Surge in DDoS Attacks Over 1 Tbps in Q2 2026 Amid Operation PowerOFF

In the first half of 2026, Cloudflare mitigated 23.2 million DDoS attacks, including over 800 network-layer attacks exceeding 1 Tbps in Q2, a fivefold increase from Q1. The peak DDoS activity occurred in April, with 6.46 trillion HTTP requests and 165 PB of attack traffic. The increase in large attacks is attributed to the Aisuru/Kimwolf botnet, which launched a record attack peaking at 31.4 Tbps. Operation PowerOFF, which targeted DDoS-for-hire services, led to the arrest of four individuals and the takedown of 53 domains. Despite the rise in large attacks, 96.62% of DDoS incidents remained under 500 Mbps and were typically short-lived. The report indicates a shift towards DNS-related attacks, with DNS floods accounting for 40% of Q2 incidents. Overall, the DDoS threat landscape continues to evolve with significant implications for various sectors.

Key Points: • Cloudflare mitigated over 800 DDoS attacks exceeding 1 Tbps in Q2 2026, a fivefold increase. • A record-breaking DDoS attack peaked at 31.4 Tbps, attributed to the Aisuru/Kimwolf botnet. • Operation PowerOFF led to the arrest of four individuals and the takedown of 53 domains.