The global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market size was valued at USD 3.95 billion in 2023. It is estimated to reach USD 17.53 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 18.01% during the forecast period (2024–2032). With the rising digitization, there has been a growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices. This increase leads to surging DDoS attacks worldwide, thus boosting the market growth. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of cloud-based solutions has led to a surge in their adoption across various enterprises. This makes the enterprise susceptible to DDoS attacks, again boosting market distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market growth.
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurs when several machines collaborate to attack a single target to constrain traffic through a targeted server, service, or network by saturating the target or its surrounding infrastructure with an influx of Internet traffic. DDoS increases the attack's potency by enabling the victim to receive exponentially more requests. Pinpointing the attack's real origin makes attribution more challenging because it is more challenging.
DDoS attacks may devastate an online business, so it's crucial to understand how they operate and how to prevent them effectively. There are several critical characteristics that businesses should take into account to mitigate DDoS assaults, ensure service uptime, and reduce false positives to prevent DDoS attacks. The key to stopping DDoS attacks is to use behavioral-based solutions, comprehend the benefits and drawbacks of various DDoS deployment alternatives, and neutralize various DDoS attack pathways.
The rising frequency and sophistication of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have become a significant driver for the DDoS protection market. According to a report by NETSCOUT, there were approximately 10 million DDoS attacks in 2022, marking a substantial increase from previous years. These attacks are evolving, with cybercriminals employing more advanced techniques and tools to launch multi-vector attacks that are harder to detect and mitigate.
This growing threat landscape has compelled organizations to invest heavily in robust DDoS protection solutions to safeguard their digital assets, maintain business continuity, and protect their reputation. For instance, the healthcare sector, which has seen a 50% increase in cyberattacks, including DDoS, according to Check Point Research, is adopting advanced DDoS protection solutions to ensure the availability of critical services and patient data security.
The growing realization among companies about the importance of saving money and resources by adopting cloud solutions rather than building and maintaining on-premise infrastructure is boosting the demand for cloud-based solutions, hence the adoption of DDoS solutions. Owing to the surging demand for cloud-based solutions, market players have been providing these solutions with multiple functionalities.
For example, Kona DDoS Defender is the cloud-based solution Akamai provides to stop the threat of a DDoS attack. The solution combines the uninterrupted service of a security operations center with the company's intelligent platform, allowing for increased scalability and ensuring the website's continued operation during an attack.
One of the major restraints in the DDoS protection market is the high cost associated with the implementation and maintenance of advanced DDoS mitigation solutions. Deploying robust DDoS protection involves significant investment in hardware, software, and skilled personnel. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, find it challenging to allocate substantial budgets for these solutions.
According to a survey by Kaspersky, 41% of SMEs cite cost as a significant barrier to adopting comprehensive cybersecurity measures, including DDoS protection. Additionally, ongoing maintenance and the need for continuous updates to address evolving threats further escalate the overall expenditure. This financial burden can deter organizations, especially those with limited resources, from investing in essential DDoS protection, thereby exposing them to potential cyber threats and operational disruptions.
Millions of IoT devices have significantly increased the network's surface area, thereby increasing the number of potential attack vectors. The presence of a solitary device that is connected to a network and lacks adequate protection can serve as a potential entry point for an active attack. In the past few years, DDoS attacks in IoT networks have been considered a rising challenge that needs to be addressed. Moreover, introducing 5G is also anticipated to expand DDoS attacks.
Furthermore, security researchers working in Palo Alto Networks discovered another Mirai malware variant targeting new IoT vulnerabilities. Researchers from Unit 42, the cybersecurity division of the company, discovered several attacks in February 2021 that leveraged vulnerabilities. In this case, the compromised devices downloaded Mirai malware binaries, which adds them to a larger IoT botnet capable of carrying out network attacks on devastating scales. Such vulnerabilities are expected to create opportunities for the DDoS protection market.
Study Period | 2020-2032 | CAGR | 18.01% |
Historical Period | 2020-2022 | Forecast Period | 2024-2032 |
Base Year | 2023 | Base Year Market Size | USD 3.95 billion |
Forecast Year | 2032 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD 17.53 billion |
Largest Market | North America | Fastest Growing Market | Asia-Pacific |
Based on region, the global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market share is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.
The North American region dominates the global Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection market, driven by a high adoption rate of advanced cybersecurity solutions and the presence of major market players like Cloudflare, Akamai Technologies, and NETSCOUT. The region's well-established IT infrastructure and robust regulatory environment contribute to its leadership position. According to a report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, the U.S. alone accounted for 1,862 data breaches in 2021, emphasizing the critical need for effective DDoS protection.
