Cloudflare defends against 11.5 Tbps DDoS attack
Cloudflare Defends Against Record-Shattering 11.5 Tbps DDoS Attack
Butwal, Nepal – In a stunning display of defensive cybersecurity, internet infrastructure giant Cloudflare has successfully mitigated the largest-ever distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack recorded, weathering a massive 11.5 terabits per second (Tbps) onslaught. The unprecedented event highlights the escalating scale of cyber threats facing the global internet.
The attack, which lasted for a mere 35 seconds, was a blitzkrieg of malicious traffic aimed at overwhelming and knocking Cloudflare’s network offline. This type of assault, known as a UDP flood, works by bombarding a target with an immense volume of data packets, creating a digital traffic jam so severe that legitimate users cannot get through.
To put the sheer scale of 11.5 Tbps into perspective, that amount of data is equivalent to downloading over 2,500 high-definition movies every second.
Cloudflare’s investigation revealed that the attack originated primarily from compromised resources within major cloud services, with Google Cloud Platform identified as a significant source. This indicates a worrying trend where attackers are hijacking powerful cloud computing infrastructure to launch attacks of previously unimaginable size.
For users and businesses in Nepal, this event serves as a critical reminder of the invisible cyber battles being fought daily to keep the internet running. Many Nepali websites, from e-commerce stores to news portals and government services, rely on Cloudflare’s network for protection against such attacks. Had this defense failed, countless services we use every day could have been rendered inaccessible.
This record-breaking incident sets a new benchmark for the size of DDoS attacks, demonstrating the ever-growing capabilities of malicious actors. It underscores the critical importance of robust, scalable defense systems in an era where digital infrastructure is considered essential. Cloudflare’s successful mitigation proves that while the threats are growing, the defenses are evolving to meet them head-on.
