Global Cyber-attacks Grow by 8%, Report Finds

2 August 2023

Weekly cyber-attacks have increased 8% globally compared to a year ago, according to a Cyber Attack Report by software company Check Point.

Specifically, the report found that the average number of attacks per organisation per week reached 1,258 in the second quarter of 2023—representing a year-on-year increase of 8%. This increase is significant, considering the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the cyber-threat landscape has relatively subsided in recent months. According to Check Point, the landscape has returned to a “new normal,” now characterised by increased cyber-attacks with new evasive tactics, hacktivist-based attacks and frequent ransomware.

Report Findings in Detail

According to Check Point’s data, the education/research sector was the most affected by cyber-attacks, with an average of 2,179 weekly attacks. The government/military sector was the second most targeted, with 1,772 attacks per week, with the health care sector following closely behind with 1,744. Notably, the health care sector’s figure represents a considerable year-on-year increase of 30%.

One particular cyber-attack type, ransomware, is singled out in the data set. Specifically, 1 out of every 44 organisations worldwide experienced a ransomware attack in the second quarter of 2023. Within Europe, this was 1 out of every 54 organisations. Although lower than the global equivalent, this figure represents a significant 21% year-on-year increase, indicating the growing ransomware threat for organisations across Europe, including those in the UK.

Cyber-safety Tips

The growing cyber-threat landscape in Check Point’s research highlights the need for heightened vigilance and robust cyber-security. Organisations should review their cyber-security measures and consider following tips:

• Perform regular patches. Organisations should develop a patch management strategy with regular patching to keep computers and servers up to date.
• Conduct employee awareness training. Organisations should train employees on various cyber-security topics, including phishing awareness, device security and robust password techniques.
• Strengthen user authentication. Organisations should leverage multifactor authentication to reduce the likelihood of brute force attacks.
• Implement preventive controls. Organisations should establish network perimeter defences (eg web filtering and firewall policies) to detect and block suspicious downloads and leverage other software solutions to continually monitor potential attack vectors.

Conclusion

As cyber-threats continue to evolve, it’s critical that organisations of all types and sizes tighten cyber-security measures.

Contact us today for further risk mitigation strategies and guidance on securing robust cyber-insurance.