Fact Check: The biggest DDoS attack on the world

Fact-Check Article: "The biggest DDoS attack on the world"

What We Know

In mid-May 2025, Cloudflare reported that it successfully mitigated the largest Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack ever recorded, reaching an unprecedented peak of 7.3 terabits per second (Tbps). This attack surpassed the previous record of 6.5 Tbps, which had been noted in earlier reports by Cloudflare and other cybersecurity sources. The attack targeted a customer of Cloudflare, specifically a hosting provider, and delivered a staggering 37.4 terabytes of data in just 45 seconds. This volume of data is equivalent to streaming over 7,480 hours of high-definition video continuously for that short duration (source-1).

The attack was characterized as a multivector DDoS attack, with 99.996% of the traffic identified as UDP floods, while the remaining traffic included various reflection and amplification attacks, such as QOTD and NTP reflection attacks (source-1). According to Cloudflare's Q2 DDoS threat report, June 2025 was the busiest month for DDoS attacks, with Cloudflare blocking over 6,500 hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks during that quarter alone.

Analysis

The claim that the 7.3 Tbps DDoS attack is the largest ever recorded is substantiated by multiple credible sources. Cloudflare, a leading internet security company, has a robust infrastructure and extensive experience in mitigating DDoS attacks, making their reports highly reliable. Their documentation of the attack details, including the data volume and attack vectors, is thorough and consistent across various publications (source-1, source-2, source-3).

Other cybersecurity news outlets, such as Cybersecurity News and The Hacker News, corroborate Cloudflare's findings, confirming the attack's scale and impact. The consistency of the reported figures across different platforms suggests a high level of reliability in the information presented.

However, it is important to consider potential biases in the reporting. As Cloudflare is directly involved in the mitigation of DDoS attacks, their reports may emphasize their capabilities and successes. Nevertheless, the corroboration from independent sources adds credibility to the claim that this was indeed the largest DDoS attack recorded to date.

Conclusion

The claim that "the biggest DDoS attack on the world" occurred in mid-May 2025, reaching 7.3 Tbps, is True. The evidence from multiple credible sources, including Cloudflare's own reports and independent cybersecurity news outlets, confirms the unprecedented scale of this attack. The detailed analysis of the attack's characteristics further supports the assertion that it represents a significant milestone in the history of DDoS attacks.

Sources

1. How Cloudflare blocked a monumental 7.3 Tbps DDoS attack
2. Hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks skyrocket: Cloudflare’s 2025 Q2 DDoS threat report
3. Hackers Breaking Internet with 7.3 Tbps and 4.8 Billion ...
4. Massive 7.3 Tbps DDoS Attack Delivers 37.4 TB in 45 ...
5. KrebsOnSecurity Hit With Near-Record 6.3 Tbps DDoS
6. Cloudflare Blocks Record-Breaking 7.3 Tbps DDoS Attack
7. This mega DDoS attack broke all records - huge 37.4TB ...
8. 45 Global DDOS Attack Statistics 2025