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Zayo Reports 82% Surge In DDoS Attacks Due To AI And IoT Expansion
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A new report shared by the American telecommunications company Zayo this Thursday revealed a significant surge of 82% in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks between 2023 and 2024.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Zayo’s study analyzed and compared cyberattacks across North America and Western Europe, where the company operates.
- Cybersecurity experts noted an 82% surge in DDoS attacks, from 90,000 in 2023 to 165,000 in 2024.
- Experts say the different trends of attacks are likely to continue in 2025.
According to the information shared in the press release , the volume of attacks registered went from 90,000 in 2023 to 165,000 in 2024.
The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Insights Report published by Zayo states that one of the main reasons for this peak is the use and expansion of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and cybercriminals taking leverage of it.
“As the sophistication of DDoS attacks continues to grow, cybercriminals are finding ways to exploit cloud services, higher bandwidth availability, and new vulnerabilities in software and network protocols,” said Max Clauson, Senior Vice President of Network Connectivity at Zayo. “Both the public and private sector need to invest heavily in DDoS mitigation to continue to protect critical infrastructure and ensure long-term data security.”
The study considered data from Western Europe and North America—where the company operates—and included 17 industries for analysis. One of the most affected sectors in 2024 was the Financial, cybersecurity experts noted an attack increase from 3.5% in 2023 to 7% in 2024, estimating a financial toll of $6,000 per minute
The telecommunications sector remains the most targeted covering 42% of the analyzed attacks. And Healthcare experienced a 223% growth in attacks between both years. The report also highlights hackers’ increasing interest in targeting Cloud and SaaS companies in 2024. Experts said that the trend of attacks is likely to continue in 2025.
Since 2023 other cybersecurity firms like FortiGuard Labs have warned about malicious actors attacking IoT devices and launching devastating DDoS attacks. A recent study published in October last year revealed that cybersecurity professionals have reported increased stress as cyberattacks surge faster than safety measures and resources.
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DeepSeek to Open Source AI Model Code, Affirming Commitment to Transparency
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
The Chinese AI company DeepSeek announced this Friday that it will make its AI model codes public as part of its commitment to an open-source approach to artificial intelligence.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Starting next week DeepSeek will begin sharing the codes for their AI models as part of its OpenSourceWeek initiative.
- DeepSeek explained that it is part of its commitment to the open-source community and its principles of “full transparency.”
- Many users on X shared their support and excitement for the startup’s announcement.
The startup explained in a post on the social media platform X that next week they will launch a new initiative, the #OpenSourceWeek, where it will share their AI achievements with “full transparency.”
Starting Monday, Deepseek will begin sharing five code repositories containing parts of their software for anyone to see and collaborate. “These humble building blocks in our online service have been documented, deployed, and battle-tested in production,” states the post.
Since the release of its open-source model DeepSeek-V3, the company has gained popularity in the U.S. and worldwide , competing against frontier AI models in the industry, including ChatGPT.
“As part of the open-source community, we believe that every line shared becomes collective momentum that accelerates the journey,” wrote the company in a post.
🚀 Day 0: Warming up for #OpenSourceWeek ! We’re a tiny team @deepseek_ai exploring AGI. Starting next week, we’ll be open-sourcing 5 repos, sharing our small but sincere progress with full transparency. These humble building blocks in our online service have been documented,… — DeepSeek (@deepseek_ai) February 21, 2025
Many users on the social media platform shared their support and excitement for the news. “So cool to see you all build in public and share artefacts as you continue pushing the frontier forward!” wrote one user. “Real builders don’t hoard, they share. This is how breakthroughs happen!” added another .
The new announcement comes as the company is under investigation by the United States and the tech giants Microsoft and OpenAI, and faces blocks in South Korea and Italy over privacy concerns. Another study recently revealed that the AI model DeepSeek-R1 presents significant security risks for enterprise use.
