Organizations were hit by an average of 237 distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack attempts per month during the third quarter of 2017, according to researchers.

The data, from Corero Network Security’s (CNS) latest “DDoS Trends and Analysis” report, showed a 35 percent increase in monthly attack attempts compared to the second quarter of 2017.

The report is based on DDoS attack attempts against CNS customers worldwide.

“The growing availability of DDoS-for-hire services is causing an explosion of attacks, and puts anyone and everyone into the crosshairs,” CNS CEO Ashley Stephenson said in a statement.

“These services have lowered the barriers to entry in terms of both technical competence and price, allowing anyone to systematically attack and attempt to take down a company for less than $100,” Stephenson added.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has described a DDoS attack as what happens when hackers send “an overload of web traffic at a target to the point that it is unable to function.”

DDoS attacks have hit a host of different groups, including financial institutions, news organizations and government agencies, according to the DHS.

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Source: Tech CNBC
Number of DDoS attack attempts increasing, research shows