Corero Network Security: AI-Driven DDoS Attacks Evade Traditional Defenses
New report highlights sub-200 Mbps attacks, 50+ vector campaigns, and seconds-long bursts
Corero Network Security, leader in real-time DDoS protection and service availability, today released its 2026 Threat Intelligence Report, revealing a fundamental shift in how attacks are executed and why many traditional defenses are no longer effective.
Analysis from Corero’s Threat Research Team (TRT), based on real-world attack data across protected networks, shows that what were once headline-grabbing attacks are now routine. Attackers are combining AI-driven automation, low-volume reconnaissance, and coordinated multi-vector techniques to evade detection and accelerate impact.
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Key findings include:
- Invisible to traditional defenses: Over half of sub-1 Gbps attacks are under 200 Mbps, blending into normal traffic while probing defenses.
- Manual response is no longer viable: Six-second pulse attacks eliminate the window for reactive intervention.
- Complexity at scale: Campaigns now combine 50+ vectors and adapt in real time.
Peak attack sizes increased by 262% year over year, with terabit-scale attacks now occurring in seconds, while more than 90% of attacks last less than 10 minutes. AI is accelerating this shift, enabling attackers to identify vulnerabilities, automate reconnaissance, and adapt in real time while obscuring attribution.
While often falling below detection thresholds, these attacks can still have significant impact, particularly for organizations with more constrained network capacity.
“This is where the industry has to reset its assumptions,” said Carl Herberger, CEO at Corero Network Security. “What used to be a major event is now routine. When attacks are small enough to go unnoticed, fast enough to finish in seconds, and complex enough to adapt in real time, there is no opportunity for manual response. Protection has to be automatic, always on, and able to stop attacks before they impact service and disrupt availability.”
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The findings point to a clear shift: organizations relying on threshold-based detection, manual response, or delayed mitigation approaches are increasingly exposed to attacks that operate below detection limits and complete in seconds. Effective defense now requires continuous visibility, automated protection, and real-time mitigation operating at the speed and scale of modern threats. Corero’s Cyber Resilience platform, which includes SmartWall ONE™ DDoS protection alongside traffic analysis and access control capabilities, delivers this approach with always-on protection at the network edge and is available as a managed service.
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