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DDoS Attacks in MENA Were Up 163% Year Over Year in Q3 2025
StormWall, a cybersecurity firm that focuses on DDoS protection, took a close look at attack patterns in the Middle East and North Africa during the third quarter of 2025. They put together a new report with their key findings, and it’s eye-opening stuff. DDoS attacks in MENA were up 163% year over year in Q3 2025, according to StormWall’s data, and this surge was mostly fueled by attackers chasing profits. That’s a big shift from the quarter before, when hacktivists and politically motivated groups were behind most of the chaos.
These days, for-profit hackers and extortionists are responsible for 68% of the malicious traffic, while hacktivists make up just 32%. Back in Q2, it was the opposite, politically driven groups handled 73% of the attack traffic in the region. DDoS attacks in MENA were up 163% in Q3 2025 like this because of money talks, and these criminals are going after the biggest paydays.
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This change hit certain industries especially hard. Retail jumped to the top spot as the most targeted sector, grabbing 22% of all attacks, that’s a 164% year-over-year increase, and it shot up from just 7% in Q2, which is a whopping 214% jump quarter over quarter. It’s a real wake-up call for retail businesses across MENA, where the DDoS risk is at an all-time high right now.
Finance came in second with 19% of attacks and 138% growth year over year, followed by telecommunications at 17% share and 126% year-over-year growth. Gaming companies also got slammed, with their attack share climbing from 5% to 14%, nearly tripling in just one quarter. DDoS attacks in MENA were up 163%, and you can see why these sectors are feeling the pain.
StormWall’s experts are urging everyone to watch out for botnet-based attacks in particular. Their data points to a 182% year-over-year rise in this kind of activity. On top of that, the average botnet now packs about 215,000 compromised devices, compared to 140,000 back in Q2. Bigger botnets mean stronger, longer-lasting attacks that can knock websites and services offline for hours or even days.
When it comes to the countries taking the heaviest hits in MENA, Saudi Arabia led the pack again with 22% of all attacks, same as in Q2. Qatar moved into second place, its share jumping from 9% to 17%, which works out to an 89% increase quarter over quarter. The United Arab Emirates rounded out the top three at 14% of the region’s DDoS traffic. It’s clear that DDoS attacks in MENA were up 163% in 2025, hitting these nations hardest.
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Ramil Khantimirov, the CEO and founder of StormWall, put it plainly: “When profit-driven hackers generate the majority of malicious traffic, attack volume usually spikes the most in those sectors where downtime causes the greatest revenue losses.” He added, “That’s why gaming and retail were targeted so heavily in Q3: when websites go down or lag, users leave the platform and often switch to a competitor that wasn’t attacked, or was better protected.” DDoS attacks in MENA were up 163% year over year in Q3 2025, and his words nail why retail and gaming bore the brunt.
As profit-hungry attackers zero in on spots where outages hurt the wallet most, companies in retail, gaming, finance, and telecom across MENA need to beef up their DDoS defenses, StormWall’s analysts stress. Staying ahead of this trend could make all the difference.
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