Cyber attacks on health, manufacturing, and energy have doubled since last year. According to a report released today by the IBM division, the Th-Intelligence Index of the X-Force team for 2021, outlined the evolution of the attacks for 2020, showing that many wanted to take advantage of the pandemic situation and the unprecedented socioeconomic, business, and political challenges created by COVID-19.
The financial and insurance sectors were the focus of the attacks, with the largest increase in 2020, with manufacturing and energy in second place. The invaders found suitable ground for the vulnerabilities of industrial control systems (ICS), on which both processing and energy are highly dependent.
The additional key conclusions of the report include the following:
- Phishing is the most common form of infection – The 2021 report reveals that the most successful way to access victims’ environments last year was to scan and exploit vulnerabilities (35%), exceeding e-fishing (31%) for the first time in years.
- Europe felt the onslaught of 2020 attacks – Representing 31% of X-Force attacks in 2020, according to the report, Europe experienced more attacks than any other geographical area, with ransomware emerging as the top guilty. Also, Europe has seen more attacks from within than any other geographical area, with twice as many attacks from North America and Asia combined.
[Techgear]
