Choose one of the attack vectors discussed (e.g., Phishing, Ransomware, DDoS, MitM, Viruses/Worms, Trojans, SQL Injection, XSS) and research a recent, significant real-world case (within the last 1-2 years) that is not mentioned in this module. Analyze the attack's methodology, its impact, and the updated defense strategies implemented or recommended in response to that specific incident. Present your findings, highlighting any new insights or evolving trends in that attack vector.

Case Study: Record-Breaking 7.3 Tbps DDoS Attack (May 2025)

Attack Methodology

In mid-May 2025 an enormous distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack was launched against a hosting provider. Cloudflare reports it peaked at 7.3 Tbps (terabits per second) – the largest ever recorded[1][2]. Over ~45 seconds it delivered 37.4 terabytes of data, flooding the target’s network. The attack was multi-vector: roughly 99.996% of the traffic was raw UDP floods, with the remaining 0.004% spread across various reflection/amplification methods (e.g. QOTD, NTP, echo, Mirai UDP, RIP)[3][4]. The traffic originated from an extremely large botnet – over 122,000 unique IPs in 161 countries[5] – bombarding tens of thousands of destination ports on the target’s IP. In this case the victim was a Cloudflare customer (a hosting provider) using Cloudflare’s Magic Transit service to defend its network[6].

Impact on Targets and Customers

Because the target was protected by Cloudflare’s mitigation, the attack did not cause public downtime[6]. However, the sheer volume and duration – if unchecked – would have completely saturated most networks, knocking services offline. This single attack illustrates how a vulnerable provider could be disabled in under a minute by flooding nearly the equivalent of 9,350 full HD movies or 7,480 hours of streaming in 45 seconds[7][8]. (In the Cloudflare blog illustration, the surge rapidly hit ~7.3 Tbps and then ended within 45 seconds[1][8].) In practical terms, unprotected networks or smaller providers could have lost connectivity and revenue instantly. No sensitive data was at risk (it was pure volumetric flood), but the hosting provider and its customers would have faced severe service outages if the attack weren’t mitigated. The record-breaking nature of this assault also drew worldwide media attention, underscoring reputational risks: it signaled to the industry that critical infrastructure (e.g. hosting, ISPs) can be targeted with unprecedented scale[8][1].