exposure to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats poses significant risks to operational stability and business continuity. The substantial increase in attacks on SCADA and EMS systems highlights the need for enhanced cybersecurity measures to protect vital infrastructure.
Dean Mikkelsen brings over two decades of extensive experience in the oil and gas sector to his role as Editor of Oil & Gas Middle East. With a dynamic background that spans exploration and production,… More by Dean Mikkelsen