IT, Education & Research, Governments Most Prone to Cybercriminals

Information Technology, Education & Research and Governments top the list of sectors attacked the most by cyber criminals globally, a new report has revealed.

The 2024 Digital Defense Report by Microsoft shows the number of cyber-attacks has doubled to 600 million per day with growing collaboration between nation-state actors and cybercriminals.

Nation-state threat attacks are malicious cyber-attacks driven by geopolitical competition, aiming to gain advantage over other nations such as economic benefits through intellectual property theft or to support traditional espionage.

“For example, QR code phishing, a technique now used widely to compromise user accounts at scale and create an entry point for business email compromise (BEC) attacks became widely used in targeted attacks against this sector as early as August 2023,” reads the report.

The report reveals that aside from offering intelligence such as research and policy discussions, education and research institutions are often used as testing grounds by threat actors before they pursue their actual targets.

It notes that over the past year, the lines that once divided cybercrime, nationstate sponsored attacks, and infuence operations have continued to blur

“Cybercrime has continued to mature as a robust and elaborate ecosystem, with cybercriminal groups utilizing a full spectrum of tools and techniques, including those learned, borrowed, or stolen from nation-state actors,” the report says.

According to the report, other sectors most prone to attacks include Think Tanks and NGOs, Transportation, Consumer Retail, Finance, Manufacturing, and Communications.

In Africa, the African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2024 by Interpol highlights the rapid growth of cybercrime, with estimates showing that in 2023, there was a 23% year-on-year increase in the average number of weekly cyberattacks per organization in Africa, the highest average in the world.

Recent cyber threats have markedly increased in sophistication and frequency, posing significant challenges to cybersecurity defenses worldwide.

A notable trend is the surge in mobile, Internet of Things (IoT), and operational technology (OT) cyberattacks, which underscores the expanding threat landscape beyond traditional computing environments.

Digital Defence Report notes that the threat landscape has continued to become more dangerous and complex, revealing the malign actors of the world are becoming better resourced and better prepared, with increasingly sophisticated tactics, techniques, and tools that challenge even the world’s best cybersecurity defenders.

“As the threats evolve, so must the strategies to combat them, requiring a concerted effort from individuals, organizations, and governments alike,” the report recommends.

ligadwah@businessdayafrica.org