Attacks on companies have increased by 59% compared to 2021, according to a study

July 29 (Portaltic/EP) –

One in 40 organizations has been the victim of ‘ransomware’ attacks so far in 2022, which is an increase of 59 percent compared to 2021.

The provider of cybersecurity solutions check point has reached this conclusion after reviewing the data it has compiled in recent months from the different sectors that make up the world economy.

In the first place, the company has highlighted that the ransomware it is the main method used by cybercriminals to deceive their victims, a technique that consists of the kidnapping of data in exchange for a certain economic amount.

This type of cyberattack has multiplied globally since the start of the pandemic, although it has been so far in 2022 when companies have received the greatest threats.

The second quarter of 2022 saw an all-time high, as cyberattacks increased 32 percent compared to the second quarter of 2021.

This would determine that the average number of weekly attacks per organization peaked at 1,200 companies threatened. To assess its impact, Check Point has made a distinction by country and sector.

In this way, it has determined that the region in which the most cyberattacks occur is Africa, where the weekly average of the impacted organizations is 1 out of every 21 companies.

In contrast, in Europe, which is in second place on the list, the weekly average of companies that receive cyberattacks is 1 in 66. North America & Australia & New Zealand conclude this ranking, where the weekly average of affected organizations is 1 out of 108 and 1 out of 113, respectively.

Latin America, On the other hand, it has seen the largest increase in ransomware attacks in the last year compared to 2021, with 1 in 23 organizations impacted weekly.

This is an increase of 43 percent year-on-year, compared to 1 in 33 companies affected in the second quarter of 2021, followed by the Asia region, which has seen an increase of 33 percent year-on-year, with 1 in 17 companies affected per week.

RETAILERS AND DISTRIBUTORS MOST AFFECTED

According to the classification established by Check Point in relation to the most affected sectors, the company highlights that the increase in threats to retailers and wholesalers is “alarming”, by 128 percent, compared to the same period of the year past.

It is closely followed by the distributor sector, which has seen an increase of 143 percent in attacks, as well as the government and military sector, which has seen an increase of 135 percent.

This indicates that 1 in 24 companies related to these fields are affected weekly, while in the field of education and research one in 30 companies receives these attacks.

This, precisely, has become the most attacked industry sector worldwide, since it has registered an average of more than 2,300 attacks per body each week.

This marks a 53 percent rise compared to the second quarter of last year. On the other hand, the health sector has seen a 60 percent growth in threats compared to the same quarter last year, reaching 1,342 threats per company per week.