From the point of view of one global cybersecurity firm, while Russia-Ukraine-related digital warfare slowed, other aspects were breaching records.

According to a cybersecurity firm’s own ecosystem in Q2 2023, cyberattacks increased 8% per week globally compared to the same quarter in 2022.

The average number of attacks per organization per week reached 1,258 attacks — the highest number noted within the same ecosystem in the past two years.

The data also shows up the use of new evasive tactics, frequent hacktivism-based attacks, a daily barrage of ransomware targeting numerous organizations, and other activities such as:

    • A China-based APT that targets governmental entities
    • Malware hidden behind legitimate looking apps
    • A new version of Chinese espionage propagated through USB devices
    • Malicious firmware implants discovered on TP-Link and other routers
    • Exploits of the popularity generative AI apps and bypassing of usage restrictions

Also in Q2 2023, the education/research sector in Check Point’s ecosystem experienced the highest malicious attention, with an average of 2,179 attacks per organization per week, constituting a 6% decrease compared to that of Q2 2022.

Following that was the government/military sector, with an average of 1,772 attacks per week, representing a 9% increase from that of the same period last year. Finally, the healthcare sector attracted an average of 1,744 attacks per week, reflecting a YoY increase of 30%.  

Globally, the weekly average of attacks per organization and YoY change (%) was:

    • Africa: 2,164 (+23%)
    • APAC: 2,046 (+22%)
    • North America: 1,011 (+18%)
    • Latin Americas: 1,745 (+9%)
    • Europe: 1,013 (+5%)

The ransomware landscape in Check Point’s ecosystem for Q2 2023 was:

    • APAC: 1 attack out of every 26 firms (+29%)
    • Europe: 1 out of 54 (+21%)
    • North America: 1 out of 94 (+15%)
    • Africa: 1 out of 30 (-30%)
    • Latin Americas: 1 out of 26 (-12%)

Finally, at the industry level, the ransomware landscape for Q2 2023 was:

    • Consultancies: 1 organization attacked out of every 38 (+128%)
    • Insurance/Legal: 1 out of 47 (+71%)
    • Utilities: 1 out of 37 (+60%)
    • Transportation: 1 out of 49 (+43%)
    • Leisure/hospitality: 1 out of 55 (+41%)
    • Finance/banking: 1 out of 31 (+33%)
    • Communications: 1 out of 37 (+24%)
    • Healthcare: 1 out of 27 (+16%)
    • SI/VAR/distributor: 1 out of 41 (+15%)
    • Software vendor: 1 out of 65 (+13%)
    • Hardware vendor: 1 out of 73 (+7%)
    • ISP/MSP: 1 out of 36 (+2%)
    • Manufacturing: 1 out of 48 (+0.30%)
    • Education/research: 1 out of 31 (-2%)
    • Government/military: 1 out of 25 (-4%)
    • Retail/wholesale: 1 out of 60 (-11%)

The firm has offered the following reminders: Ensure timely patching of cyber vulnerabilities; conduct regular cyber awareness training; enforce strong user authentication; prioritize prevention over detection; and incorporate extended detection and response (XDR and EPP) for endpoint security.