Ransomware now impacts one out of 40 organisations per week

Ransomware

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Check Point Research (CPR) has released new data on cyber-attack trends. Ransomware attacks now affect one out of 40 organisations a week. The top three most targeted industries for ransomware are government/military, education/research and healthcare.

Higher geopolitical tensions, an increase in remote work and learning and willingness of organisations to pay have led to a 59% YoY increase in ransomware attacks. CPR also shares general cyber-attack trends, including overall cyber-attacks by industry and region. The second quarter of 2022 saw an all-time peak, where global cyber-attacks increased by 32%, compared to Q2 2021, where the average weekly attacks per organisation reached a peak of 1,200 attacks.

  • Retailers and the wholesale sector saw the largest spike in ransomware attacks, with an alarming increase of 182%
  • Government/military sector, reporting a staggering increase of 135%, reaching a ratio of one out of 24 organisations impacted by ransomware on a weekly basis
  • Education/Research sector has become the most attacked industry worldwide, absorbing an average of more than 2,300 attacks per organisation every week, which marks a 53% increase compared to Q2 2021.

Check Point Research (CPR) is releasing new data on cyber-attack trends. In a new report, CPR shares that the global weekly average of impacted organisations by ransomware now reaches one out of 40 – a 59% increase YoY (one out of 64 organisations in Q2 2021).

Ransomware by region

The regions that see the most cyber-attacks are: 

  • Africa: the weekly average of impacted organisations is one out of 21 – a 21% increase YoY (one out of 25 organisations in Q2 2021)
  • Europe: the weekly average of impacted organisations is one out of 66 – a 1% decrease YoY (one out of 65 organisations in Q2 2021)
  • North America: the weekly average of impacted organisations is one out of 108 – a minor increase of 1% YoY (one out of 109 organisations in Q2 2021)
  • ANZ: the weekly average of impacted organisations is one out of 113 – an 18% increase YoY (one out of 133 organisations in Q2 2021)

Latin America has seen the largest increase in attacks, spotting one out of 23 organisations impacted weekly, a 43% increase YoY, compared to one out of 33 in Q2 2021, followed by Asia region that has seen a 33% increase YoY, reaching one out of 17 organisations impacted weekly.

Ransomware by industry

Retailers and the wholesale sector saw the largest spike in ransomware attacks, with an alarming increase of 182%, compared to the same period last year, followed by the Distributors sector that saw a 143% increase and then, the government/military sector, reporting a staggering increase of 135%, reaching a ratio of one out of 24 organisations impacted by ransomware on weekly basis. 

IndustryWeekly Impacted OrganisationsYoY Change
Government/Military1 out of 24+135%
Education/Research1 out of 30+83%
Healthcare1 out of 31+47%
ISP/MSP1 out of 37+9%
Finance/Banking1 out of 41+42%
Communications1 out of 46+59%
SI/VAR/Distributor1 out of 47+143%
Manufacturing1 out of 48+60%
Retail/Wholesale1 out of 53+182%
Utilities1 out of 59+11%
Transportation1 out of 70+28%
Software vendor1 out of 74-34%
Leisure/Hospitality1 out of 77+24%
Hardware vendor1 out of 78+48%
Insurance/Legal1 out of 81+1%
Consultant1 out of 87-17%

Cyber-attacks by industry 

The Education/Research sector has become the most attacked industry worldwide, absorbing an average of more than 2,300 attacks per organisation every week, which marks a 53% increase compared to Q2 2021.

The healthcare sector saw a 60% increase in cyber-attacks compared to Q2 2021, reaching 1342 attacks per organisation every week. 

Cyber-attacks by region

Africa was the most attacked region in Q2 2022, peaking at 1,760 weekly attacks on average, per organisation, a nominal increase of 3%, compared to the same period last year against the continent. Following Africa, Asia and Latin America experienced astounding numbers of 1,684 and 1,602 on average accordingly, marking a 25% and a 29% increase respectively, year–over-year.

RegionWeekly Attacks
per Organisation
YoY Change
Africa1,758+3%
Asia1,684+25%
Latin Americas1,602+29%
Europe963+26%
ANZ937+82%
North America854+54%

For more information, visit: www.checkpoint.com

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