Company
Date Published
Dec. 23, 2024
Author
João Tomé
Word count
2615
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Cloudflare observed a significant rise in DDoS attacks targeting political campaigns, parties, and election infrastructure during the 2024 global elections, with peaks reaching up to 96,000 requests per second in France and 156,000 rps in the UK. Internet traffic patterns often reflect a country's dominant device usage, with mobile-first nations experiencing notable drops after polling stations closed. Election-related Internet shutdowns were also imposed by authorities for various reasons, such as in Comoros and Pakistan. Cybersecurity challenges emerged during elections worldwide, with trends showing increased phishing, misinformation, and DNS traffic to news outlets reflecting heightened public interest. The 2024 election cycle underscored the growing need for robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard critical infrastructure and ensure free, fair electoral processes.