New data from Check Point Research (CPR) reveals alarming trends in cyber-attacks for Q2 2024, segmented by global volume, industry, and geography.

The surge in attacks has been driven by factors such as continued increase in digital transformation, the increasing sophistication of cyber-criminals leveraging AI and machine learning, economic motivations like ransomware and phishing, and geopolitical tensions.

This increase in global cyberattacks also stems from hacker interest in education and research, which saw the largest increase in cyber-attacks in Q2 2024, when compared to all other industries.

The cybersecurity firm warns that these factors can continue to accelerate the number of cyber-attacks in 2024, driving the need for robust cyber security across all industries.

Key findings in the research state that Q2 2024 saw a 30% YoY increase in cyber attacks globally, reaching 1,636 attacks per organisation per week, with the top three most attacked industries being education/research (3,341 attacks per week), government/military (2,084 attacks per week) and healthcare (1,999 attacks per week).

In terms of regions, Latin America, (+53%), Africa (+37%), and Europe (+35%) showed the largest increases in cyber attacks in Q2 2024, compared YoY.

In essence, cyber-attacks are increasing world-wide, with a 30% increase in weekly attacks on corporate networks in in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023, and a 25% rise compared to Q1 2024.

With an average of 1,636 attacks per organisation per week, the relentless onslaught of attacks underscores the growing sophistication and persistence of threat actors. Several cyber threat trends are all happening at once.

For instance, the education and research industry has consistently been a prime target for cyber criminals due to its wealth of sensitive information and often inadequate cybersecurity measures made further complex by multiple groups of online users within and outside of the network expanding the attack vector surface.

In fact, the education/research sector was the number one most attacked industry globally, seeing a 53% increase in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023, with an average of 3,341 attacks per organisation every week.

Government/military was the second most attacked sector with 2,084 attacks per week, reflecting the high stakes involved in state-level cyber espionage and disruption.

Looking back at cyber-attacks for the Healthcare sector in Q2, healthcare organisations saw an average of 1,999 weekly attacks per organisation, which was 15% higher than last year.

Hackers like to target hospitals because they perceive them as short on cybersecurity resources with smaller hospitals particularly vulnerable, as they are underfunded and understaffed to handle a sophisticated cyber-attack.

Ranking third out of all sectors for the most cyber attacks globally, healthcare is so lucrative to hackers because they aim to retrieve health insurance information, medical records numbers and, sometimes, even social security numbers.

Furthermore, the hardware vendor industry experienced largest increase in attacks, with a dramatic rise of 183%. This surge underscores the expanding target range of cyber criminals as they seek to exploit vulnerabilities across various sectors.

Ransomware Attacks per Region and Industry

In Q2 2024, ransomware attacks that involved public extortion were reported showing a 13% year-over-year increase, totalling approximately 1,200 incidents. North America was the hardest hit, comprising 58% of all reported ransomware attacks, despite a slight 3% decrease from the previous year. Europe experienced 19% of the incidents, marking a notable 28% decrease, while the APAC region saw the largest increase with a 38% surge, accounting for 16% of the attacks.

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In terms of industry impact, the manufacturing sector was the most affected, representing 29% of publicly extorted ransomware attacks’ victims globally, with a significant 56% year-over-year increase.

The healthcare sector followed, accounting for 11% of the attacks and experiencing a 27% increase. The retail/wholesale industry saw 9% of the attacks, with a notable 34% decrease from the previous year. Notably, the communications and utilities sectors experienced dramatic rises in ransomware incidents, with increases of 177% and 186%, respectively.

The dramatic rise in cyber-attacks globally, particularly ransomware incidents, signals an urgent need for robust cybersecurity frameworks.

Organisations must prioritise cybersecurity, adopting customised strategies to effectively combat the evolving threat landscape. By implementing advanced security measures, fostering a culture of awareness, and preparing for potential incidents, businesses can better defend against the relentless tide of cyber threats.

The time to act is now, before the next wave of attacks strikes.