Internet Traffic Surges, Cyberattacks Escalate as Governments Disrupt Connectivity
Event summary
- Global Internet traffic increased by 19% year-over-year in 2025.
- Post-quantum encryption now secures 52% of internet traffic.
- Cyberattacks, including over 25 record-breaking DDoS attacks, significantly escalated.
- Government actions were the leading cause of major Internet disruptions, accounting for nearly half of all outages.
- Civil society and non-profit organizations experienced the largest increase in cyberattacks, surpassing other sectors.
The big picture
Cloudflare's report highlights a period of rapid Internet growth intertwined with escalating security threats and geopolitical tensions. The surge in traffic underscores the continued reliance on digital infrastructure, while the rise in DDoS attacks and government-induced outages reveal vulnerabilities in the global network. The shift in cyberattack targets towards non-profits suggests a broader trend of exploiting organizations with sensitive data and limited resources, potentially impacting public trust and online safety.
What we're watching
- Governance Dynamics
- The increasing role of governments in Internet disruptions signals a potential shift towards greater regulatory oversight and geopolitical influence on online infrastructure, which could impact Cloudflare's operations and partnerships.
- AI Competition
- Google's dominance in automated Internet traffic through its crawling bot suggests intensifying competition in the AI space, potentially requiring Cloudflare to innovate its services to maintain its market position.
- Security Evolution
- The pivot of cybercriminals towards civil society and non-profit organizations indicates a broadening attack surface and necessitates ongoing investment in security solutions to protect vulnerable targets, which could drive demand for Cloudflare's services.
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