The number of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks andsize have remained elevated throughout the first half of this year,as Q2 continues to near Q1's record-setting levels.

In the last year, DDoS attacks have become stronger and shorter.They are more difficult to detect, and can be catastrophic for anyindustry. 

According to Prolexic's latest International DDoS AttackReport, Q2 has seen shifts in the industry targets compared tothe previous quarter. Different types of malicious actors on theinternet have influenced common targets for hackers, as thepatterns and motives of the DDoS criminal ecosystem continue toshift. 

Click through the following slides to see which industries werethe most common targets for DDoS attacks in the second quarter of2014.

1. Gaming

Gaming is the most-targeted industry, according to the report,accounting for more than 45% of total attacks. The industry, whichincludes any company related to online gaming or gaming-relatedcontent, is prone to attacks by motivated players seeking to gain acompetitive advantage or by malicious actors seeking to stealpersonal data from players.

The industry received a large percentage of infrastructure layerattacks and a fair percentage of application-layer attacks in Q2,including 46% of all NYN floods and 68% of GET floods.

2. Software and technology

The software and technology industry, which includes companiesthat provide solutions such as SaaS and cloud-based technologies,was hit with the second-greatest number of attacks (22%), and wasthe most-frequently targeted with infrastructure-layer attacks.

The report reveals that the most popular attack vectors againstthe software and technology industry were DNS and NTP reflectionand amplification attacks, accounting for 33% and 26% respectively.SYN floods made up approximately 22% of attacks, and UDP floodsaccounted for 27%.

3. Media and entertainment

The report reveals that the media and entertainment industryaccounted for a smaller percentage of all attacks, at 15% in Q2.This marks a 39% decrease from last quarter.

Despite this shift, the media and entertainment industry remainsone of the most targeted industries for hackers. These attacksoften offer higher visibility for malicious actors, with presscoverage that helps campaign organizers reach out to supporters andrecruit new participants.

The media and entertainment industry was hit by mostlyinfrastructure attacks, including SYN floods (18%), UDP floods(25%) and UDP fragments (22%).

4. Financial services

Major financial institutions, such as banks and tradingplatforms, were targeted in 10% of all attacks in Q2, according tothe Prolexic report.

Historically, financial institutions have been the target ofmany DDoS attacks, including those orchestrated by the group Izzad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters (QCF), using the Brobot botnet.

The report discloses that recent activity indicates a possibleresurgence of the use of the Brobot botnet, but the financialsector did not experience many major attack campaigns this quarter.

5. Internet and telecom

Including companies that offer internet-related services such asISPs and CNDs, the internet and telecom industry was the fifthmost-targeted industry in Q2, accounting for 4% of all attacks.

Infrastructure-layer attack vectors were the most common, with10% of all attacks as UPD floods, and 9% as UPD fragments.

Internet and telecom was the target of 12% of all NTP floodattacks this quarter.