Check Point Software's report highlights the impact of cyber-crime around the world

In the middle of the technological community, the month of October is considered the Cybersecurity Month, where during this period various events to mark the date.

Having as a character that same Cybersecurity Month, the  Check Point Software shared with the editors of Menos Fios the conclusions of its latest global and national threat report, which contains data that deserve the attention of both private and public institutions.

On the other hand, at a global level, the slight decline in the weeks before March 2020 was followed by a significant increase in the average weekly number of attacks per organization, which dragged on until 2021. In September of this year, the peak was reached , with an average of 870 attacks per week per organization – more than double if we consider March 2020.

Speaking of our country, the report highlighted that Angolan organizations are attacked, on average, 2496 times a week, which represents an increase of 51% over the previous year.  

Below, we show the most relevant data from the same report:

Most targeted continents

• African organizations experienced the highest volume of cyberattacks on record in 2021, with a weekly average per organization of 1,615. Compared to the previous year, it's an increase of 15%
• The APAC region has an average of 1299 attacks per week. The increase is 20% compared to 2020
• Latin America follows with a weekly average of attacks per organization of 1,117 (an increase of 37%)
• Europe has seen a 65% increase since 2020, with an average of 665 attacks per week per organization
• In North America, the weekly average of attacks per organization was 497, with an increase over the previous year of 57%

Most targeted sectors globally

• Education/Research: per week, the sector suffers, on average, 1,468 attacks per organization (60% increase since 2020)
• Public Administration/Military Sector: an average of 1,082 attacks per organization per week (40% increase since 2020)
• Health: an average of 752 attacks per organization per week (55% increase since 2020)

Ransomware Continues to Affect Organizations Worldwide

CPR further found that globally, by 2021, 1 in 61 organizations is impacted by ransomware per week – an increase of 9% compared to 2020. The ISP/MSP sector is the most attacked by ransomware this year. The average weekly number of organizations in this sector impacted is 1 in 36 (an increase of 32% compared to the previous year).

BUT: Angola is one of the 80 countries with the most cyber attacks in recent weeks

In second place, health, with 1 organization attacked in 44 (increase of 39% since 2020). Next come software vendors, with 1 in 52 organizations attacked per week (increase of 21%).

In Angola, in every 100 organizations, almost 4 (3.7%) are attacked weekly by ransomware. From 2020 to 2021, the number of organizations impacted in Angola increased by 337%.

The APAC region has the highest volume of ransomware attack attempts, with 1 organization impacted every 34 per week in 2021 – a figure that represents a 10% decrease compared to the previous year. The African continent follows, with an organization impacted every 48 (down 7%) and Latin America, which registers an increase of 6% since the previous year, with 1 organization impacted in every 57.

BUT: Ministry of Telecommunications to bet on the creation of a secure Cyber-Space

“October is cybersecurity month, a time for everyone to be reminded of the role they play in ensuring it, both locally and globally,” says Omer Dembinsky, Data Research Group Manager, Threat Intelligence and Research Organization, Check Point Software Technologies.

“Since the pandemic emerged, cybercriminals have moved quickly to take advantage of the multiple opportunities that have arisen. With the continued increase in cyber attacks, Check Point Software recommends that organizations take a first and foremost preventive approach, rather than working to remediate the damage already done.”

Botnet is the type of malware with the highest impact among organizations, with an average of more than 8% of organizations impacted per week (a decrease of 9% since 2020). It is followed by banking malware, with 4.6% (and a 26% increase) and cryptominers, with 4.2% (a decrease of 22%).

Please note that the data used for this report were detected by the Check Point Threat Prevention technologies, stored and analyzed by the Check Point ThreatCloud.

ThreatCloud provides real-time threat intelligence derived from hundreds of millions of sensors around the world, across networks, endpoints and mobile devices. Intelligence is enriched with Artificial Intelligence tools and research information exclusive to Check Point Research.