Cyber ​​attacks up 28%. Education remains the most targeted sector. The Check Point point

2022 marked a record for cyber attacks, with a growth in the third quarter of 2022 of 28% compared to the same period of the previous year. Although it is a record year, however, according to the analyses from Check Point the trend is stabilizing and the increase, albeit high, is lower than the previous year. The reason can be traced back to the increased investments in IT security carried out by both governments and companies.

However, attention must remain high: the global average is about 1,130 attacks per company per week. Europe is the least affected, with 896 attacks per company per week, but Italy is an exception, and with 1,151 weekly attacks per company it is slightly above the world average. The continents most affected are Asia and Africa.

Schools and universities are among the attackers’ favorite targets

The school sector it is the one that most receives the attention of cybercriminals and in the third trimes three were recorded 2,148 weekly attacks per organizationwith an increase of 18% compared to the same period of 2021. The problem is most likely linked to the rapid digitization of the school sector: not all institutions were ready to face the transition in the best possible way. It also weighs on the fact that on campuses and universities it is essential to allow students and teachers to use their own devices and share workstations, details that do not help guarantee the security of the infrastructure.

With 1,564 weekly average attacks, the military / government sector is in second place in the list of the most affected, and in this case the increase compared to 2021 is 20%. The healthcare sector, on the other hand, is the one that has seen the greatest increase: we are talking about 60% more attacks than in the previous year (1,426 per week).

Ransomware in read it drop

According to Check Point’s analysis, attacks that leverage ransomware have dropped 5% globally, but there have been increases in specific sectors.

Healthcare, which is the hardest hit by this specific threat, saw a 5% growth in ransomware attacks on an annual basis, while in retail the increase was even higher, of 39%. In the financial and banking sector, growth was 17%. Ransomware attacks on ISPs and MSPs are down by 25%.