Based on analysis of global network traffic in 2025, the report revealed a sharp escalation in the scale and focus of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. While total attack volume fell slightly below the record highs of 2024, organizations are still experiencing an all-time, sustained high of attack frequency, signaling that DDoS is becoming a defining feature of today’s threat environment.
“The rise in AI, IoT devices, and for-hire botnets has led us into a new era, where DDoS attacks are a permanent and highly disruptive reality for all organizations," states Max Clauson, SVP of Network Connectivity at Zayo. “In this ‘new normal,’ cybersecurity can no longer operate as a standalone, reactive function. If organizations fail to prepare, they risk costly disruptions that can halt operations, delay services, and cascade rapidly across partners, customers, and critical systems.”
Looking specifically at manufacturing, the sector experienced an average attack size of 11.6 Gbps, the largest across all industries. In automation-heavy environments, even short bursts at this scale can halt production lines and create outsized operational losses.
The report states that as attacks are carried out more quickly and with greater automation tools, resilience must be built into the network itself, requiring organizations to think strategically about how their infrastructure detects, absorbs, and responds to disruption.
