Why do DDoS attack patterns rise in the autumn?

An analysis by Kaspersky Lab reported that distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attack patterns typically drop in activity during the summer months and then see an uptick around September. Why do attacks follow this cycle? What other DDoS attack patterns should enterprises be aware of?

There's a truism that DDoS attacks accelerate in September when college students return to the dorms -- and their big fast internet pipes. While this maxim had more significance when broadband wasn't as prevalent as it is today, the pattern still seems to hold.

This pattern could be related to students having more -- or less -- time to play online video games where they would want to run a DDoS attack against a competing player or for lots of other reasons.

For example, the pattern could be attributed to IT workers being on vacation over the summer and then delaying provisioning new systems on academic networks. When the insecure new devices are added after everyone returns from vacation, those devices can be immediately compromised and used to carry out DDoS attacks.

Regardless of the reasons why DDoS attacks might increase in the fall, it's important for your organization to respond appropriately to stay in business. Check out the DDoS attack patterns report, published by Kaspersky Lab last fall to determine if your DDoS prevention is adequate.

To make sure you're protected, find out if your DDoS mitigation service can detect attacks, no matter how small, and put into place a plan to manage costs stemming from a prolonged DDoS attack. Understanding how to detect, respond, manage and, most importantly, return to normal business operations is the most critical part of any DDoS or incident response plan.

Disclosure: Nick Lewis' primary employer offers a DDoS mitigation service for higher education institutions, but he receives no compensation from sales of this service.