DCN February 2017 | Page 6

industry news

Weaponisation of IoT devices drives attack size higher by 60 per cent

Arbor Networks , the security division of NetScout , has released its 12th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report ( WISR ) offering direct insights from network and security professionals at the world ’ s leading service provider , cloud / hosting and enterprise organisations . The report covers a comprehensive range of issues from threat detection and incident response to managed services , staffing and budgets . Its focus is on the operational challenges Internet operators face daily from network based threats and the strategies adopted to address and mitigate them .
This year ’ s report shows the stakes have changed for network and security teams . The threat landscape has been transformed by the emergence of Internet of Things ( IoT ) botnets . As IoT devices proliferate across networks , bringing tremendous benefits to businesses and consumers , attackers are able to weaponise them due to inherent security vulnerabilities . This year ’ s report goes in-depth , covering how attackers exploit and recruit IoT devices , how IoT botnets enabled by Mirai source code operate and offers practical advice on how to defend against them .
The largest distributed denial-of-service ( DDoS ) attack reported this year was 800Gbps , a 60 per cent increase over 2015 ’ s largest attack of 500Gbps . Not only are DDoS attacks getting larger , but they are also becoming more frequent and complex . This increased scale and complexity has led more businesses to deploy purpose built DDoS protection solutions , implement best practice hybrid defences and increase time for incident response practice – all positive developments in an otherwise gloomy threat environment .
‘ The survey respondents have grown accustomed to a constantly evolving threat environment with steady increases in attack size and complexity over the past decade ,’ said Darren Anstee , Arbor Networks ’ chief security technologist . ‘ However , IoT botnets are a game changer because of the numbers involved . There are billions of these devices deployed , and they are being easily weaponised to launch massive attacks . Increasing concern over the threat environment is reflected in the survey results , which show significant improvements in the deployment of best practice technologies and response processes .’
The full report is available for download at : http :// bit . ly / 2jwMrt2

THIRD PARTY UK DATA CENTRE EXPANSION LEVELS OFF

The new third edition of UK Data Centre Trends service has found that UK data centre expansion for the six month period from the end of June 2016 to the end of December 2016 has levelled off when compared with the previous period .
Total third party UK Data Centre Customer Power ( DCCP ) has increased by 12MW to 713MW over the six month period to the end of December , and data centre raised floor space has increased by 8,000m 2 to 665,000m 2 .
The second half of 2016 contrasts with the stronger increase of new data centre capacity in the first half of 2016 , which saw an increase of 32MW of DCCP and 22,000 of UK data centre raised floor space .
In the 2nd half of 2016 , most new UK data centre capacity has been added outside the London / M25 area , in Manchester ( LDeX 2 ), Birmingham ( 6DG ) and Slough ( Equinix LDN6 ). But the London / M25 area still accounts for 47 per cent of all UK data centre raised floor space & DCCP .
The survey highlights the rapid data centre growth taking place in Slough , with 15 data centre provider facilities identified , and another data centre facility opening in January 2017 with the introduction of the Zentrum facility . Slough is the second largest data centre cluster in the UK behind the London / M25 area – but pricing in Slough is only five per cent less than the London / M25 area .
Greater value is to be found in other UK geographical clusters , with data centre facilities in the Manchester area for example having an average price discount of almost 40 per cent less than in the London / M25 area . Outside London , standard UK data centre rack space can be as low as £ 599 per month rising up to £ 750 per month – with London / M25 area rack space typically over £ 1,000 per month .
The London / M25 area still accounts for 47 per cent of all UK data centre raised floor space & DCCP
A key trend for the end of 2016 – continuing into 2017 – is the use of third party data centre space for cloud customers . Both NGD ( Cardiff ) and Ark Data Centres ( Wiltshire & Farnborough ) announced new space sold to cloud providers with Ark announcing that it was to host four new data centre facilities for IBM .
For further information visit : http :// www . marketresearchreports . com / tariffconsultancy-ltd / uk-data-centre-trends- 2017-twice-year-publication
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