Azure stops biggest DDoS attack ever, according to Microsoft

In the second half of 2021, Microsoft's Azure DDoS Protection team neutralized an 'unprecedented amount' of attacks.

Microsoft prevented an average of 1,955 DDoS assaults per day in 2021.

In November, Microsoft neutralized an attack with a throughput of 3.47 Tbps, which is thought to be the greatest of its kind in history.

In the second half of 2021, Microsoft witnessed an 'unprecedented volume' of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) assaults. The business says in an Azure blog post (opens in a new tab) that during that period, both the sophistication and frequency of DDoS assaults reached unprecedented heights. Microsoft neutralized an average of 1,955 assaults each day in the second half of the year. Microsoft thwarted a total of 359,713 distinct assaults in the final six months of 2021.

DDoS assaults simply bombard a website, causing it to stop functioning correctly. They are frequently used by gamers to disrupt other people's networks to secure victory. DDOS assaults attacked Blizzard games, Titanfall, Final Fantasy 14, and numerous other high-profile titles last year. DDoS assaults can also be employed maliciously, such as bringing down a shopping website during the holidays.

A DDoS ransom assault employs the same techniques as a regular DDoS attack. But the malicious actor demands payment in return for restoring the site's functionality.

Although it lacks the beautiful animations found in Cloudflare's film, the Microsoft Azure YouTube channel provides a video on how to protect against DDoS assaults.

In November 2021, Microsoft neutralized a DDoS assault with a throughput of 3.47 Tbps. According to the business, it is the biggest DDoS assault in history. The attack involved 10,000 sources from several nations, contributing to a 15-minute onslaught.

Microsoft neutralized 2.5 Tbps and 3.25 Tbps DDoS assaults in December 2021, albeit not quite as massive as the November onslaught.

According to Microsoft's blog post, Azure's DDoS prevention infrastructure works by utilizing pipelines that can "grow massively". This enables the platform to withstand even the most powerful DDoS attacks.