Additionally, the increasing frequency of cyber threats and the rising sophistication of attacks have prompted organizations across various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce, to invest heavily in DDoS protection solutions. For instance, the financial sector, which is a prime target for cybercriminals, has seen significant investments in cybersecurity. According to a survey by Deloitte, 76% of financial institutions in North America increased their cybersecurity budgets in 2022. Moreover, the regulatory landscape in North America, with laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), mandates stringent data protection measures, further driving the demand for DDoS protection. The region's focus on innovation and the development of advanced cybersecurity technologies are expected to sustain its market growth in the coming years.
The Asia-Pacific region is poised to be a sub-dominant player in the Global Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection Market during the forecast period. This growth is driven by the rapid adoption of cloud-based services, increasing digitalization, and a significant rise in cyber threats. For instance, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported a staggering 668% increase in DDoS attacks in 2022 compared to 2021.
Valued at $1.2 billion in 2022, according to the Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), the market is set to expand further. Government and organizational initiatives aimed at bolstering cybersecurity measures are fueling this growth. Prominent players in the region include Imperva, Neustar, Radware, and Arbor Networks. As the Asia-Pacific region continues to strengthen its digital infrastructure and cybersecurity protocols, its importance in the DDoS protection market is expected to rise significantly.
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The global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market is segmented by component deployment type, size of enterprise, and end-user industry.
Based on components, the global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market is divided into solution and service.
The solution segment owns the highest market share during the forecast period. Advancements in social engineering and malware powered by machine learning make it challenging to identify threats as they are delivered and complicate the maintenance of threat data as it constantly changes. However, new solutions are emerging to combat these new threats. The DDoS protection solution makes it easy to identify when several alerts across various tools point at the same incident. Alerts triggered by the same event can be grouped into individual cases. Therefore, rather than requiring IT operators to allocate their time towards handling 20,000 individual notifications weekly, they can redirect their efforts towards investigating a reduced number of 2,500 incidents. This shift is facilitated by utilizing the organization's security orchestration software, which automates many investigative tasks.
Based on deployment type, the global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market is segmented into cloud, on-premise, and hybrid.
The cloud segment is the largest revenue contributor to the market throughout the forecast period. Organizations are adopting cloud technologies for benefits like flexibility and cost savings. With increased demand to provide applications or services with a minimal budget, migration to the cloud continues. Enterprises are increasingly adopting cloud technologies and hosting their apps in cloud environments. As more businesses rely on cloud-based services, DDoS protection solution providers adopt cloud deployment. Cloud DDoS mitigation and protection take place completely separately from the user's existing network within the internet cloud, detecting and preventing DDoS attacks before they even reach the user's network. Cloud DDoS mitigation and protection can be rapid to deploy, and they are effective at managing the threat of DDoS attacks designed to flood servers or pipes with a simple weight of traffic. They can also help mitigate the application layer and more advanced attack campaigns, which might involve months of disruption.
Based on the size of the enterprise, the global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market is bifurcated into small and medium enterprises and large enterprises.
The small and medium enterprises segment dominates the global market over the forecast period. Small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, are the companies that generate revenues of less than USD 1 billion. These are considered in the market scope. SMEs play an imperative role in the growth of GDP for any country. According to the Office of Advocacy of the US Small Business Administration, small enterprises increased from 30.7 million in 2019 to 31.7 million in 2020, or by 3.15%. Small business expansion was 7.09 percent annually between 2017 and 2020. This shows the increasing need for DDoS protection solutions in the SME sector.
In addition, SMEs are majorly inclined toward cloud-based DDoS protection solutions that are available with lower investments and are cost-friendly. As SMEs do not allocate too much funds for IT infrastructure, they seek solutions that can be hosted over the cloud and provide the same security and transparency as on-premise DDoS solutions.
Based on the end-user industry, the global distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market is bifurcated into government and defense, IT and telecommunication, retail, healthcare, BFSI, media and entertainment, and other end-user industries.
The BFSI segment owns the highest market share over the forecast period. Due to the sector's vast customer base and the financial information at stake, the BFSI industry is one of the critical infrastructure sectors susceptible to multiple data breaches and cyberattacks. Cybercriminals are optimizing many malicious cyberattacks to immobilize the financial sector because it is a highly lucrative operation model with phenomenal returns and the added benefit of relatively low risk and detectability. The digitization trend is inevitable in the post-pandemic situation. Several banks witnessed rapid digitization across the entire system shortly after the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following global lockdown. Improved customer reach, operational resilience, and cost-saving set to speed up the digitization drive in the BFSI ecosystem. This generates an opportunity for market players to provide their DDOS solutions to BFSI companies adopting digitization.