The availability of AI tools is behind a record-breaking increase in the use of DDoS botnets, according to Qrator Labs.
Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI, with a recent report from Darktrace revealing 78% of CISOs say AI-powered threats are already having a significant impact on their organizations.
Earlier this summer, NetScout warned that the use of AI assistants and chatbots was starting to 'democratize' DDoS attacks by allowing lower-level hackers and those lacking technical expertise to wage highly effective attacks.
According to Qrator, this is really starting to show, as AI tools become more readily available, enhancing the effectiveness of automated attacks.
The Qrator research reveals a shift in the location of bot networks, too. The researchers put this down to accelerated digitalization in developing regions, resulting in a surge of devices with low cybersecurity awareness and numerous vulnerabilities.
Brazil has recently overtaken Russia and the US as the largest source of application-layer (L7) DDoS attacks, now accounting for 19% of all malicious traffic observed in the third quarter of this year.
Vietnam, meanwhile, has shown the fastest growth, climbing from 15th to fourth place in just one year.
In one example this month, the company recorded an attack by a multi-million-device botnet that it has been tracking for six months. This network is made up of 5.76 million infected devices, most of which were located in Brazil, Vietnam, the US, India, and Argentina.
“The sheer number of vulnerable devices is nothing new – we’ve seen this before in previous years. What has changed in 2025 is that attackers can now find and capture them much faster and more efficiently, thanks to AI,” said Andrey Leskin, chief technology officer at Qrator Labs.
“To put it in perspective, last year, the largest DDoS botnet we recorded included around 227,000 devices. As you can see, using AI tools, attackers have increased the scale by about 25 times in just one year.”
During the third quarter, DDoS attacks most frequently targeted the fintech sector, which accounted for 26% of attacks. Ecommerce was next, at 22%, followed by media at 16%, and information and communication at 15%.
The most intensive L3-L4 DDoS attack of the quarter was aimed at the eCommerce sector, peaking at 1.15 Tbps – slightly higher than the 2024 record of 1.14 Tbps.
Meanwhile, the longest bot attack took place on 4 September, also targeting the eCommerce sector and lasting 14 hours and 33 minutes.
Make sure to follow ITPro on Google News to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, and reviews.
MORE FROM ITPRO
- Critical networks face unprecedented threat as DDoS attacks are getting shorter and more intense
- Application layer DDoS attacks are skyrocketing – here's why
- How to recover from a DDoS attack – and what they can teach businesses
-
Microsoft issues fix for Windows 11 update that bricked mouse and keyboard controls in recovery environmentNews Yet another Windows 11 update has caused chaos for users
-
AI is transforming storage, and creating new opportunities for channel partnersIndustry Insights AI will have a profound impact on storage and channel partner growth
-
Microsoft issues warning over “opportunistic” cyber criminals targeting big businessNews Microsoft has called on governments to do more to support organizations
-
Europol takes down SIM farm network that scammed thousands of victimsNews The sophisticated operation led to crimes from simple phishing to investment fraud
-
Thousands of exposed civil servant passwords are up for grabs onlineNews While the password security failures are concerning, they pale in comparison to other nations
-
77% of security leaders say they'd fire staff who fall for phishing scams, even though they've done the same thingNews A new report uncovers worrying complacency amongst IT and security leaders
-
Hackers stole source code, bug details in disastrous F5 security incident – here’s everything we know and how to protect yourselfNews CISA has warned the F5 security incident presents a serious threat to federal networks
-
Hackers are using a new phishing kit to steal Microsoft 365 credentials and MFA tokens – Whisper 2FA is evolving rapidly and has been used in nearly one million attacks since JulyNews Whisper 2FA is now the third most common Phishing as a Service tool worldwide
-
Government urges large enterprises to shore up defenses as NCSC warns UK faces four 'nationally significant' cyber attacks every weekNews UK enterprises of all sizes face escalating cybersecurity threats, ministers have warned
-
Third time lucky? The FBI just took down BreachForums, again
News The hacking forum is down for now, but the group behind it, Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, isn't going to stop extorting victims of the Salesforce breach
