EMEA Emerges as Global Hotspot for Financial Services DDoS Attacks

The global financial sector is facing a sharp rise in Financial Services DDoS Attacks, with cybercriminals increasingly targeting banks, payment systems, and online financial platforms through larger, longer, and more attacks, according to new research from Akamai.

In its latest State of the Internet (SOTI) Security report titled AI-Empowered Botnets and API Visibility Gaps: Attack Trends in Financial Services, research warned that AI-powered botnets and politically motivated .

Akamai revealed that the median duration of global Layers 3 and 4 Financial Services infrastructure and growing hacktivist activity, including campaigns linked to pro-Iran cyber groups.

Security researchers .

API-Related Cyber Risks Emerging as Major Security Weakness

One of the strongest findings in the report involved API-related cyber within the past year. That figure was the highest recorded among all industries included in the research.

The report also found that:

• 60% of all web attacks in 2025 targeted banking institutions


• 83% of attacks against API endpoints focused on financial organizations

Researchers warned that APIs are increasingly becoming high-value targets because they support critical services such as digital payments, account management, authentication systems, and mobile banking applications.

Steve Winterfeld, Advisory Chief Information , and financial services are in the crosshairs,” Winterfeld said.

He added that artificial intelligence is accelerating existing

Launch credential abuse campaigns

Cybersecurity experts have increasingly warned that patterns targeting financial institutions.

The report found:

• Europe, the Middle East, and Africa accounted for 62% of Layers 3 and 4 DDoS attacks


• Asia-Pacific experienced 52% of Layer 7 DDoS attacks


• North America recorded the highest volume of web attacks at 44%

Researchers said these differences reflect varying attacker strategies, infrastructure deployment patterns, and regional cybersecurity maturity levels.

The report also revealed that nearly 80% of financial institutions experienced , DDoS mitigation practices, AI architecture security considerations, and insights from financial sector cybersecurity experts, including contributions from the FS-ISAC.