State of the Internet / Security: Media Under Assault

From January 2018 through June 2019, Akamai recorded more than 61 billion credential stuffing attempts and more than 4 billion web application attacks. In this special edition of the State of the Internet / Security Report, we’re focusing on data within the high tech, video media, and entertainment sectors — collectively named Media & Technology.

These three industries accounted for nearly 35% of all credential stuffing attacks, and almost 17% of the web application attacks seen by Akamai during the 18-month reporting period. Our analysis indicates these three verticals are a stable and consistent attack source for two reasons: personal and corporate data. The targeted brands are household names, and criminals are looking to capitalize on that familiarity.

By attacking directly via web application attacks, criminals hope to expose customer records and financial data or leverage a vulnerable server to spread malicious code — also a common motive driving criminals to attack the retail sector. Credential stuffing abuses the brands targeted, as well as their customers, enabling the criminals to target personal information and corporate assets, such as media or digital products.